LynNae Irene Downs
naenae@udel.edu

The most interesting thing about my family's cultural heritage is that we are what my aunt calls a "salad bowl" family. Every member of my immediate family is the product of an interracial union. It started many, many years ago and our lineage has been traced from European to African to Asian. My grandfather on my mother's side, who is primarily Asian, immigrated with his family to the United States from The Philippines right after World War II. He met my grandmother, who is a European American, and from that union they had five children, although one child died from pneumonia at age 5 months. My mother went on to marry a Black man and had me and my two brothers. Her siblings married a Puerto Rican, a Mexican, and an African American.

I find my family to be fascinating because each of us is unique in our cultures yet we share the same heritage. Each one of us brings a certain "flavor" to the family and we learn many things from each other. I think the most interesting people in my family are those who immigrated like my grandfather, great-grandmother and great-aunts and uncles because they can still remember the old country. It is amazing to see how they have assimilated into the American culture over the years. One example is my great-aunt Fely who gives out used calendars from banks or restaurants for Christmas! A distant relative has even written and published a book about our family history.