my bad attitude

I can remember just about every instance when someone (always white) told me that I had a bad attitude.  It happened a lot in high school—when I started a new job, when I ran into a new teacher who didn't know about my reputation for being a straight-A student leader…if I dared to speak up, speak out, or ask a simple question, I was accused of having a bad attitude, which had better be adjusted quickly—or else!  In my family, I was designated "the troublemaker," once again because I dared to ...