Adopted, how much did she cost?
Gail O’Rourke Brooklyn, NY White Mom + Chinese daughter: Said right in my face, with my 5 year old daughter in my lap. She clutched...
He’s my dad, not the gardener.
Kelly Stuart, Brooklyn, NY. I was five when my mother married my stepfather, Alfred Brown, Jr. in 1980. My stepfather, or, as I think of...
Pale freckled redhead burned by words
Marie Farrell, Brooklyn, NY. I grew up in San Diego, California where the sun shines all the time. I was the kid that never tanned,...
Not THAT kind of Black Girl.
Lateefah Torrence, Brooklyn, NY. At the corner bodega, I’m one of those Black Girls who the Middle Eastern owner must watch from his elevated podium...
I feel invisible, while standing out.
Aman Agah, Brooklyn, NY. I am Iranian, Irish, Azari, and German. Being Iranian means being called Arab. I am not Arab. Being Iranian means being...
Got tired of straightening my hair
Sophia Farber Brooklyn, NY Of course, when envisioning ideal partners, I do give a thought to what our daughter’s hair might be like. Guilty. Wondering...
Mass Incarceration, Stop and Frisk: #NewJimCrow.
Ray G New York City, NY Brooklyn The Black Liberation struggle did not go far enough — did not uproot oppression, disassemble power structures, create...
I am proud. I am sorry.
Rebeka, Brooklyn, NY Like the majority of immigrants who have come to America, my ancestors came to this land seeking political, religious and economic freedoms...
White/Hispanic looks/is all white not sorry
Ruby Marlowe, Brooklyn, NY. Italian-Irish mom, Puerto Rican-Mestizo dad, never met dad’s family as his side was pretty bad along with dad who was never...
I’m an Arab named Dave Hall
Dave Hall, Brooklyn, NY. I get my name from my Yankee (English-American) father, whose ancestors arrived in Boston in 1630 but I get my complexion...
My brother doesn’t look like me
Caroline Foster, Brooklyn, NY I’m white, my younger brother was adopted from South Korea when I was five. I forget that we don’t look related...
I don’t speak Spanish, just Russian
Michelle Del Pin, Brooklyn, NY. I can’t even tell you how many times people have come up to me and started speaking Spanish. Sometimes it...
