A Drop of Midnight: A Memoir

by Jason Timbuktu Diakité

I have a complex system of roots that branches across continents, ethnicities, classes, colors, and eras. I am Jason, son of the black Madubuko Diakité and the white Elaine Bosak. I am all the countries my forefathers came from and were shipped to in chains. I am all the colors and shades of their skin. I am their rage and their longing, their hardships, successes, and dreams. I am the intersection of Slovakia, Germany, France, Africa, South Carolina. Of white, black, and Cherokee. I am the meeting of Bosak, Schneidmüller, Hauser, Privat, Robinson, Davis, and Miller. The sum of Mom’s Slavic German roots and Dad’s African ones molded in the social democracy of Sweden.