In this commentary, anthropologist Iris Carter Ford reflects on the preceding pieces by Carmen Kynard and Signithia Fordham. She identifies parallels among the two essays and her own life, drawing out themes that emerge from the narratives. Integrating ideas about "talking black" and "talking back," Ford notes that both phenomena have roots in traditional African American notions of fictive kinship and complicity. Her analysis of Kynard's and Fordham's work, along with insight from her own experiences as a black woman navigating educational spaces, challenge us to reconsider whether American society is truly postracial. (Contains 2 notes.)