The name is Fatima McArthur. A young Black woman living in the City of Ottawa, Province of Ontario. I was born and raised in the City of Detroit, State of Michigan. I've been living in the City of Ottawa since the summer of 2009. I came here for school and work. These days I attend Carleton University, one of the better schools down there. You might wonder what an African-American gal from the racially diverse big American City of Detroit is doing in an uptight, boring little place like the Canadian City of Ottawa. Well, I have my reasons for being here.
I left a White guy at the altar, and it's not the sort of thing that White men can forgive a Black woman. I left Brian Hartley, this Irish guy I knew growing up in the City of Detroit. I decided I couldn't marry him the day I discovered he was a bigot. Lots of White men who claim to like Black women also despise Black men. Just like a lot of Black guys who like White women can't stand White men. Well, I call a bigot a bigot. I couldn't spend my life with someone like that. I have brothers and they are Black. My father is Black too. And even though my mother is Persian, I consider myself wholly Black. Brian swore he'd kill me after I left him for saying one nasty joke too many about my people. He's locked up right now but whatever. I'm not taking any chances. White men are great at killing. Dating one of them for so long was the biggest mistake I ever made.
What can I say? Young women make mistakes and sometimes people get hurt. Sometimes men's hearts get broken. It wasn't intentional. I didn't set out to hurt Brian. I just couldn't be with a White man who found dark-skinned Black folks threatening and espoused the view that mixed-race individuals were better. I dumped him because it was the right thing to do. Then I struggled to move on with my life. When I won an academic scholarship to one of the finest schools in Canada's capital region, I saw it as a great opportunity. I moved to Ottawa, and embraced my new life. A couple of years later, I am bored out of my mind. Oh, I'm one of the top students in the Criminology program. Carleton University's Institute of Criminology and Criminal Justice is one of the top in North America. However, the City of Ottawa itself is something else. The people are dull, boring and bigoted. They're not used to racial or cultural diversity yet they like to think of themselves as multicultural and cosmopolitan. Whatever. I'm here for school. I guess I'll have to find some way to stomach these losers.