Anonymous, Austin, TX. With the onslaught of social media, people feel that that they can judge and pressure any and everyone into being afraid to say anything that might be considered different or something that someone may disagree with. Like the old saying, “Sticks and stones can break my bones but words will never hurt […]
Anonymous, Madison, WI. To Fred down the street I’m half-Asian; to Nick the bus driver I’m from southern France; Veronica thinks I’m obviously Native; McKayla says I’m White; to Esme I look like one of those pochos who thinks he’s too good to be associated with “them.” Sometimes it’s okay for me to talk about […]
Anonymous, USA. “White boy”, , , . What I don’t understand is why there has always had to be a race at the bottom. No one seems to be able to get the freaking idea of racial equality through the six inches between their ears. First it was Africans. Then Jews, Asians, Latinos, Middle Eastern […]
Anonymous, St. Paul, MN. “O’Hare had a little notebook with him, and printed in the back of it were postal rates and airline distances and the altitudes of famous mountains and other key facts about the world. He was looking up the population of Dresden, which wasn’t in the notebook, when he came across this […]
Anonymous, USA. A fellow customer I saw shopping for the 30 minutes I was in the store walked to the front as we were leaving. He noticeably pointed his key fob towards the parking lot to ensure his door was locked.
Anonymous, USA. White people of TODAY are not your enemy. As a white person, I have nothing to do with what happened 60-100 years ago. I see you as just another person. My main concerns are about managing my own problems, and surviving on a very low income. I am poor. I just want to […]
Anonymous, Saline, MI.
Anonymous Bandon, OR
Anonymous, USA.
Anonymous, USA. I find funny it when people say, “I’m full American” or something along those lines because all Americans are immigrants, or of the family of immigrants. Therefore, no one is “full American.” The United States is a young country, and most people can use common technology to trace back where their family immigrated […]
Anonymous, USA I’ve heard so many arguments now saying that all white people are racist for existing in a world that favors white people. Let’s get this straightened out. There are two types of racism. Institutional, and individual. No this is not “whitesplaining” it is just the terms from my sociology class. Institutional racism refers […]
Anonymous, USA
Anonymous Morris, MN
Anonymous, USA. Ever since a young age, I have been super passionate about hip-hop and rap music, but have received constant criticism, weird looks and other disapproving messages from some people who claim “there is no way you can like rap”. Although it’s a minute issue compared to other stories, it still makes me feel […]
Anonymous, Kirkland, WA. In 1963 – yes, 1963! – The Dick Van Dyke show aired an episode where Rob mistakenly thought his new baby had been switched at the hospital. When the other parents arrived to (what Rob thought) make the exchange, Rob was shocked to see that they were black and there was no […]
Anonymous, St. Louis, MO. I truly believe that for me, the down sides of being black would be worth a full sense of acceptance into the beautiful culture of hip-hop and rap that I identify with at the soul level. I’m hated for that and I understand why.
Anonymous, Seattle, WA. My five-month-old Ameri-Kenyan daughter and I were part of a group of 300 Americans with the National Parks Service who commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights March. For five days, we marched from Selma to Montgomery. She rode just over my heart, clapping and singing as we went.
Anonymous, Coconut Creek, FL. Never heard of the term “othering”, until the PBS special. If nothing else, it’s a great example of creating language where we can speak to each other, however small.
Anonymous, Lincoln, NE. I teach Native Studies (among other things) at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and I volunteer with the Native groups in the state prison system. Walking across the quad I see mostly white faces– walking across the yard not so much. Makes me sad. And mad. Also wanted to comment on your “South […]
Anonymous, Spokane, WA. Playing on the radio when my 16-year-old friend in high school came back to school after her brother was murdered someone playing Russian Roulette while drunk in her home. Native American Family.
BL, Iowa City, IA.
Anonymous, Houston, TX. It’s hard being a young “smart” black man, especially in the military. If to good at my job it’s because “we helped you out more because we don’t want you to think we where racists” then if I’m not good at my job its. “Well you know black people are lazy…” Plus […]
Anonymous, USA.
Anonymous Morris, MN
Anonymous, San Francisco, CA. I am so grateful for increased awareness about racism in our society (it certainly still exists and we should continue to focus on efforts to achieve equality) but I am also concerned about suggestions of racism (with ensuring public outrage) in cases that do not seem to involve racism at all. […]
Anonymous, Denver, CO. Denver Public Library Hampden Branch Library Race Card project
Anonymous, Namibia. White black and everything in between. We’re all African in spite of some Africans claiming to be more African than others.
Anonymous, Washington, DC.
Anonymous, Omaha, NE. My mother is black and father who I never knew was latino. When I was 3 my mother met and married a white man fresh off the boat from Europe. Together they had a daughter,my baby sister. I only ever knew this man as any sort of father figure and because I […]
Anonymous, Perris, CA. I have green eyes, blonde hair, and light skin so I must be white, but wait.. I speak Spanish. I am Mexican American.
Anonymous, United Kingdom.
Anonymous, Norfolk, VA It’ll all be different.
Anonymous, Northampton, MA. He’s a white European, and has never considered black women to be attractive, apparently until he met me and we got to know each other. Since he is curious about interracial relationships, he’s often on youtube watching videos on black and white couples/babies/marriages. Yesterday, he proudly told me that he watched an […]
Anonymous, Miami, FL. Though I was born and Raised in a suburb a few miles south of Miami, Florida. My mom and dad are from Ethiopia and Sudan respectively. As a child, I’d say about 99% of the community were “white”. During middle and high school it shifted to about 49% “white”, 49% Hispanic and […]
Anonymous, USA.
Anonymous, USA. I speak no Hindi. Live in a big suburban house. Dress and eat like a yuppie white person. What makes me Indian?
Anonymous, Perris, CA. African Americans get much of the publicity nowadays while Mexican Americans face the same stereotypes and discrimination issues without retaliation. CBU HIS311
Anonymous, PA.
Anonymous, MN. Can’t draw to save my life. Picture up for interpretation.
Anonymous, Detroit, MI.
Anonymous, Detroit, MI.
Anonymous, Columbus, OH. I am mixed race and have always felt in the middle in terms of race. “Legally” I am Black and more often than not experience the same benefits and determents as the Black side of my family. I have also had the misfortune of being mistreated by both races for being “light […]
Anonymous, Saint Paul, MN. I grew up northern CA in a very middle class well to do with family that was racially homogeneous with a strong catholic upbringing. Some years after my dad passed away, my mom remarried to an Asian American man who had three children of his own- our families merged – my […]
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. […]
Anonymous West Hempstead, NY
Anonymous, USA. Someone, maybe many people, in my family took on the persona of mixed race Black/Native Americans so they could be, what? Less Black? I don’t know if it was my father’s generation, or his father’s, or even farther back. I grew up thinking I was Indian and consequently less connected to my Black […]
Anonymous Hong Kong, China I’ve always thought white guilt was condescending and offensive towards people of extra-European origins. Do we really need to see more movies like Avatar and The Help and campaigns like Kony 2012? I’d like for formerly colonized peoples to have more autonomy and be able to speak for themselves.
Anonymous Plattsburgh, NY I grew up in a rural upstate NY town–hating everything that seemed bigoted or prejudiced. I loathed a lot of the people I knew in adolescence who held tight to old racist values. I went into college with an open mind and an open heart. I don’t know what happened next. Our […]
Anonymous, Milwaukee, WI. After writing/blogging about race for over 15 years at Blackfriendonline.com there is only 1 thing I’ve learned. We all want and fear the same things, hurt to us and those we love and also failure.
Anonymous, Des Moiones, IA. Drake University This is what my mom was told in 1954 when social services came into her home and removed her and all of her siblings from her mom. At that time they were truly poor and were having a hard time finding enough food to eat. Her mother had a […]
Anonymous, Chesapeake, VA.
Anonymous, USA.
Anonymous, Virginia Beach, VA.
Lily Waxler, NA No thanks, I’d rather not say., . I was going on my 8th grade trip for Costa Rica last year and I was with one of my best friends; (I’m going to keep their name anonymous). Wore a hijab for their religion, because of this she got stopped for three “random” security […]
Anonymous, Mechanicsburg, VA. It is hard not to be myself to please someone else who does not really care about me at all. I hate having to be someone different when I am in public so I do not scare anyone else. It would be different if I was ignorant and loud in public, but […]
Anonymous, San Antonio, TX. Look, I’ll keep it real simple. My family is from Texas. Now we’ve had a French Texas, a Spanish Texas, a Mexican Texas, a Republic of Texas, a Confederate Texas, and finally Texas, USA. Am I Mexican? Hell no. I’m from Texas, and this is the United States of America. My […]
Anonymous, Warren, MI. Why do white people hate and fear black people to such a point that white people set a global system of a racism against black people in every way? Are white afraid of losing to black in some way or is it something deeper and hidden?
Anonymous, CA.
Anonymous, Trinity University, San Antonio, TX.
Anonymous, Concord, VA. Not my words, but Rodney King’s. Did we not get that message?
Anonymous, Seattle, WA.
Anonymous, Jackson, MS. Dissatisfied with black racism. But we never want to talk about it, and when blacks are tyrannically racist against white people, we just act like it’s no big deal. Black people today were not slaves, and no one I repeat NO ONE is stopping them from succeeding except themselves…but they want to […]
Anonymous, Philadelphia, PA . For a long time, I have known that the concept of “race” is a false way to identify or classify human beings. Race is not a biological reality. In the 19th century, in Europe, the concept of ranking people by color was used to justify conquest and slavery. The attachment of […]
Anonymous, Baltimore, MD. When people discuss race, they seem to refer to only people of color. I always check Caucasian on forms. At the doctors yesterday, there was a new option, Eastern European. It felt like a better fit for me. Just because my skin lacks pigment, doesn’t mean that I am the same as […]
Anonymous, Memphis, TN. I feel like I have a wonderful heritage full of rich culture. Italian and Native American mostly, but when people look at me, that all goes away and I’m just white. Especially where I currently live, when my husband, who has his roll number, marks Native American, human resources directors say, “Same […]
Anonymous, TX. Said a well travelled Black American female veteran to her biracial, trilingual, and dual citizen son. Behind her, in full agreement, stood her Eastern European Jewish husband. As madly in love as was at first sight, their relationship was taboo, condemned by family and friends alike. Now years later they faced their resultant […]
Anonymous USA I’m Indian and Pakistani and often feel left out of the “race discussions” which only involve two races
Trinity University, San Antonio, TX. Often black women are told that we shouldn’t pull any more attention to our lips because they are sooooooo big! We have to stop feeding into the Eurocentric ideas of what is beautiful!
Anonymous, Summerdale, AL. To fully understand the reasons why race is such a hot button topic in my opinion,is that one must look at the historical basis that set the foundation for the racial discord in this country and beyond its shores.We will never be able to get beyond race until we are truly able […]
Anonymous, Portland, OR. Honestly, the change had to come from within. I grew up in a very white area and my parents were raised in a way that was unacceptable and I had to change myself and their views. So I say, it comes from within because if you truly believe things should change, it’s […]
Anonymous, Spokane, WA.
Anonymous Flagstaff, AZ
Anonymous, Riverside, CA. People usually judge me within seconds based on the color of my skin. Not only does it hurt, most of the assumptions are wrong. I am proud of my skin color just like everyone should be, but I wish people would not go around making assumptions based on a color. CBUHIS311
Anonymous, USA.
Anonymous Ann Arbor, MI
Anonymous, UT. I’m not white, I’m not black. I’m a mixed Latina. I honestly despise brown/black people, I can’t stand their ugly skin, noses and hair. It goes from blacks to Polynesians. I don’t like their culture, I don’t like their looks and how they act. I’m racist, and I’m not white. I came from […]
Anonymous, Sacramento, CA. I remember the time when we just moved here in the United States, we were called “beggars” by an old lady because of the way we dress. Coming from a country where lifestyle was just simple and plain affected our adjustment, and made it hard for us to adopt, especially the place […]
Anonymous, West Long Branch, NJ. Monmouth University
Gloria Bozor, West Orange, NJ. Monmouth University I attended a dominate white college for my undergrad degree. For four years professors, staff, as well as peers assume I was an anger, bitter, African American because I didn’t have too many friends, I didn’t speak much in class, and I stayed to myself. My grades were […]
Anonymous, Eden Praire, MN. Prejudice robbed me of my child. 15 years ago my only living child was stolen from me by her white daddy and took overseas when she was 6 because I didn’t live up to his standards of what he thought was a good mother. To keep her away from me he […]
Anonymous, West Long Branch, NJ. Monmouth University
Anonymous, West Long Branch, NJ.
Anonymous, Monmouth Universtiy
Anonymous, Monmouth University
Anonymous, Monmouth University
Anonymous, Long Branch, NJ. Monmouth University
Anonymous, Monmouth University
Anonymous, Monmouth University
Anonymous, Monmouth University
Anonymous, Monmouth University
Anonymous, Omaha, NE. Self-hatred most often begins in childhood.
Anonymous
Anonymous, Purcellville, VA. Living in a world where quotas of minorities must be accepted into major institutions, being a white male becomes a disadvantage. If I am paired against a minority of same academic and extracurricular achievements as me, I will most likely be brushed aside. I believe the only true way to make things […]
Anonymous USA
Anonymous
Donor Conceived USA My dad will always be my dad, but at the age of 30, my parents decided it was time to tell me that my dad was not my biological father. Everyone in my immediate and extended family already knew this except for me. They were afraid of how I would respond. All […]
Anonymous, USA. The world we have created now makes it a challenge to say the word black.
Anonymous, Annapolis, MD. Shouldn’t blacks learn something about white attitudes. I’m often surprised by what we hear about whites.
Hades, Colorado Springs, CO. I came up with this instantly without even thinking. I think it fits the Race Card project because I believe some people truly don’t want to be known by their race or gender. Some just want to be who they really are without labels.
Anonymous, Knoxville, TN. I’m from the Mountain South, where white privilege and racism take on a range of meanings outside the mainstream. I’ve heard our regional identity described as a kind of “otherized whiteness,” and I think that’s about right. Whatever else we were, we always knew our whiteness was the wrong kind. That’s what […]
