By Andrew Tan

The arena was ready for Yami “Rowdy” Lofvenberg to enter the battle. Her attacks were made with stunning movements. Every battle was another step closer to victory. This was a hip-hop dance battle, and the most creative dancer would be the champion. Yami wasn’t just Colombian by birth, she was also black. Living in a white area, she says she encountered racism and microaggression on a daily basis at school and elsewhere.

“I remember being 10 and being chased down the road by three Nazis with Dr. Martens shoes and the bomber jacket and the shaved heads, screaming that they wanted to kill me,” she says. “I ran into someone’s porch and closed the door so that they couldn’t get in. Adults watched this happen but did nothing, she says. Yami traveled to school in Stockholm where she was bullied because she couldn’t get the hang of maths.