Juan Oquendo, Lakeland, FL.
When will I stop liking chicken?
Nicholas Durham Clarkson, MI I just want to know when America will realize that not only black people like chicken.
You sound like a black person
Leslie Morris Roanoke, VA I am in management at one of the top insurance companies in the United States and this was the ignorant comment I heard when an individual on my team transferred a man to me to resolve his issue. He said “You sound like a black person.” I asked if that was […]
“Does he know,” Nana asks, worriedly?
Liz Pryor, Northampton, MA. Smith College. My mother was white. So was her whole family. After my husband, who is white, proposed, my grandmother cornered my cousin and asked “Does he know about Elizabeth?” My cousin asked back, “Does he know what?” and my grandmother answered, “That she’s Black.”
Gay is Not the New Black
Bethany O’Neal , Submitted via Twitter: @bethanyoneal.
I’m Pavla Pletkova. And I’m black.
Pavla Pletkova, VA. Looking at my picture you could never tell. Listening to me speak you could never tell. What I’ve been told is I look like a “regular light skinned black girl”. But little do they know I’m far from regular. As far as I know, I have never met another Czech-Ghanaian person, well, […]
Black, Caribbean-American, human, American, Southern
Britt Stone, Philadelphia, PA. No one ever asked “what” I am. They just assume. They approach me with all sorts of ideas about what food I like, what music I listen to, the books I read, and my favorite movies and tv. They have an opinion of what I should sound like when I speak, […]
Cut off–that is black America.
Ian Peterkin, Bridgeport, CT. When you think about it, what do you know of the achievements of black Americans other than what you get in February? Virtually everything I’ve learned about black art, literature, culture, and religion, I learned on my own. Cut off from one’s cultural identity, point of origin, and the stories that […]
Seen as black only by Americans!
Joel Anthony Murray, Sr. Westminster, MD. Iranians in DC thought I was Iranian. A Tunisian on a train with me to NY thought I was Tunisian. A Pakistani in Baltimore thought I was Pakistani. A Vietnamese coworker thought I was Middle-Eastern. A Nepalese coworker thought I was Indian or Pakistani. I work with people from […]
Little white kids have it hardest
K Russell, Chattanooga, TN. As a little white kid growing up, I was constantly harassed by black boys for no other reason than I was white- and small enough not to be a threat (I only weighed 89 lbs by eighth grade.) Luckily I had a great friend that was also black that saved me […]
This Is Why Blacks Aren’t Respected
Julian D., Las Cruces, NM. Thug and Welfare culture is NOT what your ancestors and forefathers fought and died for! The Rev. M.L. King, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, etc. are all turning over in their graves over how much Black America has degenerated. Time to get it together, men and women. Don’t let their efforts […]
Not black, brown, neither white, beige
Ida Nielsen, Danmark I think it’s wrong to use the words BLACK and WHITE. I mean: I got a lighter skin tone, than the people you would call black, but that doesn’t mean that I’m white. No, I’m not white, and they are NOT black. If I was white, then you shouldn’t be able to […]
I am not black, I’m indigenous!
Imani, Philadelphia, PA.
Black is a race or stereotype?
Collin Shaw, Philadelphia, PA.
I am black and I’m proud
Jeremiah Conley, Philadelphia, PA.
Black is the most beautiful skin
Jean-Luc LaCosse, Corvallis, OR.
I’m Black, Will they hire me?
Donita, Los Angeles, CA.
“Lashawnda”… she must be BLACK & GHETTO.
Lashawnda Sanders, Opelika, AL.
I am Tyrell…not half black
Tyrell Joe Grisel, Fort Collins, CO.
Mugged…Most assume black mugger…wrong
Lynne Moffitt, Virginia Beach, VA. When I was living in Louisville, I came home from work and was mugged when I got out of my car. I had looked around before I got out and this nice young man was walking down the sidewalk. He looked like a typical University of Louisville student which was […]
Wanted to be a black teenager
Elizabeth Hess, New Haven, CT. That photo is the end paper of my yearbook, Weaver High School, Hartford, Connecticut, 1975. I was one of about 15 white kids in a huge city school. I loved the laughter in the hallways, the treasured friendships, the “take me as I am-ness” of the classmates I most wanted […]
Oh she’s black? Must be ghetto.
Crystal Parks, NC.
All pink, chocolates where these whites?
Okeny Benny, Italy. Black is clear to me, but white? Where are they?
I’m Fat, You’re Black, So What!
Kylie Schell, Carthage, NY. We all are the same inside, fat, skinny, black, brown, white or purple. Lets start seeing people for their inside, not their outside. Ugly is ugly, regardless of facade!
Black business is GREAT business too!
Anika Dixon, Little Rock, AR. The color of my skin should not determine the type of house I can sell you or the type of properties I can manage for you! You allow me to manage your ‘hood properties’ but you allow your own to manage your ‘no problem’ properties. REALLY??
Sitting with Marva on the bus
Lu Ann Joplin The Villages, FL I was in junior high, she was in high school. I’m white, she’s black. She asked if she could sit with me. I said sure. It didn’t occur to me it could be a problem. I really got the treatment everyday when she got off the bus. The bus […]
Canadian African German Black and White
Scott Kraenzlein, The New York City, NY. Born to a (white) Canadian mother and a (black) African father in Canada I was adopted at birth by a white couple who divorced when I was 2. My mother married my stepfather, a German national, when I was 7 and we moved to Germany. I spent my […]
I’m biracial & multi-ethnic: I’m Human.
Nichole Pettit, Lake Como, NJ. Monmouth University I’m biracial. I’m not just African American, I’m also American, German, English and Irish! Many say “You’re black,” sure but I’m not just that. Do not reduce my race and ethnic background to a single word. I do not belong to a single group, I belong to many. […]
You like fishing? But you’re black
Justin Shazier, Aldie, VA. Just because you are a certain race doesn’t mean you cant like certain things.
Yes really, my daughter is black.
Sheila Cullen, Boulder, CO.
Brown skin doesn’t mean I’m black
Rosemary Feliz, Hackensack, NJ. Monmouth University
Racism’s destroying my belief in God
Edgar Montgomery, Brick, NJ. Monmouth University To know the story of my six words, one just needs to turn on any news channel, daily. Or, check the bureau of labor statistics since its inception. Or, check statistics on levels of incarceration for African Americans. Or, view all forms of media open to human consumption. Or, […]
Este hombre es un negro blanco!
Isaias Ortiz Davenport, FL Este hombre es un negro blanco! This man is a white black. The first time I heard that phrase was circa 1980, a family member said while referring to one of his friends, while they were singing and playing their guitars together. I was 20 years old by then, growing up […]
Educated man people see only black
Jason Adams Wichita, KS I have fought to educated myself so I could raise my family into the middle class but at every job I applied for I did not get the job. My name helps me get into the door but as soon as I walk in the door their eyes get big and […]
Teach in Japan, but you’re black
Dee Moore, Shreveport, LA. Hajimemashite! That is the stigma I am always facing in my community. I am a 25 year old African American educator who has plans to teach overseas in Japan. I am also studying Japanese so that I can develop some kind of fluency. Since I was young, I was always interested […]
I Am Black I Am Worthy
Anonymous, Omaha, NE. Self-hatred most often begins in childhood.
Four months in black hospital
Bob, NJ
I Am Not White Or Black
Matthew, TX. Black, White, Asian, or Pink with Purple polka dots – your skin color is not who you are. Do not obsess over the shade God painted you when you were born. Do not let history define you. Do not allow others to control your actions. Love, respect, kindness. Not hate and vengeance for […]
Black~Soulful~Queen~Loving~My~Skin
Ebonee Small, Ontario, CA. I am a young black woman proud of the skin I’m in. I love my race of people when those who don’t. I’m always proud because it seems as if every obstacle placed before my race we always concur leaving others dumbfounded. Others outside my race seem to always try and […]
My black daughter needs extra protection.
Brenda Bielke, Submitted via Twitter: @brendabie. @michele_norris, #theracecardproject
To know Black, ride a bicycle.
Peter S. Fair Oaks, CA It is extremely difficult for those in the Majority to understand the grinding reality of our structural Racism. Few people have the imagination to place themselves in the lives of others, and even fewer seem to have the willingness to do so. The great bulk of the Majority just doesn’t […]
Check one below: Black or White
Jocelyn Nikohl Fox, Houston, TX. Mulatto.
“No offense, but you’re so pretty!”
K.E. Broadnax, Cleveland, OH. This was said to me while attending college. I am black, and went to a predominantly white, upper-class university (as many are, to be fair). His statement was prefaced by the question, “What nationality are you?” If I was me now, back then, I would’ve replied “American.” But I knew what […]
Racism is an ego-based human dysfuntion
James E Washington, Rochester, NY. The ego thrives on identification and separation. We seems to be a nation that thrives on dualism, having an “other” a “they or them” as a means to distinguish ourselves from. White, Black; Rich, Poor: Republican, Democrat; Christian, Jewish; Fat, Skinny; on and on. The problem appears to be “ego […]
Black, he fixed it and me.
Winslow Parker Portland, OR Back story: She was from upstate New York, I from San Diego; both of us from snow-white neighborhoods. It was 1971. Grey-brown smoke on the the northern horizon still lingered in my mind; Watts burning. We moved into the thin white line on the eastern edge of the Grand Concourse young, […]
Wow, I can’t believe you’re black!
Kelsi Evans, Williamsburg, VA. Growing up in society I have always been questioned about my race. I come from two very, very light-skinned African-American parents, so therefore I am very light, have soft curly “white people” hair, and don’t necessarily “talk black”. Being this kind of person draws attention to myself because people always make […]
They hate me because I’m Black?
Alexander, Sandy Springs, GA. I grew up in a majority neighborhood during the eighties and nineties. There were only a few other minority families in the area at the time. It wasn’t until college after high school graduation I learn I was black and highly disliked based on the color of my skin and not […]
Black with dreads and white husband
Tiffany Yizar, Norwalk, CT. My blackness and black cultural authenticity is never questioned, until people discover I have a white husband. As if his race diminishes mine and the life experience I’ve had in the years prior to meeting him. In fact, I’d argue being a black woman married to a white man, a union […]
I’m light skinned but still black
Tarnaei Carter, Chicago, IL. I am light skinned and people may think I’m not only black because I’m light skinned so I identify as black.
I’m black, but not “African American”
Danya Granado Aurora, CO If you must place me in a racial category, then call me black. And no, I’m not offended when you say it. My family is from Trinidad and Tobago. I was born in England. I have a Hispanic last name. I get a lot of questions. Culturally, I feel as though […]
Son, indignant: I have the right to be!
Joann MO Submitted via NPR’s Talk of the Nation My six words are actually two, six word conversations between a black father and son about avoiding certain areas of town: Son, indignant: I have the right to be! Father: Yes, just not “be” over there. Naively thought we had settled this.
We are such stuff as dreams
Winnie Wamboi, Kenya. I don’t get the big deal with being either black or white. I am African and I love it after all there is nothing I can do about it.
Free Black since at least 1820
Sherryl N Weston, Denver, CO. I was an adult before we learned the full scope of my mother’s complete ancestry story. Timbuctoo, NJ was co-founded by my 5-generations ago grandfather. Looks like he was a part of the 1860 Battle of Pine Swamp, where the residents beat the tar out of slave catchers who had […]
I wish that Race meant EQUALITY.
Becky White Feather Riney, Quincy, IL. I am Native American and Caucasian. I hate knowing that there are people out there that simply because of the color of a person’s skin means (to them) they think someone Black (African American) or any race OTHER THAN WHITE is less than or undeserving of their acceptance, love […]
“Your black, Do you do drugs?”
Aries Johnson, Minneapolis, MN. My 4th grade teacher asked me if I did drugs, I was so hurt. It was 2 years ago but still haunts me today.
White, Black, Brown! Just an American
James Edward White, Indianapolis, IN. You look at me and you see a white man with blue eye. But on my mom’s side my great granddad was born a slave in Tennessee (mom house slave, dad was the master) left at 14 and ended up in north Dakota, Married a Blackfoot Indiana woman. I am […]
We all come from Black ancestry.
Lezlie Graebel, Mount Shasta, CA. Science has showed us that our origins are from Africa. With the exception of those in Europe who have the distinction to carry some Neanderthal genes. The gene for light skin has also been traced to a relatively recent mutation. What divides us,; what unifies us; what protects us is […]
Always Am Black. Always on Guard.
S. Michael Evans, Washington, DC. Looking for signs that help us to become more porous human beings.
Not black or white, I’m mixed!
Michelle T, Los Angeles, CA. What a wonderful and positive way to engage in discourse about race. Well done, Mrs. Norris!
The color black: say with care.
Anonymous, USA. The world we have created now makes it a challenge to say the word black.
Mom Is Afraid, Because I’m Black
Roshaan Rogers, Roseville, CA.
Still Black, still here, still educating
Rose, San Jose, CA. Class project @ San Francisco State U.
Blacks can own nice things too!
Dede C., San Francisco, CA. My six words is relevant to a personal story of mine and other minorities. The stereotype is that Blacks are poor and lack education so commit illegal crimes to obtain the luxuries we want. Because of this stereotype, people are oblivious to the fact that we are capable of working […]
Whites have same problems as blacks
Dave, Wichita, KS.
Blackanese is not Black or Japanese.
Brian Murray, Seattle, WA. Growing up it was always hard to find my own identity because I came from a bi-racial background. I am half Black and half Japanese and always had problems being accepted by either racial group because of my uniqueness. Although coming from a low-income housing development called the Rainier Vista Projects […]
I am black; I am white
Nauticah, Barberton, OH.
White, Black, Latino, Asian, or Human?
Michael S., Elk Grove, CA. My mom divorced and remarried 3 times with 3 different men with totally different race and had a child from each marriage. Her first marriage was gentlemen from Jamaica, second was a man from Ecuador, and last was from Thai. My mom been immersed and learned every one of her […]
I love that I am black.
Kristy Lawson, Mayfield, KY. We are all Gods people.
I’m sick of “what are you?”
Jeff Clune, Maple Grove, MN. I’m mixed race (Black,White, and Native) I’m always being asked “What are you?” it frustrates me because why should it matter to them.
First I am Black, not Female
Alma Scott-Buczak, Cliffside Park, NJ. I was in the first class of women to attend Lafayette College in Easton PA. It was also the first class to have a concentration of more than 20 students of color. Over the past 40 years I have often been asked to reflect on my experiences as one of […]
I have pride in my black!
Candayshia Loyd, Flint, MI. Growing up I was taught to be a quiet and polite black woman. I had to take persecution from men and I had to do what they said. I’m not someones servant, im not a maid. I’m going to be your Black Women President one day.
My adopted Black sons are priceless.
Tom DiMartino, Boston, MA. I had the immense pleasure of listening to Michele speak today in Boston, and the topic of adoption touched me personally. I am a white man with two adopted black sons who mean more to me than anything in this world. The topic is touchy and Michele’s comments on it were […]
White voice, black skin, awkward interviews.
Sara Bee Boston, MA I have been passing as “white” most of my life–on the phone. People of all stripes seem to have misconceptions about what black people sound like, if their reactions to me in person are any indication. This happens especially at job interviews or when I go to see an apartment. One […]
Father of two girls…I’m Black
Keith Williams, Hawthorne, CA. I know plenty of black fathers…notice I didn’t say sperm donors, we are perceived to be an endanger species. Every father’s day on facebook, you can read the hurt from mothers, and children. Real black fathers exist, I’m proud to be counted as one of them. Society has deemed that the […]
White Love Black, Black Love White :)
Ewa Konopka, Romeoville, IL. Look at this stunning couple. They see no color. THEY NEVER WILL. They see love, respect, honor, kindness, and goodness of each person. I wish the world would see through these kids eyes. The human race would be so much better of.
What shade of black am I?
B. Smith-Payne Carlsbad, NM As a black American, I feel that I must often act as a chameleon, in order to move in and through diverse social, economic, and political situations. Consequently, my “blackness” takes on various personas and can change in the blink of an eye. Thus, my question.
Black, white stripes? White, black stripes?
Marlee Sherrod, Canton, MI.
Black don’t mean you sell drugs
Edward, St. Paul, MN.
Black Does Not Explain My Life
Sam Johnson, St. Paul, MN.
Raised by whitefolks judged by blackfolks
Lashanda Burns Carter, Scranton, PA. I was raised by a white family from the age 4 until 13. There were some great things and some really horrible things. But I am who I am because of the environment. Open-minded nonjudgmental, well spoken, humorous, and very shy African American. Who loves Motley Crue and hates cornbread. […]
Intelligent and black, hated for that.
Consuelo, Stone Mountain, GA. This is because the two of the men in my life have dismissed me because I do not fit the ideals of what an ideal women should look like. Their spouses dismiss, disrespect my existence. My father and younger brother believe that white people are the epitome of all that is […]
Not black, white, or Jewish. Mixed.
Chantal Thomas San Jose, CA
Are you sure you’re not black?
Dave Mowers Brooklyn, NY I live inbetween black and white neighbors, my boss is a Phillipino woman, I shop and eat in black and white owned stores and restaurants in my neighborhood. Orthodox Jews sign my paycheck. I teach students from around the world. My boyfriend grew up in a small town in Texas in […]
I’m Black, not African American
Trish, Houston, TX. I’m Black. I’m American. Black is my race. American is my nationality. One has nothing to do with the other. How can all Black people be African American? It’s impossible for a Black person who was born in the UK, to be an African American. Black Americans are not “special” kind of […]
My Black Is Rich And Beautiful
N’Quiisha Edwin, Miami, FL.
White: Walk Free, Black: We’ll See
Braylen Thomas, Newark, OH.
Black good samaritans, or would-be robbers?
Samuel C. Johnson, Keezletown, VA. I am a white man now 67 years of age. In May, 1968 (a month after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.) I had just completed basic training in the Army in North Carolina, and was on my way to my home area near Philadelphia. I got off […]
Sometimes I forget that I’m black.
Caulefe Burks, Ewa Beach, HI.
Where is the black James Bond?
Chase Choate, Boise, ID.
His parents will never meet me.
Kayle Dallas, TX Our breakup happened for many reason, but the main one is because his parents would never feel 100% comfortable with their son for being with me. I’m black and he’s white. Such simple labels that belie a myriad of different experiences. I would think that any parent would be thrilled their son […]
All have same needs, desires, fears.
Chris Todd, Big Pine Key, FL. As a nurse, working with black nurses, I realized there was a bigger gulf with regards to socioeconomic class than with race. My coworkers, regardless of race, wanted their kids to go to college, not get pregnant out of wedlock, not get in trouble with the law. But my […]
Jenny has made you a pie
Trey Willy Seale, AL I was small and white. Jenny was old and black. She took care of me when I was little when my great aunts that I lived with were away at work. I played with her grandchildren at our home there in the country. Together we would climb the high magnolias, explore […]
College: We Accept Blacks over Whites
Alexis Bishop, USA. Quotas? Oh no, of course colleges don’t have those… or so they say. How else, then, can one explain why an African-American would be accepted in a heartbeat over a White American of equal credentials? Sometimes, this is even the case when the White student has higher credentials. Is this equality? Absolutely […]
I didn’t know Mary was black.
Carolyn Kay Conover, Harrodsburg, KY. It was 1964 and Mary and I had been friends since starting 1st grade together. We’d buy milkshakes at lunch. I’d buy chocolate and she’d buy vanilla. I really liked Mary. This year, Mary and I were going to go to 4-H camp together. We were so excited. We signed […]
Blacks and Whites TOGETHER will overcome.
Denise DeVaney, Warren, ME. Charleston made me finally feel it: racism is not a black issue, it’s an American issue. We have to accept that an attack on someone of color because of their race is an attack on America. We have to come together to fight it.
Sometimes White. Sometimes Black. Sometimes Latino.
Massiel Ramos, Bronx, NY. Sometimes your race depends on the people and culture you associate yourself with. If that’s the case, I’ll never fit into one solid category.
“Black-Looking” Female, White Father, Glaring Eyes.
Kayla Doering, Statesboro, GA. My father is of Irish descent and my Mother is Native American. Something I’ve always dealt with while being out in public with my father is people staring at us like we were a rare species. Growing up, while running daily errands with my father, I remember older women asking if […]
I was born black. Were You?
Carl Poole, Norfolk, VA.
Been a victim of Black violence
Hilary Sloane, Joshua Tree, CA. It happened several times. The last time a stranger shot me five times through my car window and hit me three times. I have had the opportunity to heal those traumas through encounters with beautiful, loving strangers of color. My responses are relaxing and I no longer jump when I […]
I don’t know what I am.
Jordi A. Snell, The Netherlands. My mother is Dutch and my father is Moluccan (Melanesian I assume). I don’t exactly know what my father’s race is because alot of Moluccans have mixed race ancestry. All I know is that my father’s skin color is ‘Black’, he has thick curly hair when it’s long, but his […]
White, Black, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple
Dakota Dubois, Spokane, WA.
I’m not black, I’m dark brown.
Kelly M., Indonesia. My six words were spoken by my daughter when she was seven years old. I am From Texas, my family tree consists of Irish and English immigrants and Cherokee Native Americans. We generally look Caucasian, but all five siblings have slightly different skintones. I now live in Indonesia, I’m a single Mom […]
Yes I’m Black no not biracial
David, Detroit, MI. To the cops, I am “white”. To many others I am “not” black. I don’t try to pass and I don’t try to compensate for it by “acting” black. I am very direct about these issues though. I am a black guy. How much more direct can I be? I’m not adopted. […]
If he’s white, they’re all black??!
Alethia Grace Cyrus, Tulalip, WA. My most striking experience of my own internal “like me is normal” sense came midway through reading The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm by Nancy Farmer. The front cover shows the protagonists, two of whom are Black. The story is set in futuristic Zimbabwe, and I’m pretty sure I […]
Where you goin’, where you been?
Caitlin Grames Sterling Heights, MI Race, gender, heritage, and all other innate traits we are born with are only secondary to our life experiences. Our stories make us who we are as individuals. And you can’t capture a whole history with just “black”, or just “white”.
I’m black. He’s black. Perfect match?
Joelle Kanyana TN Going to school in a town where I’m in the minority as a black girl (Burundian heritage, Ghana-born, American citizen) has its interesting experiences. One that always seems to repeat itself is the matchmaking by my classmates with the black guys there. I’ve had this conversation many times before: “Joelle, you’d look […]
No one believes I am black
Sozit Mohamed, Sunnyvale, CA. Being Ethiopian with Arab heritage in my family, most do not believe I’m black/African. Also, being black and muslim, seems to be the worst thing you can be in America right now.
Red is NOT ‘the new black’
Joni Graves, Spring Green, WI. I made this mash-up design for a t-shirt after an unfortunate coincidence in my email inbox. Prior to today’s announcement by the DA in the shooting of Tony Robinson, and two minutes after the UW-Madison Chancellor’s email “Campus resources for the Tony Robinson decision”, I received a “Badger Voice” newsletter […]
Can’t take you home to momma.
Tammy Medell Gardner San Jose, CA I am white. The man with whom I fell in love in 1982 was black. We met in Fort Worth, Texas working at the same company. He grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina, while I was from northern Michigan. Our romance, so new and full of hope, soon faltered […]
I didn’t know my first girlfriend was black.
Danny Zapler, Mount Prospect, IL. In hindsight, it is clear she is black. I knew about black and white people, but I just never saw her in racial terms. She was just the girl I liked in 6th grade. I only realized I was dating a black girl when a teenage boy on my block […]
No, Not MIxed…Just Albino, Black
Brandi Green, Chicago, IL. I constantly am asked “what I am” or “are you mixed” Nope. I’m black and albino. 🙂 It’s a fascinating existence.
Police wrong. Black violence wrong. Stop.
Carn Paggot, Cincinnatti, OH.
Everyone is racist even the blacks
Gage, MT.
Black guy kept US Moving Forward
Tamara Henderson, Lewisville, NC. We all bleed the same way!
‘I don’t see color’ is cringeworthy.
Jasmine Honegan. Brazil. Growing up as one of 5 black families in an all white town in CT, ‘ I don’t see color’ was the go to phrase whenever anyone said anything controversial, racist, or condescending. I remember always feeling uncomfortable with the line, it was used as if the inability to see color made […]
Love being black, mangoes, drumming, tropics.
Jeanette Ju-Pierre Westminster, England
But Your Not Really Black
Damme Getachew, Seattle, WA. My parents are from Ethiopia and so I self-identify as Ethiopian. I’m frequently asked “Where are you from?” as if being a person of color means that I was born somewhere other than the United States. Aren’t we past that?
Stereotypes are earned, not just given.
Mark, USA. This means that judging people doesn’t come out of nowhere. Assuming people are something because of what they look like is not okay. But, there is a reason that more black people are in prisons than white people. That’s because more black people commit crimes than white people do.
My Black Is Beautiful, Is Yours?
Brea Miles, High Point, NC.
Mixed and I love my perspective
Shava, Lake Oswego, OR. At times it can be confusing. I have wondered where I fit in. But in the end…I’m so glad to have the depth of experience that being multicultural has given me. I’m black, white and I’m Jewish. It’s amazing!
Black bodies swinging on poplar trees
Kyetheus Monteiro, California, PA. To be young, gifted and Black!
He’s black. My dream come true.
Emma S. Sunderland, Bountiful, UT.
Choose one: White, Asian, Other
Mia Manning, Atlanta, GA.
I’m biracial. I can’t choose one.
Cortney Pouncey, Sacramento, CA. Being biracial, my hands have always been forced to choose what ethnicity I should identify as. In reality, I am just as black as I am white. How could I pick one and deny the other? I believe biracial people are the key to end racism.
Got me a black friend, baller
Nathalie Nevins Aspen, CO
Self-image shattered living in South.
Carol Salami-Goswick Eugene, OR I’m a white woman who was born, raised, and lived in CA until I was 54. I was in college during the 60’s and was sympathetic to the black folks struggling for equality in the South. In my 30’s I had a serious relationship with a black man. I worked in […]
I don’t speak for my race!
Celesti Colds Fechter, Tarrytown, NY. I feel as though when I am the only African-American in a setting that I feel obligated to “speak” for other African-Americans. I will not do it and don’t ask me to do it. I had a job where I was the first African-American hired in a professional setting. I […]
Stop seeing black boys as predators.
Sandra C. Seaton East Lansing, MI Listen to Sandra’s story from NPR’s Talk of the Nation
No Dancing No Basketball Still Black!
Anonymous USA
Trying to learn for my daughter.
Wendy Wetzel Submitted via Twitter I’m white; she’s black. How do I help her through so much new to me?
Don’t marry a black, they said.
Katie Blunt, Freson, CA. “We don’t care if you marry a black man, but we just want you to know that your life will be harder if you do,” my parents said to me when I was sixteen. I married a man whose family is from the Philippines. I always wonder if that’s white enough […]
You didn’t tell me he’s black
Katherine F., Minneapolis, MN. I met a woman through professional circles when I was recruiting for a volunteer project. As it happens, she lived near me. We formed committees for this initiative and began talking more socially on the phone. I went over to her house a few times for coffee. One weekend she invited […]
I am proud to be black
Ntwali Gaju, Riverside, CA. It amazes me how difficult is for us people to accept and appreciate how God made us and other around the world. For example, I am black, and I come from Africa. In my country, you are considered more beautiful if you are light skin than dark skin. So, I always […]
Obama was black 148 years ago.
Kendra Jones, Selma, AL. As a white woman who voted for Obama twice, I found myself wanting to claim him as my own. “He’s half white, I’d insist to myself.” But then I began to think about our past anti-miscegenation laws in the 19th century. An individual with as little as 1/32nd percent African ancestry […]
We’re bigger than black and white
John Brocato, Submitted via Twitter: @johnwardbrocato
I learned I was Black in kindergarten.
Shakira, Phoenix, AZ. One day after our teacher snapped photos of our class she developed them in black and white and scattered them out on a table and told us to find ourselves. I got frustrated because I could not find my photo; that day my mother was volunteering as class mother and she pointed […]
My Black is not your black.
LaVonda Staples, St. Louis, MI. I deserve the right and reserve the right to not follow a script designed to keep me in a role which does not and has never fit.
Not Black. Not White. Proud Brown.
Samantha C., Jacksonville, FL.
Not black or white. I’m gray.
Nikki Hyde, Los Angelos, CA. I’m a proud member of the multiracial community but still looking for a simple, clear word to describe what I am, not what I am not or what percentage of something else I am.
My children are black. I’m not.
William G. Duval, Fairfax, VT. My wife and I have a racially blended family in one of the whitest states in the union. I think it has made a difference in some admittedly small ways.
Tall, Dark, Handsome, Just not Black
John P. Moultrie, Ormond Beach, FL. It’s taken sometime to get to this point, but we are finally together. Sixteen years ago, we met and at that moment, I knew she was the one for me. But that was not the case for her. Years later, through heartache and divorce for both of us, we […]
I am African-American. You’re Black.
Jake, USA. My mother is from Ghana and my father is from New York. I am African-American and it drives me crazy when people who have a distant relative from Africa consider themselves African-American when they have no cultural ties to Africa. Black Culture is different from African Culture.
Black, yes my red hair is natural
Taylor, OH. I come from two very light parents & my dad is the one who has red hair, its natural but I constantly find myself having to explain and even defend who I am to elder white women & even black people.
Was I asked to be Black?
Vickie Crawford, Syracuse, NY. My Dad use to call me “yellow girl”, my Mom when mad called me “little yellow wench”, and I was happy go lucky I think because I didn’t know I was BLACK. It wasn’t brought to my attention until I went to kindergarten that I was black??? I feel I can […]
You can’t date him he’s black
McKaela Evertsen, Murray, UT.
My family is black and white.
Brian, Gaithersburg, MD.
I’m Black, Liberal, GUN Range Owner
Frank Manuel, Montgomery, AL. Liberals own Guns too.
Is it because I am black?
Renee Yates, Evanston, IL. Being black in America means that every time you feel slighted or unfairly treated in the larger society you have to wonder “Is it because I am black?” It’s demoralizing and exhausting.
Is it because I am black?
Renee Yates, Evanston, IL.
I’m a human before I’m black.
Zarriya Johnson, Kansas City, MO. We are humans first. Our race is just something we as humans created to determine how a person should be and act in society. It’s a trend that needs to stop.
Not black. Not white. Not “other.”
Chi Sherman, Indianapolis, IN
Dreamer for Young Black Teens Everywhere
Messiah Williams, Camp Hill, AL. I’m a young black man from Alabama trying to inspire other blacks to be more productive in society.
Judge the inside, not the outside
Monte Stroman, Syracuse, NY. Student ’15 I am black but if you look past my skin you would never know
I’m 50-50, they only see black.
Autumn Battani, Los Angeles, CA. People only identify me as black. And that doesn’t make sense to me. Even when I was little, and we would fill out forms for tests, I would ask my teacher what I was supposed to do. The papers always said you can only choose one, but I’m two. And […]
Try so hard – still see color
Sherri, Juneau, AK. As hard as I try to see people as people, not black or white or Asian etc., I can’t seem to deprogram my brain. I remember the day I was helping at a school giving enrichment lessons to a group of advanced students. When they came into the room there was one […]
Why can’t (my) children embrace both (of their) heritages?
Melanie, USA. When I first had my children someone told my husband that our children will be considered black in this country. When I fill out forms for them there is a check box for black and white but not both. I mark both. I will not have them pick one over the other. Relatives […]
See My Face Guess My Race
Ed Houlemarde, Duarte, CA. I am what is considered a Creole – depending on wher I am I can be lumped into that areas primary race. In school I did not belong to a “race” Because my skin is olive I had mostly minority friends or friends of color. Teaches and later co-workers thought I […]
“Black” is not always “African-American”.
Kate Reid, Worthington, OH. My daughters and I in the attached picture. Three races. Three skin-tones. None of which identify with “African-American” yet that is often the assumption and the only “box” to check.
I try but stereotypes still linger
Anastasia Rogers, Detroit, MI. I am a firm believer that everyone, no matter if you’re a man, woman, or something in between, black, white, Asian, or a different race, should be treated equally and with respect. That being said, I often find myself making snap, harsh judgments about people that I’ve never even had a […]
My Full-time Job: Being Black
Jessica, Taunton, MA. Being Black in America means that you constantly have to change and work on yourself in order to please the dominant group in society (Whites). Its about making them feel comfortable and at ease even if that means rejecting your culture, traditions, ancestry, and basically everything that makes you who you are […]
You have how many black cousins
Lauren Hazelrigg, Kansas City, MO.
Stop using RACE as an excuse.
Renee Chapman, Colbert, WA. I have seen race used as an excuse for bad behavior or saying something is happening to someone because they are Mexican, Asian, and Black etc. I had a personal experience with it when neighbors aggressive Rottweiler killed my 6 mo. old puppy, police were called and neighbor was really angry. […]
My baby is black AND white.
Karin Coyne, Pittsburgh, PA. My sweet man is black and I am white. Our baby girl is both. but the world is a complicated place… and she is light-skinned and people ask her daddy, “Is that your child?” This deeply offends him… because it makes him feel as though folks are suggesting that he has […]
My BLACK is BEAUTIFULL
K. Will, USA.
I fear for my family’s wellbeing.
Shannon M., Killeen, TX. My fiance is black. My son is mixed. At THREE years old my son has already encountered racism. Every time my fiance walks out of the house, I worry. When he gets angry at someone or something in public, I get scared and try my hardest to calm him down – […]
Do you love them the same?
Paige VandenBrink, Holland, MI. The worst question I have ever been asked is, “Do you love them the same?”. This was a question I was asked when I got a new adopted black cousin. I almost cried because I was too young to understand why anyone couldn’t love someone the same just because of a […]
Until they saw I was black.
Joyce Moody, Windsor Mill, MD.
I couldn’t rub the black out
Ima Oduok, Houston, TX. As a bi-racial child who grew up with her white family, I always wanted to look more like them. When I watch the movie “Belle” and saw Dido try to rub and beat out the darkness of her skin, I cried. I spent my childhood doing the same thing, hoping to […]
You were hired because your black
Ashley Kirkwood, Chicago, IL.
African American or just plain black?
Chet Wallinsworth, Hanover, NH. The black population hates when you assume they are African American
Just black? No you’re too beautiful.
Anastasia Peterson, Pittsburgh, PA.
I’m Black, I’m Beautiful, I’m Proud!
Unique Martin, Murrieta, CA. I say I’m black because that is how I identify myself. It’s just that simple. I say I’m beautiful because for many years in my childhood, I thought I was ugly. No one ever said I was, but how I was treated, discriminated against because of my skin color, the diversity […]
Mixed but only seen as black
Khalil B., American Canyon, CA.
Beaten by blacks for being white
Anonymous, USA. I’ve witnessed several other whites that have had similar experiences of being beaten or bullied by blacks, throughout my life. I’ve witnessed much more racism towards whites than the other way around. Some people say it’s racist to be afraid of blacks. Where I grew up, it’s just common sense. This was not […]
You’re not like other Black people
Anonymous, Lansing, MI. Was this meant to be a compliment? …it didn’t feel like a compliment.
Young black gang kids scare America.
David Evans, Seattle, WA. People equate young black gang members with crime and trouble… I was watching the PBS special and when the young black guys were speaking I felt they were in gangs and up to no good. You need to change the image of the young male black gang image or you will […]
Black? White? Where are my Hispanics?
Janice Mendoza, East Lansing, MI. I moved to Michigan from Southern California in middle school. I was very shocked to find out that there were not many Latinos in my new area. I felt very out of place. I am current student at Michigan State. I loved the idea of diversity when I got accepted […]
Obama isn’t black. He is bi-racial.
Dan Brown, DeWitt, MI. Michele, you can’t have it both ways. If, as you said last night, you view Obama as black (you said “of color”) then you won’t reach a “post racial” status. To say that he’s black leads us back to the “single drop of black blood” interpretation of race. Consider: If Obama […]
Lines exist only when we differentiate.
R. Lutz, MI. We will reach the point of true equality in this country when, rather than saying “I’m black” and “I’m white”, we recognize that we are all flawed people who make mistakes. This doesn’t mean we can’t recognize and celebrate our differences; we just need to focus on the fact that we are […]
Can I come to the funeral?
Joseph Conway, Baltimore, MD. She showed support and she was brave a 33 year old Jewish neighbor of mine wanted to see how a black funeral was,we all embraced her.
You don’t really look that black.
Linda D. Calvin, Westfield, IN. I am one of five siblings, but I am the only one who is black. My brothers and sisters, cousins, nieces, nephews, great nieces, uncles and aunts are white. After three children and a divorce, my mother met and married a black man in the 60s and had me. I […]
Why do you have hazel eyes?
Jonscott Williams, Gilbert, AZ. This is the question either asked, or thought but unasked, by people both Black and White. This is connected to the assumption that one of my parents is White … neither is, though an early ancestor was. Some Black people have questioned whether I was “Black enough” … some Whites have […]
Angry Black men are so scary
David, Submitted via: NPR’s Talk of the Nation. The potential for violence from an angry black man is so much higher than any other source it’s scary. An unarmed black man is a threat unless proven otherwise.
I HATE BEING BLACK EVERY DAY!
JJ JONES Roanoke, VA I am a happy person by nature. But as each day progresses I see the results of a group of Americans that just don’t get it by my standards. So I ask myself “what can cause them to be more like me?”. I believe if this group, who have failed so […]
Ethnically black, environmentally white, increasingly gray.
Lee Stringer Mamaroneck, NY I was born into a place and era in which the aspiration was to assimilate. Of course, once I got a good handle on doing this, it was The Sixties and everything changed. The new order of things was to wear your ethnicity on your sleeve. So there I was, Sidney […]
My family: white, black & both!
Kurt Huber Monroe, CT My favorite quote on family is from Desmond Tutu. “You don’t choose your family. You are Gods gift to them, as they are to you.”
You’re not like other black people.
New york City, NY Submitted via Twitter: @junecross
I am Black, not “African American”
Misha N Utica, NY I was born in the Caribbean, and I am Black, For some reason people insist on saying I’m “African American”. It’s not a bad word. I am not American, therefore I am not “African American”
Sorry Brothers, Didn’t vote Obama…Black
William Josephs Chicago, IL
Just don’t bring me black grandchildren
Sandra Ebl Ft. Myers, FL
White father, Black mother, BEAUTIFUL GIRLS!
Jessica Danielle Jensen Tampa, FL I am the product of two people who only saw “who” there were, not “what” they were. Because of their bond, they produced four daughters (including me) who I believe are very beautiful. Mixed-race children represent the beauty that comes from open hearts and open minds. And, they have GREAT […]
Want my babies to be brown.
Jade Watson New York, NY I don’t have anything against interracial dating, but I choose to date and want to marry a black man, because I want my babies- my family to be black. I love being black. I love what being black has meant to my life. I love being a part of a […]
I will never be black enough.
Janeen Irving, San Leandro, CA. For the first 12 years of my life I was clueless to my own color (or lack thereof) growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area. For the next 20 years I tried to prove I was black. To no avail. Now I’ve come to the conclusion I’m an amazing […]
Born Black Beautiful Brazen and Blessed
Keysha Charles Baltimore, MD From the day I was born my skin told my story. It told all that I was, all that I could be, and all that I’ll never be!
Female white, wife black, child biracial
Susan Siegel New York City, NY Brooklyn l am living on the backs of those that struggled and fought so that I can live my life outloud.
I’m white, he’s black. They judge.
Ashley Gremler Ft. Meade, MD I’m White, well mostly. I am a quarter Vietnamese, but you wouldn’t be able to tell by looking at me. I’m dating a Black man. I love him for who he is, not for the color of his skin. But I must admit, I love the way our hands look […]
You’re lucky; you have good hair
Aminah Columbia, SC Being a light-skinned African-American has afforded me the ability to kind of live on multiple sides of the race coin in terms of my superficial assets. Many people assume that I’m mixed; I’m not. Many people assume that I lucky because, since I’m fully black, I have good hair. Man, if one […]
Why is Obama black, not white?
Ed Morganroth, Jr. Plover, WI I have wondered since Mr. Obama broke onto the national scene why both he and the media have always characterized him racially as black and not as biracial or white. Why did he decide to pick one race – he is indisputably half black and half white? I would think […]
Ukrainian and Jamaican seems to contradict
Chelée Elk Grove, CA My mother is a black Jamaican woman and my father is Ukrainian. I was born in the usa but grew up and went to school in Jamaica where I was considered white and wealthy, but when I came to America for the last years of high school and college I was […]
You can’t see what I hear.
Amy Broadie Minot, ND I frequently overhear things said by people who don’t realize that I am half black and half white. On several occasions, I have received numerous apologies from coworkers or friends for saying something stereotypical/rude/racist after they learned about my background. I always reply by saying, “You can’t see what I hear.” […]
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