A soft golden-clad circle. Worth plenty more than its etching of 1$. The face of the fifth president on the back. The coin my grandfather gifted me as he told me, "When I'm gone, use this to remember Pop (his nickname)." It's a coin that holds every memory I have of him taking me to school, telling me jokes, making me food, or playing on the playground with me as a child. For my grandfather, it represents his beginnings in America. Being a Haitian immigrant in a time our culture wasn't particularly fond of people of color led to plenty of encounters that set him back, such as being jailed for nothing he had done. Even a love he found in an interracial relationship with my grandmother represented the hardships he fought to have his family in a place he never truly got the chance to belong. He found a love he was not welcomed to having. My grandmother's parents disapproved of their relationship. He was black, and that was a no-go at the time. My grandmother loved him the same regardless, and they took off together to New York City. They rented a small place outside central park and began formulating a life together. He tells me to be strong and go after what I want and not to be sad when he is gone. I tell him Pafèsa, a word he taught meaning don't do that. 

– christian

Relationship:  Grandchild of im/migrant Grandchild of im/migrant