Alexis Ford Ann Arbor, MI Understanding Race Project- University of Michigan As an African American, I have several generalizations placed upon me. Some people just assume who I am. I am rarely asked. While a lot of these assumptions hurt, I know the truth. I know only my own actions and words define me. I […]
Jewish American princess I am not.
Anna Goldstein, Ann Arbor, MI. Understanding Race Project=- University of Michigan
Money owed sharecropper parents, Ohlendolf, Farm
Gladys Pressley Ann Arbor, MI
Foot in sink, awkward first meeting
Salimah Mohamed Ann Arbor, MI
My grandparents met in the KKK
Alisa Rose Ann Arbor, MI I didn’t know that until recently. My aunt found my grandfather’s robes in a trunk when he died. My grandmother was a little embarrassed. The times have changed in my home town–the KKK is not active anymore that I know of. But the town is still less than 2% African […]
Blond hair, white skin, he’s jewish
Thomas Larsen Ann Arbor, MI I have said it over and over, that I actually am not Jewish, but every time I say so they give a start of surprise.
Stolen Land. Identity Adrift. We Persevere.
Pilar Parish Koopman Ann Arbor, MI Amazing Project!
What’s it like, in your skin?
Leslie Pincus Ann Arbor, MI
At the hospice, everyone is blue
Debbie Taylor, Ann Arbor, MI. My mother passed away on December 14, 2012 of liver cancer at the age of 80 and she spent her last afternoon and night in Ann Arbor Hospice. The staff was loving, kind and professional. One nurse in particular examined my mother with such tenderness and care that I was […]
“Mexican? Good joke, you’re clearly white.”
Alfredo Holguin Ann Arbor, MI Understanding Race Project- University of Michigan Shorty Summary: I decided to choose these 6 words as my race card because this is something that I have heard A LOT since living in the US for the last 10 years of my life. Every time that I tell people that I […]
Increasing my understanding through travel experiences.
Alexandra Naski Ann Arbor, MI
My natural hair isn’t a statement.
Michelle Mabson, Ann Arbor, MI. Understanding Race Project- University of Michigan I wear my hair the way it grows out of my head…no chemical enhancements. BUT for some reason…a reason I suppose I know all too well, the act of wearing my ‘natural’ hair is seen as larger than life. Maybe it’s the fact that […]
My RACE: Representing American Chinese Eyes.
Eileen Ho Ann Arbor, MI Understanding Race Project- University of Michigan Do we look at race or see with race, or both?
I am Hapa, I am American.
Mark Moldwin, Ann Arbor, MI. Understanding Race Project University of Michigan
Where Are You From? No Answers.
Charley Sullivan, Ann Arbor, MI. Understanding Race Project- University of Michigan It was 1976. I was 12, and just moved back to the DC suburbs from growing up in Southeast Asia and West Africa. The first question to me in 7th grade English class was “Did you see Tarzan?” This is how much my new […]
Don’t glance at coins on sidewalks.
Jill Epstein Ann Arbor, MI Understanding Race Project- University of Michigan At a family gathering years ago, a relative of mine inspired me. He told me that each time he came across a penny on the sidewalk that was heads-down, he would flip it over to bring the next pedestrian good luck. The next week […]
Citizenship is fact – race is fiction.
Ann Evans Larimore, Ann Arbor, MI.
A bridge divided; submerged in mind.
Anonymous, Ann Arbor, MI Understanding Race Project- University of Michigan Race is an abstraction that can only be interpreted emblematically through the eyes of its creators. It fragments the whole. All people are racist, racist we are. With varying depths, some people are racist at the deepest and darkest level, never seeing light, never able […]
Polo, Khakis, Sperry’s, still a N*****!
Chaddirck G Ann Arbor, MI Understanding Race Project- University of Michigan No matter how I dress, what I do, or say I am viewed this way on U of M’s campus, in the state of Michigan and outside of it. No matter what I do to lesson the fear of me being a Black and […]
Refugee. Iraqi AND American. No Hyphen.
Banen Al-Sheemary Ann Arbor, MI Understanding Race Project- University of Michigan
Curly Auburn with Puerto Rican Descent
Lillian, Ann Arbor, MI
The house I did not build
Adam Paberzs, Ann Arbor, MI. Understanding Race Project- University of Michigan Here are some other 6-word essays that you may use under my name (I know that’s probably breaking the rules – just wanted to share if nothing else). Whiteness. Welcome to the real world. Not who I thought I was. Fear. Guilt. Shame. Courage. […]
Ask who not what I am
Martha S. Jones, Ann Arbor, MI. Submitted via Twitter: @marthasjonesUM #TheRaceCardProject @michele_norris
Acceptance, like art, comes in all colors.
Harold Rice, Ann Arbor, MI. On Location: University of Michigan The University of Michigan has the 8th most international students in the country, which causes all of it’s students to be both accepting and interactive with cultures far different from their own. I came to the university from a town that was 99% white, and […]
1964: Mom happy my friend was black
Jan Afonso Ann Arbor, MI
Really? Are both your parents Indian?
Shevon Desai Ann Arbor, MI My parents emigrated from India to the US over 50 years ago. In terms of ethnicity, I think of myself as South Asian – but in terms of race, we are officially Caucasian (my family are Parsis – Indian Zoroastrians whose ancestors originally came from Iran). Race and ethnicity for […]
We joke, but it’s not funny.
Pauline Devlin Ann Arbor, MI Understanding Race Project- University of Michigan This is in reference to my friends and I. I do not believe any of us would consider ourselves racist, so I feel bad when I hear people casually perpetuating stereotypes.
Every race fears those facially disfigured.
Mattie O’Brien Ann Arbor, MI
Army-wide, we were all green.
Christine Cook, Wayne State, Ann Arbour, MI When I was in the Army, diversity was important. So was looking past color differences. At the beginning of basic training, the drill sergeant insisted we were all “green”–meaning the color of our uniform was more important than the color of our skin.
Born white. Married Brown. Love Conquers.
Kerri Wakefield Ann Arbor, MI Understanding Race Project- University of Michigan
Any damn fool knows a catfish
Anonymous Ann Arbor, MI
Assimilate into what we want, please?
Stephanie Betancourt Ann Arbor, MI I will never give in, and lose a part of me. Not even if you ask “nicely”.
I’m never asked about hot sauce.
Christine R. Ann Arbor, MI Before I started dating my “black” boyfriend, I really didn’t think about race very much or the privilege I inherited with my “white” skin. There have been times that people have made rude comments or asked, what I would consider, overtly racist questions upon learning of our interracial relationship. However, […]
We are treated how we look.
Kimberly Dorsey, Detroit, MI. I am bi-racial and have been raised in a white family inside Detroit. I have suffered many racially motivated injustices in my travels and it makes me angry when people pretend race doesn’t matter. It matters when you are the one being discriminated against.
African roots camouflaged by chameleon skin.
Marilene de Ritis Ann Arbor, MI Understanding Race Project- University of Michigan
Indéfinies surprises de la différence: bonheur!
Jean M. Hebrard Ann Arbor, MI Understanding Race Project – University of Michigan
Sir, please take your “hat” off
Jasneet Kaur Palaha, Ann Arbor, MI. University of Michigan. Sikhism, a monotheistic religion from Northern India believes the idea of simplicity, therefore requiring to never cut your hair, along with other requests. Men usually tie their hair neatly in a turban, whereas girls commonly let it down. Wherever we were, my father would be frisked […]
The Word Race Was a Mistake
Eric Brooks, Ann Arbor, MI. It makes simpleminded people go to biological differences when their complaints are with culture.
They were Asian and left 20%!
Caitlyn Rize, Ann Arbor, MI. As a waitress on a college campus, the people I work with constantly stereotype their tables before even walking up to them. Oftentimes the other servers will “give their table away” — meaning they don’t want to serve them — to us other servers who give everyone the chance to […]
No, I’m “really” from New York.
Kate Lee van Loveren, Ann Arbor, MI. I was born in New York, grew up in New York, and live in New York (when I’m not at school). I’m of half Chinese and half Dutch descent, but for some people that registers into me not being American for some reason. Just by looking at me, […]
We can’t defy the Inevitable!!! Truth
Anonymous Ann Arbor, MI
Japanese and American, not Japanese-American.
Aya Mimura Ann Arbor, MI Understanding Race Project- University of Michigan
I didn’t think it effected me.
Jillian Manning Ann Arbor, MI Understanding Race Project – University of Michigan I was wrong.
New experiences: better late than never.
Bryce Beckwith Ann Arbor, MI I attended a catholic, all-girls high school in Sacramento, California. Race and diversity were things I had only experienced through informative assemblies. However; the University of Michigan has made those assemblies a daily experience.
I’m white. You’re not. So what?
Maureen Burns, Ann Arbor, MI. Understanding Race Project- University of Michigan I have three lovely granddaughters. We’re all different. It doesn’t matter. We’re family.
Awakened by 1967 Dreaming about 2067
William Barr Ann Arbor, MI
What music do you listen to?
Emma Williams Ann Arbor, MI
A construction. A box. NOT ME!
Anonymous Ann Arbor, MI
“Hey, are you a doctor yet?”
Kevin Cai Ann Arbor, MI Understanding Race Project- University of Michigan
A foundation of strength never falling
Tushar Shetty, Ann Arbor, MI. On Location: University of Michigan
Being biracial makes me an edgewalker.
Anonymous Ann Arbor, MI The concept of being an “edgewalker” is from Nina Boyd Krebs–it means you can move between cultural traditions and cultural communities with some level of ease, comfort and enjoyment. Being raised in a Black/White family, we talked about and lived race/ethnicity/socio-economics/etc. daily. I know now that this is a blessing as […]
Repent, Forgive, Grace, Heal, Pray, Repeat!
LaKeisha Vereen Ann Arbor, MI
Hundred dresses. All beautiful. All different.
Lesli Weston, Ann Arbor, MI. The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes For more interesting conversation about Eleanor Estes and The Hundred Dresses visit: The Back Seat Book Club
Please don’t tell me that you’re colorblind.
B., Ann Arbor, MI. Understanding Race Project – University of Michigan It’s just another way of saying you’re racist. (What does it say about you, that you have to deliberately ignore an intrinsic part of my identity in order to see me as a human being?)
We are lazy, we shouldn’t be.
Gil, Ann Arbor, MI. Understanding Race Project- University of Michigan I believe that discrimination and racist attitudes derives from human nature to be lazy. Because we humans are so lazy, we do not spend the effort and time to learn about the individual but instead, discriminate people by their skin color. This attitude is wrong, […]
A construction, A box, NOT ME!
Anonymous Ann Arbor, MI
Stuck on white guilt. What’s next?
Sarah Kerson Ann Arbor, MI
Race is neutral….We are challenged
Dr. Larry Rowley Ann Arbor, MI Understanding Race Project- University of Michigan
Friendship, respect… but WE still have power
Anonymous, Ann Arbor, MI
Inclusive, outsider, owner, leverage, advantage, introspective
Adrian Ohmer Ann Arbor, MI University of Michigan Law
Our legacy is students, not law
Martha S. Jones Ann Arbor, MI Submitted via Twitter: @marthasjonesUM
We, variations on a theme, gods
Carolyn Rockafelow Ann Arbor, MI Understanding Race Project- University of Michigan
This one a slaveowner in Barbados
Margaret Condon Taylor Ann Arbor, MI My mother and her sister visited me decades ago when they were researching their ancestry. My mother orally provided me with one sentence summaries of some of these ancestors. Sentences included this one scalped by Indians (in Herkimer County, NY), and this one — an epileptic– crushed to death […]
1 reason I came to America
Anonymous Ann Arbor, MI
I avoid people that are different.
Jill Noeh Ann Arbor, MI Understanding Race Project-The University of Michigan Explanation: I’ve found that throughout my life, I have avoided people who look and act differently than me. I grew up in a white neighborhood that was sheltered from people who were different. At first it wasn’t me purposefully trying to avoid these people, […]
Washtenaw students use The Race Card Project to confront bullying
Powerful words from a high school student—shared during the second annual Youth Diversity Forum with a room full of Washtenaw County high schoolers—helped set the tone for a day-long discussion Friday at Eastern Michigan University.
About 200 students and teachers from every public school district in Washtenaw County attended the forum, held at EMU’s College of Business in downtown Ypsilanti.
High school students participate in a social identity exercise at the second annual Youth Diversity Forum at Eastern Michigan University’s College of Business in Ypsilanti.
Police? I’m white. Scholarship? I’m black.
Hassan Hodges Ann Arbor, MI
Race is everyone’s opinion but yours.
Rianna Johnson-Levy Ann Arbor, MI Your own opinion on race doesn’t matter, how you identify doesn’t matter. Race is all about how others see you and treat you.
I’m white. I love (my) Black daughter.
Steven Hsu Ann Arbor, MI
Nation built on racial discrimination, exclusion
Georgia Ann Arbor, MI Think about it. The building of this country was facilitated by making it ok to destroy or enslave someone who was not white to get what they had or could provide to advance this country. Genocide was committed on a people to get the land. Enslavement was committed to get free […]
So ambiguous, a different race everyday.
Mintii Ann Arbor, MI You ask me my race just to comfort your mind because it’s hard for me to fit in a box. I can say anything to you and it would please your curiosity.
“What are you?” they always ask.
Usha Pasupuleti Ann Arbor, MI
Silencing the many, empowers the few
Maja Tosic Ann Arbor, MI
You mean to say Native American
Swapnil Deopurkar Seattle, WA I moved from India to Ann Arbor, Michigan; age 26, male, long hair, parted down the middle and with a pony tail. My first day at the bus stop, started a conversation with an African American undergrad. The conversation abruptly halted with me saying “I am Indian..” and he interrupting “..you […]
One day it won’t matter anymore.
Jean Hagen Ann Arbor, MI
Brownish, but don’t make me choose.
Marie Lynn Miranda Ann Arbor, MI
Painful regret about an assumption made.
Anonymous Ann Arbor, MI The year was 1997. I was part of a small committee selecting MBAs for highly sought-after internships in China. I wasn’t prepared to be tested on my passionate belief that skin color doesn’t matter. But I am white. And when another white colleague said, “this candidate is African American, he might […]
Young, Black, Gifted… America’s worst nightmare!
Chaddrick Gallaway Ann Arbor, MI
White is a lack of race.
Eric Brooks Ann Arbor, MI
There is only one race: HUMAN.
Sheila Calhoun Ann Arbor, MI I married an anthropologist and truly believe this. Our children have always listed Human on forms when asked.
So many PERSPECTIVES, so little TIME.
Cynthia King Ann Arbor, MI
Altering appearance hoping for acceptance, celebration.
Jenny Rickard Ann Arbor, MI
White people: not the only bigots
Anonymous Ann Arbor, MI
You talk like a white person
Jessica Mitchell Ann Arbor, MI
Afropean-American, I made it up.
Laura Kupe Ann Arbor, MI My parents are originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo, I was born in Germany, raised in Luxembourg and Metro-Detroit. I am a German-speaking black American, and people would never make that assumption about me.
Not better or worse. Just different.
Jessie Micallef Ann Arbor, MI
I am one of ‘those people’
Mary Donaldson Ann Arbor, MI When said out loud, ‘those people’ must be said like something of nasty flavor is on the speaker’s tongue. When I hear people say ‘those people’, I know they are referring to a nameless-faceless group, but have sooo many criticisms they have identified, no less, in vivid detail.
March, sing, study and keep active
Anonymous Ann Arbor, MI
Race is always in my life
Charles Ransom Ann Arbor, MI
Feel guilty checking the Caucasian box
Anonymous Ann Arbor, MI
Global consciousness must heal the separations
Sister Andrea Dillon Ann Arbor, MI
The Gift my parents gave me
Kavitha Iyengar Ann Arbor, MI
I never thought race really mattered.
Holly Clegg Ann Arbor, MI Culture makes us who we are; our roots make us who we are. We are defined by our interactions, identified by our achievements. But we are not who we are because of race.
Stories should be told, not hidden
Anonymous Ann Arbor, MI
Didn’t know I was so prejudice
Christy Moeder Ann Arbor, MI While taking a college course, we were challenged to learn about other ethnicities. As well, we were asked to reflect upon ourselves in our views of other cultures and whether we are diverse or not. During this course, I realized I was not a diverse person at all. I have […]
If it’s race, no one wins.
Colleen Seifert Ann Arbor, MI
Profoundly meaningful and profoundly not meaningful.
Suellyn Scarnecchia Ann Arbor, MI We are torn by the competing beliefs that race matters in important ways and that race does not matter at all.
Confederate flag not about Southern Pride.
Patrick Ann Arbor, MI
The Help. The Helped. Who’s helping?
Christopher Rapisarda Ann Arbor, MI
In the space, I mark human!
Elizabeth James Ann Arbor, MI Being of mixed ancestry and believing in only one race, human, it’s very difficult to be yourself in a country where determining “who” you are is so closely connected to your ethnicity. I am Elizabeth and that should be enough.
Understand privilege. Understand inherent worth. Change.
Deanna Y. Cho Ann Arbor, MI
Race has been a loaded weapon
Tiya Miles Ann Arbor, MI
Owning my Whiteness, Becoming an Ally
Becky Christensen Ann Arbor, MI Despite growing up in a somewhat racially diverse area in the San Francisco Bay Area, I had never thought about the privileges I had based on being White until I read Peggy McIntosh’s “White: Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” in graduate school. Since then, I’ve been actively exploring and acknowledging […]
My heart is blinded by experience
Ava Dupre Ann Arbor, MI Though I am real with everyone I meet regardless of appearance or origin, my experiences from growing up in a multiracial home often misguides my heart. I identify as a Mexican, White and Black Woman. When I see a white man, I see the absent father of my mother and […]
I’m comfortable with my color blindness.
Laura Kosteva Ann Arbor, MI
The human race shouldn’t have losers.
Katie Koziara Ann Arbor, MI
Hispanic box checked on standardized tests
Alejandro L. Zúñiga Sacks Ann Arbor, MI
Afraid to say something wrong = stagnant
Anonymous Ann Arbor, MI
We have to keep talking, learning.
Sarah Sherman Ann Arbor, MI
Play the Race Card for power
Ann Evans Larimore Ann Arbor, MI
Dear Grandma, Brown is Beautiful too.
Aliza Hirani Ann Arbor, MI My grandparents often travel from Pakistan to come visit my family once or twice a year. Growing up, my grandma would bring me tubes of “Fair & Lovely” lotion. It is a lotion that apparently bleaches your skin to make it “whiter”. It felt like brown beauty wasn’t good enough. […]
What colour are your chromosomes? Neurones?
Kate Barald Ann Arbor, MI
Did my grandmother smell like piss?
Anonymous Ann Arbor, MI
No war but the class war
Chiyori Ishiyama Ann Arbor, MI
Remembering a moment. Grateful for growth.
Paula Wishart Ann Arbor, MI
Constructed yet real. Acknowledged yet enduring.
Luciana Aenasoaie Ann Arbor, MI
Why try defining, hiding my life?
AC-S Ann Arbor, MI
Racism-the sin that defies conversion
Rev. Jeffery Harrold Ann Arbor, MI
Part of ourselves we cannot choose.
Jacqueline Hunter Ann Arbor, MI
Minorities are at an invisible disadvantage.
Xige Zhang Ann Arbor, MI
Not oppressed. Want to learn more.
Samantha Degregory Ann Arbor, MI
Manhattan, diversity, subway, anger and uncomfortable.
Lili Thomases Ann Arbor, MI
Years of Jewish Traditions and Hardship
Ari Cicurel Ann Arbor, MI
Sometimes stereotypes hold true, sometimes not.
Karen Niremberg Ann Arbor, MI Summary: Sometimes stereotypes of certain people are true in certain cases. Many times they aren’t. Never judge anyone based on how often you have found a stereotype to be true. Always give the people you meet a blank slate.
Failure to Open the Blind Eye
Trevor Potter Ann Arbor, MI
Acknowledging my privilege in American society.
Danielle Morency Ann Arbor, MI I grew up in an upper-middle class suburban town composed of 93.4 percent white people. You could say that I had limited exposure to people of other races. While being a white person in society did provide me with certain advantages throughout my life, these were not things I was […]
Used to define, meant to describe.
Jennifer Cantrick Ann Arbor, MI While in reality race is one aspect of thousands that makes a person who they are, in America more often than not race is used as a defining characteristic rather than a descriptive one. The disproportionality in the way people see race over every other factor besides gender as a […]
Style, because appearances are judged first
Karen Doh Ann Arbor, MI Human beings judge, no matter what race or ethnicity. But besides race, people also judge appearances in style, posture, and talk. Rather than fighting against the unchangeable judgment of race, working with it can help ease up stereotypes and distinctions. Sadly, people never get to know another because their style […]
Social Contexts, Historical Precedence, Individual Preference
Sean Edgerton Ann Arbor, MI
I’m not the race you see.
Stefany Barba Ann Arbor, MI
Anti-individualism creates structures for systematic descrimination.
Noah Collins Ann Arbor, MI
I can do anything I want.
Nicholas Lepore Ann Arbor, MI Dear Race Card Project, My six words are, “I can do anything I want.” Essentially, as a white, middle-class male, society has provided me with certain privileges and advantages that are unavailable to those of different races.
Racism does not exist without you.
Stacey Van Buskirk Ann Arbor, MI If you choose to treat everyone equal, racism would not exist in your world. The only person you can control is yourself. You can control how you react and how you act in terms of racism. Treat everyone equal and ignore people who treat you less than that. One […]
Idea that simultaneously unifies and divides
DongHyuk (Kevin) Jang Ann Arbor, MI
Colorblind? How can you believe that?
Alec Malstrom Ann Arbor, MI I chose these words based on an interaction I had with a close friend who believed social justice work isn’t necessary anymore because racism doesn’t exist in our society. I was so taken aback that I didn’t even know how to respond to him. As I come to think about […]
Daily reminder we aren’t the same.
Carlos Dume Ann Arbor, MI I chose these six words because even though there is not much difference concerning race biologically, there is socially. Growing up I learned that the color of our skin and our cultural background impact the type of treatment we get. Race serves as a constant reminder that no matter how […]
That all MEN are created equal
Michaela Giovannoli Ann Arbor, MI
Preconceived judgments before one really knows
Jamie Burke Ann Arbor, MI
Some are more equal than others.
Jinwoo Lee Ann Arbor, MI
Majority: Fiscally Advantaged. Minority: Spiritually Endowed.
Erik Van Oosten Ann Arbor, MI
I am not like the rest
Rabia Syed Ann Arbor, MI These six words represent how I feel about myself when people make assumptions as to the kind of person that I am. Being brown and Muslim makes me easy to lump with a large number of people, whom I do not necessarily see myself being similar to. When people see […]
We are more similar than different.
Brigid Greska Ann Arbor, MI An interesting point has been brought up in multiple classes I have taken this year: between “races” there are more similarities than within each “race”. This further proves that race does not actually exist and that it should no longer be a factor. It is perplexing to me how it […]
We share more than you think
Hannah Hoelscher Ann Arbor, MI
The biggest misconception in the world
Samuel Morley Ann Arbor, MI
Noticing what has always gone unnoticed.
Zachary Rogers Ann Arbor, MI
Not the same, also not different
Bryan Ren Ann Arbor, MI Being an Asian American in the United States has created a dilemma. I find it hard to relate to being strictly American, but I also discover difficulties while trying to hold on to my Chinese roots. As a result of my race in this country, I feel a disconnection between […]
Race is the color you choose.
Kristen Musson Ann Arbor, MI
I’m not racist, or am I?
Andrew Sherman Ann Arbor, MI
Meant to describe, used to define.
Katie Devor Ann Arbor, MI
Alison, Ben, Karan, Danathen, and Tevon
Holly West Ann Arbor, MI My five best friends have taught me a lot about race.
Hi, so what ethnicity are you?
Audrey Niemchick Ann Arbor, MI I actually laughed when the girl that I was about to play a tennis match against asked me that during our warm up. Casual conversation. The first thing she said to me. And let’s not forget the other 306 people who have asked me and tried to guess. “You look […]
Am black and beautiful.
Jacqueline Hunter Ann Arbor, MI
Race is fear of the unknown
Marissa Allegra ’16 Ann Arbor, MI The human race is known throughout history to have segregated, alienated, and judged others on the basis of being different. Whether this deals with religion, country of origin, cultural choices, or most significantly, one’s race, we rely on pre-conceived notions of a person based on the superficial. We wish […]
Black kid in my math class?
KyungJun Kim Ann Arbor, MI Understanding Race Project- University of Michigan
Race does not define me.
Emily Rosenthal Ann Arbor, MI
Hispanic — confused but learning and teaching
Alejandro L. Zúñiga Sacks Ann Arbor, MI
Injustice exists today; I don’t wait.
Savannah Ann Arbor, MI As a white person, I can’t wait until tomorrow to become a better ally or to fight against racism or oppression. Injustice exists now, so I must act now. To wait, to see activism or allyhood as a secondary priority, is to forget that the lack of urgency is a result […]
All People Are Created As Equal
Adam Rosen Ann Arbor, MI We can see in color, not black and white, but this doesn’t mean we should judge or be judged based on the color we see. I am a citizen of the world just like everyone else is. I believe that our citizenship of the world makes us equal and no […]
Social construction with consequences and effects
Lanette García Ann Arbor, MI
I am MORE than just WHITE.
Michael Petzak Ann Arbor, MI My whole life, the only bubble I can fill out is white. I am white in color but I am more than just a Caucasian. I am a Polish and Dutch American with great pride in my ancestry. I wish I was given the opportunity to identify with a group […]
Detroit 1967 riot division,decline… reconciliation?
Zachary Terzich Ann Arbor, MI After July, 1967’s race riots, my grandfather and thousands of other white families abandoned the once “Paris of the Midwest”, Detroit, MI for the safer suburbs. To this day the suburbs are stable and mostly white, while the city itself is in decay and almost entirely black. Good people on […]
Not Mutt, 100%, who I am
Dr. Mark Kamimura-Jimenez Ann Arbor, MI
Michigan Athletics, first african american secretary hired
Regina Sims Ann Arbor, MI
Complexity, History, Beautiful faith, Unapologetically Black
Kelicia Hollis Ann Arbor, MI Being internally defined means I’m not worried by external scrutiny.
People: race is a social construction
Kelly Kirby Ann Arbor, MI
Puerto Rican but everyone think mexican
Dr. Gisselle Velez-Ruiz Ann Arbor, MI Stereotypes & generations
Not enough boxes to check off
Sara Oliai Ann Arbor, MI Understanding Race Project- University of Michigan
More complicated than the movie crash
Anonymous Ann Arbor, MI Understanding Race Project- University of Michigan Crash http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0375679/
Race articulates differences and causes misunderstandings
Anonymous Ann Arbor, MI Understanding Race Project- University of Michigan
Race articulates difference and causes misunderstandings
Elkena Steele Ann Arbor, MI Understanding Race Project- University of Michigan
Why ruin lives of young felons?
David Trossman Ann Arbor, MI Understanding Race Project- University of Michigan
Complex, invisible, vivid 800 pound gorilla
Tystewrt Ann Arbor, MI Understanding Race Project- University of Michigan
Can’t separate ourselves from our privilege.
Blake Mackie Ann Arbor, MI Understanding Race Project- University of Michigan
Race. We aren’t in Kansas anymore.
Joe Ann Arbor, MI Understanding Race Project- University of Michigan I feel like this phrase accurately describes my feelings towards race as well as that of the nation as a whole. My hometown is the opposite of diverse, and coming to Ann Arbor has truly opened my eyes to a world of diversity that I […]
Sterling Whites is my town’s nickname.
Jacob Barshaw Ann Arbor, MI Understanding Race Project- University of Michigan For my entire life I have lived in in a town called Sterling Heights. When I was in elementary school, close to 800 children went to my school. Only one was black. Until last year, not one black person owned a house in my […]
Be white, but not too white
Carissa Stouwie Ann Arbor, MI Understanding Race Project- University of Michigan My butt is very sun burnt, and not willingly. I am a ginger. I have white skin, some could even say translucent. I tan so that I can blend in, so that people don’t ask if I am albino, or if the carpet matches […]
Emphasize color and become more blind.
Maddy Boylen Ann Arbor, MI Understanding Race Project- University of Michigan Society keeps trying to move forward as a whole unit of colorblind people, however, continually talking about stereotyping and problems between races does not help. It only brings to light these problems and makes the seem more “normal.” We need to find solutions instead […]
In a bubble, then it popped.
Emily Laske Ann Arbor, MI Understanding Race Project- University of Michigan I lived in a small city that was 94% white, with minimal exposure to the concepts of race and racism. Coming to the University of Michigan was an extreme sort of diversity culture shock for me, and through my courses I have gained knowledge […]
Where in this world is Trindia?
Anisha Nandi Ann Arbor, MI Understanding Race Project- University of Michigan “I’m half Trinidadian, half Indian; I was born in England but I grew up in New York.” They can wrap their heads around England and New York. They register half-Indian due to the caramel skin tone and dark hair. Yet, I can almost always […]
Racism: It’s worse than I thought.
Lisa Schlosberg Ann Arbor, MI Understanding Race Project- University of Michigan The facilitators of a race and ethnicity activity asked us to walk from one side of the hall to the other if we had ever been followed around in a store while shopping. The lone black girl of our group took a step forward, […]
Race is forever, prejudice is not
Sam Laurila Ann Arbor, MI Understanding Race Project- University of Michigan I think there will always be names attributed to groups of similar looking people because humans naturally classify things. I don’t foresee us ever having a society where no one is distinguishable from another. However, prejudices based on race shouldn’t and don’t have to […]
Can I Ever Truly Understand It?
Erik B Ann Arbor, MI Understanding Race Project- University of Michigan
Talking About Racism Creates More Racism
Samuel Lynn Ann Arbor, MI Understanding Race Project- University of Michigan
Oh, well you are Asian so…
Katie Yamano Ann Arbor, MI Understanding Race Project-University of Michigan
The consequences of liking black guys.
Julie Naski Ann Arbor, MI Understanding Race Project- University of Michigan As a white female, I have found that it is easier to keep my mouth shut when it comes to my attraction to black guys. When I reveal this to people, I am most commonly met with a surprised reaction, and then asked with […]
I am not like the rest
Rabia Syed Ann Arbor, MI Understanding Race Project- University of Michigan These six words represent how I feel about myself when people make assumptions as to the kind of person that I am. Being brown and Muslim makes me easy to lump with a large number of people, whom I do not necessarily see myself […]
Because I’m White, Race Doesn’t Matter
Keegan Beljanski Ann Arbor, MI Understanding Race Project- University of Michigan
Legal Equality but not Socially Even
Joseph Werner Ann Arbor, MI Understanding Race Project- University of Michigan
To truly equalize, we must forget.
Allison George Ann Arbor, MI Understanding Race Project- University of Michigan
Keep an eye on that group
Maura Seleski Ann Arbor, MI Understanding Race Project- University of Michigan Summary: These six words were commanded of me during my employment at a clothing store at my local mall almost daily. As I was folding clothes or working the cash register my manager would routinely call me over and whisper into my ear, “keep […]
Why must I only be white?
Nicholas Frontera Ann Arbor, MI Understanding Race Project- University of Michigan
Racism ends where race is unnoticed
Raoul Martin Ann Arbor, MI Understanding Race Project- University of Michigan “Racism ends where race is unnoticed” because people from the same race tend to form isolated groups and it is the fractionation of human that causes fear and hate. As a student in a university ethnically diverse, I often observe people from the same […]
Racist?! I’ve got black friends.
Adam Hart Ann Arbor, MI Understanding Race Project- University of Michigan
You’re here because of Affirmative Action.
Jonathan Glymph Ann Arbor, MI Understanding Race Project- University of M
Why Do I feel So Guilty?
Jessica Kornstein Ann Arbor, MI Understanding Race Project- University of Michigan After talking about diversity and race in our class, I have felt nothing but guilt when hearing about the inequalities and unfortunate circumstances of people of color or different races. I have become well aware that being white means being privileged. I feel guilty […]
Predominantly White Community; Michigan Changed Perspective
Steven Tobias Ann Arbor, MI Understanding Race Project- University of Michigan I grew up in small, predominantly white community in Richland, MI. We did not have any diversity in our community and the first time I experienced this feeling of new culture and perspective was at the University of Michigan. Diversity flourishes here.
Racial Stereotypes: Imposed and Sometimes Lived
Gregory Kabacinski Ann Arbor, MI Understanding Race Project- University of Michigan
Would I be just as bad?
Daniel Wagner Ann Arbor, MI Understanding Race Project -University of Michigan
Race is fear of the unknown
Marissa Allegra ’16 Ann Arbor, MI Understanding Race Project- University of Michigan The human race is known throughout history to have segregated, alienated, and judged others on the basis of being different. Whether this deals with religion, country of origin, cultural choices, or most significantly, one’s race, we rely on pre-conceived notions of a person […]
Mask of the beauty of diversity
Chirapon Wangwongwiroj Ann Arbor, MI Understanding Race Project- University of Michigan
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