Ron Boose, Atlanta, GA. It wasn’t until 33 years after the first television was invented in 1927 that a black actor and actress were seen on television.
If I’m colorblind, you’re invisible.
Martie Moore, Marietta, GA.
I’m just as perfect as you
Gavin, Summerville, GA. People think they are better than other people just because of their race.
Not White Nor Asian But Wasian
Bryce Barrett, Summerville, GA. I am Asian-American and that means Asian jokes. People call me Wasian when I say am part Asian, Thai in particular. Im not offended by it and sometimes I play along with them. It sometimes gets on my nerves that that say “Hey Wasian!” instead of my name. :L
Sicilian urged to embrace black roots
Charles Aloisio, Atlanta, GA. An African-American friend at the Y has encouraged me to get in touch with my African roots since I’m Sicilian Italian as well as Neopolitan. I have often thought of my roots since Sicily was occupied by the Moors for several centuries.
Really? But you don’t LOOK Brazilian…
Tessa Voget, Atlanta, GA. To say I have a complex about how pale I am is putting it mildly. I vacillate between wishing I were more golden, to meet Americans’ (and even my own family’s) expectations — and getting super defensive, layering on the SPF while feeling guilty about the privileges porcelain skin bestows upon […]
You black? Passe blanc. No, Creole.
August A. Goins Jr., Atlanta, GA. Growing up as a light skin black man of creole decent, people assume I want to be white. Not because of something I said or did, but based solely on my skin color. As if I had a choice of my skin color. I’m proud of who I am, […]
Black husband not “stolen” from you
Amanda Weller, Atlanta, GA. I’m an army brat, a former soldier, and an army wife. Of course I notice differences in skin color and culture (I’m not blind, or stupid); they simply take a back seat to the most important color in my life, a shared color: green. When I met my husband at the […]
“You look nothing like your mother.”
Katherine Brooks, Marietta, GA.
Some black people hate my success
Andrew Kim, Suwanee, GA. Just being honest.
I survived the white flight.
Misty Johnson, Lilburn, GA. I moved to Georgia in 1988 when I was 8 years old. My father left his job on the oil rigs to start his own landscaping company in Lithonia, Georgia. I was a minority at my elementary school back in Texas, which was predominately Hispanic. The move to Atlanta was different […]
I am white, whatever that means.
Stephen Fredrickson, Kennesaw, GA.
Stop blaming whites for your problems.
Al G, Atlanta, GA.
Adopted, have no sense of race.
Lauren Maldonado, Athens, GA. I’m white, I know that. But, I have no idea what race I am. I can’t include myself in a certain group. I cannot sympathize with a certain group of people and I cannot judge a group of people because I might be the same race as they are. I’m in […]
You’re athletic, for a white guy
Jonah G., Athens, GA.
No way, Miss, you’re not white!
Joan Evans, Lawrencevillve, GA. And I am 100% white. But (far too many of) my students associate “white” with oppression and bigotry. When they tell me I’m not white, they are trying to tell me I’m not a racist. Telling me I’m not white is a compliment. Pretty damning, huh?
A child, called a white pig.
M. Landrum Atlanta, GA I grew up poor in a mixed neighborhood in south Atlanta. My two best friends were white and black, and for the most part we all got along. One day my white friend was angry and called my black friend a n*****, and even though I’d never heard the word I […]
America is not for black people!
Taylor Valdosta, GA Systematic racism exits and is targeted towards blacks. It’s in the government and in schools, Its always and will always continue to be that way in this country. American is not for blacks! Whites don’t want us here but we are here and we have put more work into building the country […]
But where are YOUR PEOPLE from?
Reed Atlanta, GA “Where is your family from? No, but where are YOUR PEOPLE from? I mean, what is your HERITAGE? Like, your ancestors. I mean … where do your features come from?” That was one of the more polite conversations that someone has initiated about by race. Although I was raised white and generally […]
My identity’s not for your pleasure
Naveena Karusala Alpharetta, GA The day every person of color can be themselves and display their cultural identity without being hated for it is the day white people can “borrow” from other cultures without being hated for it.
Oh. Yeah you do look Jewish.
Davis Apseloff Dunwoody, GA
The depth. The beauty. The experience.
Tamika Brown Atlanta, GA
Hispanic chick doesn’t speak Spanish, WHAT?
Cynthia Deras GA Are you hispanic? Why dont you speak spanish? What part of Mexico are your parents from? Say something in Spanish! Your not really Mexican if you dont speak spanish. Basically thats the reaction I get from the latino community when someone finds out I dont speak Spanish. I lost Spanish as a […]
Mixed heritage. Feeling strange growing up
Katie Moore New Echota, GA I used to hate the way I looked growing up. My mom & brother had fair skin & freckles & I had darker skin & hair. I like the way I look now. I’m proud of my heritage. I am of cherokee, creek, German,& African decent. I stand taller than […]
My students are just as excellent.
Ed Maietta Savannah, GA After 30 years of teaching in both diverse and not-so-diverse environments, I now teach at the oldest HBCU in Georgia. If there is an achievement gap, it has nothing to do with intelligence or strength of character.
The beaner who served our country.
Salvador Palacio Elk Grove, CA
Teacher of black youth, ancestors slaverholders
Ernie Lee Savannah, GA Struggling with my whiteness and my student’s blackness until we connect. I am a good teacher and after a while I don’t color just students who want to learn. It is more of a socio-economic divide, but I will never know what it means to be black as my students will […]
My granny said no white girls
Clinton Browning Fayetteville, GA
Economic Independence Key To Black Freedom
Merlin Gentry Atlanta, GA Blacks can learn from Jews.You get your revenge by getting rich and making hiring decisions. When you’re collectively wealthy, you can influence local policies to your advantage. That’s just how the world works. How do you get rich? By owning your own businesses, not by working for others. How do you […]
Being Sicilian explains who I am.
Annaleisle Gingher Peachtree City, GA Understanding my ethnicity has explained so much and helped me understand who I am. I may be classified in a box as “white” but I am a second generation Sicilian with dark skin and dark hair. I’ve always identified with other races. Only to understand we are all the same […]
From a white teenage girl’s perspective
Victoria N. Fortson, GA My ancestors came to America just like many others. Just because I am white, does not mean my family “owned” “slaves”. When an African American girl says to me “you’re so lucky to have that hair” or “I would pay a lot for some of your hair”, it makes me mad. […]
Clarity revelations open the mind
Lupe Family Covington, GA Take the exhibit world wide. Take to southwest. northwest, south and Maine of USA.
They told me I couldn’t be Asian
Phil Vongsavang Midland, GA I volunteered to join a faith based prison ministry and was told by the local sheriff’s department that I was not allowed to join as an Asian. Said the deputy “we only do white or black. Do you want to be black today?” After more than a year, including receiving a […]
Why are we still moving backwards?
Briana Almeida Savannah, GA Everybody has problems. Instead of moving forward, equalizing and acknowledging everyone, we are squashing and devaluing. We are hashtagging #noRacism2014, and yet putting nooses on Black statues. We are allowing sororities to host “Mexican” parties in sombreros, and accusing the poor of food stamp fraud. Help, not hinder.
Your “colorblindness” does not inspire confidence.
Andrea Franklin Savannah, GA Claiming to not see race too often results in also claiming not to see racism, discrimination, violence, and oppression.
I Am Not But I Am
Alexis S Atlanta, GA As we stepped on to the elevator accompanying a father and his two girls. She said “Look daddy black people”, and he turned redder than a ripe tomato and said, “That’s right honey, yellow, tan, gold, and brown people.” It was shocking to my family in hers, the fact that she […]
My creamy white baby, new minority.
Stephanie Hawkins Atlanta, GA
I ate lunch with the maid.
Sandra Morris Armuchee, GA I grew up in Vidalia, Ga. in the 60’s. I was babysat by women of color who also cleaned house for my mother. I couldn’t understand why they ate lunch after we did. My parents let me eat lunch with the maid after they had their lunch. When I got my […]
But Elizabeth, you’re not really black…
Elizabeth D Atlanta, GA But I’m sure not white either. You think because I speak a certain way and dress a certain way, because I don’t fit your stereotypes, I’m not ‘black’ enough? Sorry if I shatter your preconceived notions, but as always I’m just being myself.
I’m African brought chained to America
Janis Adams Atlanta, GA The older I get, the more I realize how bad colonization is, was, hurts, ruins. Groups of people greedy for resources, riches exploit the world..
Still Lifting the Veil of Ignorance
George Greene Atlanta, GA In Tuscaloosa and places like it across the resegregating South, we are being forced to fight a battle that seemingly cannot be won. Upward mobility in Tuscaloosa has been, and will continue to be halted because of closeted, good-ol-boy dealings that ruin the future of thousands of people. As a graduate […]
Affirmative action has created stagnant society.
Frans Susan (near) Atlanta, GA Political correctness and affirmative action are the most destructive forces of the past 60 years! We have stupid, obtuse white liberals and corrupt government policies &; politicians to thank for the destruction of a once vibrant &; viable society.
White Privilege is Affirmative Action’s opposite.
Keith Stewart Stone Mountain, GA
PROUD TO BE A CENTRAL FALCON
Cheyenne Miranda Winston, GA 1982 was the first true Central High School class of seniors –none of us had previously attended Druid or Tuscaloosa High. I had the high honor of presenting the graduation speech as Senior Class President, challenging our class and community to move beyond color together. I have been moved deeply the […]
RACISM IS ABOUT MONEY AND POWER.
Lillian Muriel Birchette East Point, GA Racism and oppression are means to establish and maintain servant and ruling classes. Racial differences are easiest to discern and objectify. For example: Europeans in the colonial Americas; in Africa; and in India, etc. When there are no discernible physical differences, oppression occurs strictly regarding socio-economic status, e.g., feudal […]
Why can’t we have new books?
Tamika Brown Atlanta, GA Race and socioeconomic status are nearly inseparable. And nowhere can this be seen more clearly than in American classrooms. Education has become a battle between those who have, and those who have not.
White guilt is luxury: do something
Ann Claycombe Atlanta, GA I am a middle-aged white woman working at Georgia State University, where no race is in the majority. Instead, what I see is poor students of every color – the average household income of our students is $25,000 a year. And what I’ve learned is they don’t need my pity or […]
African-American is more than color.
Carmela Atlanta, GA I am significantly more than the color of my skin. I am the culture of my people and I am amazing. Get to know me and my color and you will be amazed. If not, I can continue to be amazing without you. I realize I have nothing to prove to anybody […]
Raised by a village of color
Karen G Augusta, GA I was raised in the south by my single, widowed mother and a handful of Christian women of both colors. I learned about compassion, empathy, justice and God, at their knees. Later in life I learned prejudice while living in another country, because I was white. And I know that prejudice […]
…dreamed of being Nino Brown’s accountant.
Styron Pennywell Atlanta, GA After watching New Jack City, I dreamed of being Nino Brown’s accountant. He was the only respectable brown face that didn’t have to shoot anybody. I was eleven and gang-banging was on the rise in the early 90’s, spreading it’s way through the deep south, black boys with bravado, eyes sparkling […]
You’re not white, What are you?
Sheena Biggerstaff Atlanta, GA I get this statement/question combo all the time. It’s amazing how many different races I’ve been grouped into by people trying to find an answer. The conversation always ends the same. Sorry, I don’t know, I was adopted.
I wish I knew my roots…
Tiffany Chatman Loganville, GA African-American? Well, where in Africa? Should I just be American since that is the only place that I have ever lived and that’s the culture that I know. Sometimes I feel like I don’t truly know who I am. I wish that I could trace my roots to a particular country, […]
Oh, I like that skin better!
Carolyn Parks Decatur, GA I think most Americans do not realize we are socialized to be racist. To not like black or brown skin…… While working as a defense contractor in Afghanistan, I had an allergic reaction to something I touched. My skin became severely irritated, which caused the skin on my hands to peel. […]
Target, challenging, divisive, unites, rich, cultural
Chandra C Davis Decatur, GA University of Michigan Law
Oh. Yeah you do seem Jewish.
Davis Apseloff Dunwoody, GA
Not as respected, just as accountable.
Steve F Macon, GA Black male teenagers are required to register for Selective service. Like every other American male. Our safety is in more jeopardy than any other American male. Black sons can’t walk home from a store,get gas,or knock on a door after an accident,without being gunned down. We are required to pay taxes,like […]
LuElla’s quilt has kept me warm
Carol Stritikus Aitken Duluth, GA LuElla’s Quilt LuElla’s quilt has kept me warm through winter night and summer storm when I would hide beneath its tent and read until my light was spent. It soaked up many a childish tear and now recalls a time so dear; I still can see those dark brown eyes […]
Teaching my kids to see people.
Mike L. Atlanta, GA I grew up in Atlanta GA during the 60’s. While I loved my grandparents I couldn’t understand why they thought the ice cream truck vendor was such a “nasty”, “dirty” and “diseased” man! “Mr. Jones” (as he politely asked us to call him) always had a smile on his face and […]
Life is unchanging revolving around race
Andie Sandy Springs, GA Everyone always judges based on appearance this one this remains the same as life goes on.
Why do people talk about race?
Juan Zuniga Atlanta, GA
“Content of character is NOT color-blindness.”
Dexter H. Bridgeman Atlanta, GA In his iconic “I Have A Dream” speech, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stated the following: “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their […]
Under each stereotype is an individual
Henry Powers Atlanta, GA
African Americans were slave owners too.
Leonard Henry Atlanta, GA Check out this scholarly book, Black Slaveowners: Free black Slave Masters in South Carolina, 1790-1860, by Larry Koger ISBN 0-89950-160-5. Also read the book Two Princes of Calibar. This is a true history of two West African brothers who were sold into slavery, won their freedom in the courts and went […]
Sugar’s will: $500/acre, $1500/slave
Carolyn B. Smith Atlanta, GA Shugan Ransome Davis (“Sugar”) was my great great great grandfather. He was from Halifax, NC but moved in 1824 to Alabama and established a plantation in Suggsville. His will is from 1857. When I saw it, I was struck by the value of an adult male slave when compared to […]
Racism is shameful and diminishes us.
Teresa Lynn Rutledge Lilburn, GA Growing up in the South, I saw racism that was accepted because “that was just the way it was.” But at the age of 7, I got my first up close and personal lesson about its meanness. A teenage boy encouraged me to call our maid the N word because […]
White guilt is killing American society
Christopher Nook Athens, GA
Light skinned women are black too.
Karen L Mills, Esq. Atlanta, GA
Why do you want to know?
Susan Payne Powder Springs, GA Unsettling questions aimed at you or your relatives can be rude and unnecessary, so a soft response can even the playing field and often change the focus of the question.
You’re not just white, are you?
Erica Gonzalez Fayetteville, GA I heard this from an old white man when I was 17 years old. Now, 22, I will take some advice from the users of this site and just reply “I’m human”.
My race has never defined me.
Kyra O’Kelley Atlanta, GA
Pale faced; I must be guilty
Katherine Atlanta, GA I am not responsible for the actions of people one hundred and fifty years ago who enslaved an entire race. The institution of slavery is a horrific part of American History, and it was a heinous crime against African Americans. Because of that institution, there is racism alive and around still and […]
Raised “white”, but I am Asian
Lori Dunwoody, GA
Half White, Half Mexican, I’m Proud
Matthew Pastrone Dunwoody, GA
Words are taken out of context.
Anonymous Atlanta, GA Sometimes when people write articles about race, they tend to take things out of context and just take a blurb to make people outraged, when really the person was lecturing about a topic or was explaining something.
SUBWAY: Black man saved my ass.
Michael Leibowitz Atlanta, GA I challenged two young men that were harassing a young girl. They drew knives. A large man behind me said that if they came closer (to me), he’d shove the knives down their throats.
Shocked! Separate restrooms in Georgia airport.
Nancy B. Riley Scottsdale, AZ I was 15 and on my way to a cousin’s wedding in North Carolina. On a stop-over in Augusta, Georgia I saw restrooms labelled “White only” and “colored.” Raised in Kansas City and living in Arizona, I had never, ever seen such signs. It scared me!
A Mississippi secret – not “accidental drowning.”
David Morath Wrightsville, PA On August 14, 1973 three black children from Atlanta, GA drowned in Waveland, Mississippi. Eyewitnesses reported that the children had been harassed by white boaters, The coroner’s jury closed the case without investigation the following day. Because of Jim Crow mortuary policies, locating a funeral director who would deal with African-Americans […]
There’s only one and he’s nice.
John Thomas Athens, GA These were my exact words upon arriving home from my first day of school ever. It was 1957; I was five, and my grandmother that lived with us had asked me if there were any “darkies” in my class. I realized at that moment that her racist brainwashing was hateful and […]
Why should colleges know my race?
Laura Ann Harrell St. Simons Island, GA
My friends helped me to see.
Julie Ford Valdosta, GA In honor of Nellie Hammond, Mary Wright, Iris Branch, Sylvia Andrews, Deborah Lumpkin, the other Debra, Gwen, Dr. Ed James,and most of all Paul Mitchell (“P”) and my grandchildren: L’il P, Princess Jasmine, and Lakisha DeJohn.
Grandmother ate in kitchen with housekeeper
Alice J Walker Gay, GA This concerns a story told to me about my grandmother, who died in 1960 when I was five years old. In the mid-fifties, she lived with my aunt and uncle and their boys in Rome, Georgia. On one rare occasion, she was home alone when Carrie May, the housekeeper came […]
Genetically speaking, “race” does not exist.
David Parlier Atlanta, GA
Military families: ahead of the curve.
Monique Hollis-Perry Alpine, CA Military bases overseas were homes to many biracial families like mine, and my sister and I went to school with classmates who looked like us. It was many years and thousands of miles from being sent to Fort Gordon, GA as a test case in the 1960s to see how (or […]
I cannot speak for my race.
Kara Cannon Atlanta, GA
It’s the behavior, not pigment.
Peter Korman Atlanta, GA
Stop Government Funded Hate Whitey Classes!
Steven Bryan Atlanta, GA I’ve been pushing Taxpayer funded school voucher programs (K-12) for over 20 years. Public Schools are rewarded for doing a pathetic job educating our children; but, they do a great job spreading Hate. This has been going on since the 40s—Read: ‘Autobiography of Malcolm X’ Or ask Blacks who’ve taken ‘Black […]
Black men should fear black men
Mark Foster Atlanta, GA How can one seriously suggest the Zimmerman-Martin story emblematic of the black male experience while ignoring the predatory culture of black against black in neighborhoods thoughout our Country.
Brown marries white. Lives happily forever.
Sid Atlanta, GA
I wish the voice would stop.
Al Atlanta, GA I was born 51 years ago. I grew up with a father who would definitely be considered racist today, but was probably just typical blue collar in those days – kind of an Archie Bunker figure. I heard the N word at least a dozen times a week. Fast forward to my […]
Mom always said “You’re too American.”
Ben Sian Atlanta, GA Born in the US to Filipino parents.
Too often used as an excuse.
Francesca Newton Atlanta, GA
Why do I avoid discussing race?
T. Brodnax Atlanta, GA Two words in my six could easily be changed: “I” to “we” and “avoid” to “fear”. The “I” is obviously more personal, the “we” more descriptive of the world in which I think we live.
When checking “white,” I am diminished.
Adelia Dozier Atlanta, GA Every time I have to check my race as “white” or “Caucasian” my stomach turns and I feel diminished. I search all boxes to see if there is a better representative word. I am more than “white” or Caucasian. I am a composite of those whose lives I have shared. Born […]
My three boys will check “other”.
Elaine Oyzon-Mast Avondale Estates, GA Filipino, German, English, Irish, supposedly with a touch of Cherokee and Iroquois. The melting pot serving up three beautiful boys.
I’m amazed at Lillian Smith’s courage.
Bob Thomas Rabun Gap, GA I have been working on a web site for the Lillian E. Smith Foundation located in Rabun County, Georgia. In doing research for the project I’m learning more and more about a remarkable woman who as a Southerner spoke out frankly and with unflinching certainty against segregation. As an author […]
Southern pride and side of guilt.
Jessica Wright Athens, GA I have grown up denouncing my Southern birth and heritage. My parents aren’t Southern and disliked its racist past. As a white girl, who am I?
Strangely jealous of my white friends.
Jonathan Vaughters Atlanta, GA Not jealous in the ‘I wish I was white’ way, jealous of the ease of movement through life that whiteness often seems to provide. Thankful for this outlet.
My skin does not define me.
Marcus Atlanta, GA Born of African American parents, raised by my African American mother and Irish-German (adopted) father. Big brother to a bi-racial sister and my cousins are white, Asian and Latino.
A costume I can’t take off.
Anonymous Athens, GA Centuries ago, on the Horn of Africa, where my parents originated, Arabs crossed the Red Sea then crossbred and/or raped the indigenous Africans. This event has confused generations of “my” peoples’ sense of identity. I pose the question to my mother, “What are we?”, to which she responds, “Look in the mirror. […]
Never been married with no kids
Jani Alveta Augusta, GA As a single black female I feel like an endangered species for putting my career first and sticking to the plan I have for my life. It’s sad when people assume that I am a single mother. Don’t get me wrong…life happens and there is nothing you can do about that. […]
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