Black, Korean, stateless: A 'slickyboy’s' American dream
An outcast from birth, the child of a Korean sex worker and a Black GI, Milton was a sometime ‘Slickyboy’, or thief, by the age of seven. All he really wanted was to find his dad.
Growing up as the son of a sex worker and a Black US soldier in South Korea in the 70s, Milton Washington was seen as an outcast, and "not Korean." He couldn't even get a birth certificate. Still, he was loved and protected by his mum, the two of them against the world. She told him his dad was in America, a land of flying cars and ice cream mountains — and that was where Milton wanted to be, too. (A longer version of this interview was first broadcast in 2022)
Presenter: Jo Fidgen
Producer: Laura Thomas
Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com or WhatsApp +44 330 678 2707
(Photo: Young Milton Washington. Credit: Milton Washington)
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