I never think of you as Asian.
Virginia, Cambridge, MA. I’m half Filipina. And I’ve always thought of myself as half. But one day at a faculty meeting a colleague told me...
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...
Yes, I swear, I am Vietnamese.
Mariana Arneaud, Lakewood, CA. Why do I need to “prove” it? Since I don’t LOOK Vietnamese, I shouldn’t say that I am?
Black mom. Blonde daughter. She yours?
Amber Duke, New Albany, IN. My bi-racial daughter has her father’s blond hair and fair skin. Soon after she was born, I was shocked when...
Blacks say I’m White, WASPs don’t.
Thomas R Gerbasi, Lewiston, NY I’m Sicilian-American. Both sides of my family came to the USA in 1890s The KKK burned a cross on my...
“You’re Asian? But you’re so tall!”
Lisa Harrison Long Beach, CA This is such a common reaction from people over many, many years. I don’t look half Cambodian by others standards....
“He’s not your son? Oh good!”
Amber Halverson, Eugene, OR. “Oh good! He doesn’t look like he has any white in him at all!” My first real encounter with my own...
Big-eyed Asian? Yup, that’s possible.
Sonyca Bermundo, Chicago, IL. I am an Asian born with really big eyes. It always frustrate me when people say, “All Asians have small eyes,”...
But, you don’t look Jewish
Rose Brown, Fort Myers, FL I don’t typically tell people that I’m Jewish. In elementary school, I was the only Jew and as such I...
No way, Miss, you’re not white!
Joan Evans, Lawrencevillve, GA. And I am 100% white. But (far too many of) my students associate “white” with oppression and bigotry. When they tell...
Little bit of everything and everywhere
Ashlee Johnston, Ladera Ranch, CA. People tell me they thought that I am White but once I tell them about my Asian/Hawaiian/Spanish/Canadian…. background they say...
You probably think I look Jewish.
Eric Kelderman, USA. For much of my life, people assumed I was Jewish. After I met my biological parents, I found out they were right...
White, but can’t have Mexican family?
Jade Weber, Holland, MI. When my grandparents come up to visit, and we go out people always ask if my grandfather is related to us....
A group bound by cultural similarities.
Georgianna Wong, Topeka, KS. When my son, George Wong was playing baseball, I had a woman tell me how handsome my son was and then...
Are you sure you are Hispanic?
Olivia Rose Castillo, Sanger, CA. I am constantly asked if I’m sure of the racial group I belong to because the color of my skin....
Surprise surprise I was born here
Victoria, Fairfax, VA. I was born in Conway, SC. I’ve lived in the States for nearly two decades now (all of my life so far)....
Mexican really? You dont look mexican.
Priscilla Esparza, Riverside, CA. Living life as a Mexican American is best described by Abraham Quintanilla,”Being Mexican American is tough. Anglos jump all over you...
