> When I approached Anna to let her know that I did not feel comfortable rapping for a board member, she said “no problem” so quickly that it felt as if she knew she shouldn’t have made such a request.
That interaction might have something important the author experienced that we, as readers, can't visualise.
Also, a big part of this is that many times minorities don't want to reinforce a stereotype. There's a fine line to tread between one-off self-expression and the worry that the majority think that this is what you do all the time, or a label. I can see why the author doesn't want to be seen as "Derrius, the guy who raps."
That interaction might have something important the author experienced that we, as readers, can't visualise.
Also, a big part of this is that many times minorities don't want to reinforce a stereotype. There's a fine line to tread between one-off self-expression and the worry that the majority think that this is what you do all the time, or a label. I can see why the author doesn't want to be seen as "Derrius, the guy who raps."