[Taraz]

- What is your ethnic / cultural background?
Persian/African-American. My mom was born and raised in Iran and moved here for her residency after med school. My dad grew up in Los Angeles and never left.

- How big a role does it play in your life?
Pretty big. Being black comes with a whole host of issues in society. I have a huge Persian family and I grew up 3 blocks away from my grandparents. So I can speak Persian (Farsi)and I have a lot of experience with Persian culture.

It's weird, when I'm out doing my every day activities I feel more like a black guy, but when I come home and am hanging out with all my family I feel very Persian.

- How far removed are you from the immigrant generation of your family? (in the end we are all immigrants, except for the Natives)

My mom is a first generation immigrant. I don't know much about my dad's side, but slavery kind of makes it difficult to trace things back too far.

- Do you maintain any traditions from the "old country"?

I guess. I drink tea and I like Persian food. I can cook a little too. I kiss a lot of my family on both cheeks every time I see them. There's probably more, but I can't think of anything huge at the moment.