I recently had a conversation with a friend — a liberal — about how libertarians don’t always agree on everything.

“Of course you won’t agree with everything libertarians say,” she said. “You’re black.”

With shaking hands (I was angry), I responded that my race had nothing to do with whether or not I agreed with libertarians. They aren’t a monolith. And neither are blacks.

I am very aware that I am black. If I forget, there always will be someone to remind me—usually it’s the media or… a liberal.

The obsession with race disturbs me on so many levels. As someone who prides herself on being an individualist, comments like the one my friend made enrage me. Why must everything be about race? Libertarians, thankfully, are less concerned with group welfare and stereotypes and more interested in individual rights and liberty for all.

This is why I am a libertarian.

I know some people think libertarians don’t talk enough about racism and sexism; but I find it refreshing. This isn’t to say there is not a place in libertarianism for those discussions. I am fully aware that this isn’t a colorblind or post-race society. But I don’t consider this to be discouraging, even if it is frustrating at times. In fact, it has its comedic moments.

It is worth it to see the amount of confusion and astonishment that crosses a person’s face (usually a liberal) when they find out I never voted for Obama, disagree on affirmative action or mention how I want Al Sharpton to retire and stop sputtering his foolishness. But it’s also kind of sad that people make the assumption that black people can’t be anything but a liberal democrat.

They say there are no black libertarians. There are no female libertarians. There are no black female libertarians.

Hello! I’m right here.

We might be small in numbers; but we are growing. And on the Internet at least, I’ve observed that we are always welcome. No defensiveness and no judgements based on the color of my skin.

And that’s how it should be.