Smart black kid plays tennis alone.
Raheem Cash, Alexandria, VA. As a kid I spent a lot of time being one of two or three black kids in honors classes. Spent...
Nobody knows I’m NOT the enemy!
Marlene Krantz, Miami, FL. I’m lily white with blonde hair. I have black children and black grandchildren. In 1980 I married an African American man...
My role model was not black.
Jamal Wills, MD. People often say that black kids need black role models. I sort of cheated. The wild hair, thoughtful eyes, the chin and...
Black kids asked if I was a Jew
What are you?, AL. Olive skinned with dark hair. People would ask if my dad was the milk man. Black kids would ask if I...
Your experience does not invalidate mine
Elya, Chevy Chase, MD. I grew up very privileged, and when I realized that I was being bullied by my white peers because of race,...
I am not wrong, I’m different.
Back when I was a kid, I used to wonder why or how people are different, why do we all have different races? When I...
Being “black” isn’t my only story
Maya D., College Park, MD. Living the paradox of being too black for the white kids and too white for the black kids.
intimidated by black men’s physical superiority
FessunUp Cracka, San Francisco, CA. My father never said n*****, but the multitude of subtleties…assumptions…these are mine to deal with. When I was a teenager,...
Only Black Kids In The Neighborhood
Jeremy Murray, Tuscaloosa, AL. Growing up my family moved around the country a lot. My brother and I had to attended many different schools but...
Forced busing. Kid misses neighborhood. Anger.
Thomas M. Lenz. Weston, MA. I was the white kid in Providence. I stayed in my 4th grade class where I was happy. The Black...
Any black kids in your class?
Pamela Tish, Dupo, IL. When I began my first teaching job in Cahokia, IL, “Any black kids in your class?” was always one of the...
