Debra Farley Coloring Others’ Perspectives BY LEAH BASHAW Debra Farley always knew that she was different. She grew up as the youngest of five children, and her brothers and sisters all have medium- and dark-colored skin. Debra’s skin is white, though, because she was born with albinism. Albinism is a genetic disorder that causes the body to produce little to no melanin. In the U.S., approximately one in 20,000 people are born with it. People with albinism typically have pale skin, eyes and hair. While Debra grew up in a loving family, going out in public was full of obstacles. Cruel people would make hurtful comments, and Debra says she frequently saw people laughing or pointing when they saw her. Debra didn’t know why she was different. Was there something wrong with her? She became increasingly anxious, and struggled to develop self-confidence. She didn’t like going anywhere new, and she didn’t like being around people she didn’t know. Debra wanted to stay near family and friends, people who could protect her and stand up for her against the world. But it was impossible to stay in a bubble, as she soon learned. When she was 13, Debra traveled from Ohio to St. Louis to visit her brother for the summer. She became friends with a neighbor girl who was about her age. One day, Debra and her newfound friend were walking to a gas station to get some candy, and took a shortcut through an alleyway. As they entered, a teenage boy coming from the opposite direction walked toward them swinging a bamboo stick. He greeted them by yelling, “Hey sisters,” stopping when he got closer. He stared and then pointed to Debra and told her, “You’re not a sister.” Debra called back, “Yes, I am”. The boy took the bamboo rod and began beating her with it, before the two girls could run away. “I’ll never forget that,” Debra says. Debra was nervous when she entered high school in 1974. She wasn’t sure how her new classmates would treat her. However, she made a true friend in her school, one she still talks to today. Her friend initially thought that she was white, Debra says, but never cared about her skin color. She would tell Debra that she had helped educate her about albinism, and always dressed clean and neat. Others in the class didn’t seem to know how to approach her, though. It wasn’t until she was older that Debra began discussing albinism with others. “I felt ugly,” she says. Out in public, people would make rude comments. On the city bus, people would laugh when she passed by. Just walking down the street was difficult, and after her experience in St. Louis, Debra wondered if “God punished me because I’m like this.” Debra has always noticed when race relations in the U.S. were strained. She references an experience from when she was working at a hospital in the 1990s. Walking down the hall, she heard a nurse tell another nurse, “She’s not white.” Debra was stuck between two worlds. Black people told her she was white, and white people told her she was Black. Her mother told her about traveling in the South when Debra was a baby, and being fearful because of the looks people would give her – she was ENVISIONPROVENSUCCESS.COM | 19
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