When I first met Micah last year, I remember walking away from our interaction the same I do with so many that are similar, thinking to myself, ‘that’s a cool ass white dude.’ Which is a far cry from the adverse, ‘he’s a total asshole’ which is unfortunately much more common.

But my judgment on him didn’t come without much interrogation. And not the typical, cheesy, low-hanging, ask a whole bunch of questions to see if he’s cool enough to get an invite to the ‘proverbial cookout.’

I watched him. How he talked. More importantly how he listened. How he saw us, a group of friends who had known each other for years, who shared common values, experiences, a language and an identity.

And not only did he fit right in, he didn’t stand out—which I’ll say is much harder to do.

I’ve got a respect for those who don’t try too hard for any level of acceptance in spaces where they’re the outlier. The ability to just be yourself, be comfortable enough in your own skin to know that who you are is more than what anyone is asking for.

And on some level, it made me reflect on how I’ve operated in primarily white spaces throughout my life. And when I didn’t always feel comfortable doing exactly what I just mentioned.

My respect for him alone made me want to feature him on @insidevoicesseries. I knew he had a certain depth to him and I was right.

Right off the bat, he answered the questions I threw at him with a level of care, thought, introspection and reflection that the project was asking for.

When I look at what we got from this project, there are certain portions where you think to yourself, ‘there’s no way this could’ve gone out without this being included.’ Many of Micah’s responses fit this criteria and I couldn’t be more grateful.