Osher Fein, Cupertino, CA This took me an embarrassingly long time to realize, but there’s this weird thing that white Jews experience called “conditional white privilege”. As long as my Jewishness isn’t obvious or doesn’t “offend” anyone, I experience the same privilege every other white person does. But, it was the moments of overt antisemitism […]
Being Mexican doesn’t mean I’m illegal
Karla Zambrano, Los Banos, CA Many people assume that if you’re Mexican, then you’re most likely illegal. “Go back to where you came from” is something that’s said a lot to Mexicans. Many Mexicans, like myself, are born in the U.S. and others earn their place here by working hard and getting their citizenship. So […]
Black lesbian CPA, it’s really me.
Andrea Hyson, San Francisco, CA. About two months ago, I finally met a new employee in another department. This woman and I had numerous phone conversations but hadn’t yet met. I decided to stop by her office to introduce myself. Another employee was at her door as I approached. As I turned into her office, […]
It is not always obvious; hurt
Martin Flores, San Francisco, CA Anti-Racism and Allyship 7 Day Journey
Biker gangs have love for me
Richard Haynie, Oakland, CA. I walked into a roadside tavern near Allentown PA that had several motorcycles parked outside. Loving bikes, I thought nothing of it. Inside, a motorcycle “club” were the only patrons on that Sunday morning. I ordered some food and, despite a warning from the proprietor, decided to stay and eat there. […]
Rice is my LIFE. Deal with it.
Emily, Perris, CA. I have NEVER been so proud to be a Filipino-American. My culture is my everything and I would not trade it for the world. Being the handful of Asians at my school makes me even more unique. I want to promote diversity, I want people to be okay with the color of […]
Veteran Patriot Still White Washed Wetback
Michael Morentin, Los Angeles, CA. Growing up a third generation Mexican-American I find myself walking America as a 30 year old Marine Corps veteran and recent college graduate whom is too brown for those around me who are white, and not brown enough for those around me of hispanic heritage. Being third generation Mexican-American the […]
“Good Morning!” But there’s no response.
Clyde Jasper Oakland, CA I’m a tall black man with dreadlocks. I’m a husband and a father. I’m a property owner, and a taxpayer. I’m a veteran. I vote. I graduated Phi Beta Kappa from a world class university in Berkeley, CA. In passing, I many times acknowledge a white persons presence and humanity with […]
Hands out! Can’t breathe! Gone forever…
JoseLuis Moreno, San Lorenzo, CA. I’m a student at Bishop O’Dowd High School, in Oakland, California. Ms. Tunik is my current teacher.
It’s complicated and messy and beautiful
Sandra C. San Jose, CA
After all, we all bleed red.
Moon Young Jin, San Jose, CA I am Korean. Husband is Filipino Indian American. We have Filipino, Korean, Chinese, White, and Mexican family members who all either share blood or love of marriage. It is beautiful and I am loved and I love them all so much.
We are all one race, human!
AC Hutchinson, San Francisco, CA Race, as we use it today, is a cultural construct as we are all learning. We are all spiritual beings and the more we learn to love and treat each other as we would want to be treated, the better we are. We are all human, and our love and […]
Ethnicity Doesn’t Obligate You to Educate Others
Sina, Menlo Park, CA
Work Harder and Smarter Against Racism
Brittany Pitt, San Jose, CA
We have the power to change.
Madison Arroyo, San Jose, CA
Does it matter where I’m from
Juan Aguila, East Palo Alto, CA
Small white girl, watching heroes march
Susan Thackston, Agoura, CA. I was listening to an NPR story resently on Morning Edition. The program talked about “The Race Card Project” and that it was collecting peoples experiences during the 1960’s period of the civil rights movement, distilled into 6 words only. George Wallace’s daughter, Peggy Wallace Kennedy, was only three years older […]
Every day it impacts my core.
Amanda Williams, San Mateo, CA
I’m Latinx But Can’t Speak Spanish
Samantha M. Morales, Santa Ana, CA
Black boys once cost fifty dollars
Ayanna Bennett, Oakland, CA I work in equity so I think and talk about racism a lot. It’s easy to get discouraged when I don’t remember the enormity of the wound that we are trying to heal. Huge parts of our country were developed around forced labor camps and governed by human traffickers. That’s a […]
Stop asking to touch his hair
Jeanine Flier, Tujunga, CA. I am a mother of 3 multiracial children. They all have different types of hair. My oldest son has a very curly large beautiful Afro . My middle child as wavy thick hair similar to mine. My youngest child has large black curls. My oldest child is the ONLY ONE WHO […]
You’re pretty for a black girl.
Deja, Moreno Valley, CA. This statement literally kills me . “Pretty for a black girl” I didn’t know “pretty” depended on your skill color . Goes to show how some look at “black girls” like their not good enough to be pretty.
You’ are actually a good driver.
Paulyna Ouk, Riverside, CA. Why? Is it because I’m Asian?
When Skin Color Fades Away
Leonard Rios, Imperial Beach, CA. I am an American Indian on tribal roles and racism has followed my people childhood to present. I am a traditionalist and live an old school life style founded on respect and the spirit of taking only what we need and giving when all possible. I moved to Imperial Beach […]
Good hair is well maintained hair.
Jessica Elaine Burks, San Diego, CA. I am Black, Irish, and Native American. My paternal grandmother had straight long hair. My maternal grandmother had 4c textured hair. All my life I believed the myth that “good hair and long hair” do not belong to black women with 4C textured hair. My friends and even family […]
Heroic face seldom seen in media
Charles Los Angeles, CA Leaders of color are seldom portrayed in our theater, films or story traditions.
People of color–do I count?
Sarina Bhandari, Los Altos Hills, CA. My parents grew up in India and had an arranged marriage in 70’s. Shorty after, they moved to the United States. In 1992, they had me, a first-generation Indian-American. I grew up with a lot of privilege, and I’ve never felt silenced by dominant society. In fact, I’ve never […]
You don’t look your race.
Angel Kim, Lancaster, CA
Judged for wanting to be different
Jared Baumer, Laguna Hills, CA. It can be hard to stand out and pursue a path of something different then what society and the world want you to do. People categorize you as weird or a loser if you aren’t doing what everyone else is doing. If anyone struggled with this all I can say […]
Discovered my whiteness in high school.
Valerie Braimah, Los Angeles, CA.
Indian dad, European mom, identified Latina.
Nisha Balaram, Oakland, CA. My dad would joke around, saying that my mom couldn’t help but fall in love with him when she first saw him. My mom was usually busy in the kitchen at the time, and would smile and roll her eyes in response to his comment; when the pungent scent of lentils […]
Intimidating? You haven’t met me yet.
Shanté, Mountain View, CA
Vietnamese mother African-American father A Rastaman
Jacob Geller, Sherman Oaks, CA Pull back the curtain of hate and see the hearts of beautiful people and teach the youth to be strong and love who they are, regardless of race and gender. We are all the same inside.
Being Asian, my Authenticity is Questioned
Colette, Sacramento, CA. “I love Asian girls” “I love Japanese people” “Konnichiwa” “Ni hao” “Sayonara” “Kamsammida” ‘Your a bad Japanese. You don’t know Japanese.’ “Are you Chinese?” “I don’t think people in Osaka speak Kansaiben” “I know Chinese” “You look the most Japanese” “You could be an other Asian too” One Caucasian man approached my […]
Will we always need differences?
Kevin Krave, Santa Clara, CA
Living liberal in a conservative home.
Quinn, Lake Elsinore, CA Both my parents are very conservative when it comes to politics and everything. I grew up learning from them, but once I hit college, my views started to change. Both my parents have Masters degrees and were principals for most of their careers. They were born in the 50’s and I […]
I’m A Black Conservative (We Exist)
Mekela J Tyler, Indio, CA. Whenever someone learns that about me, they look at me as though I have three heads. It’s funny that the political party that wants to break racial barriers continues to pigeonhole me into a category based on my race. Talk about a double standard. I’ll tell you why I’m not […]
The Pinoy Debate: Asian? Pacific Islander?
Vince Domingo, Fresno, CA. I’m proud to be Filipino. And I’m also proud to be an Asian Filipino. No, not a “Pacific Islander Filipino”, whenever you see them, avoid them as much as you can, they’re terrible people. They hate puppies. Okay, okay, I jest. They are just misunderstood. This is not even a geographical […]
You’re foreign. Not American. No way.
Franke Santos, Los Angeles, CA. Despite being born in the U.S., speaking only English, and being given a white-sounding name, I am routinely asked “where are you from?” When I respond, “Los Angeles,” I get the follow-up “where are you really from?”
What can we do to heal?
Stacy Cole, Los Angeles, CA I used to live in St. Louis, Missouri. That was where I first experienced a taste of being “the other”. I worked at a restaurant where almost all servers and customers were black (I’m white). I had some close black friends before that, so I didn’t think anything of it. […]
I have been alone among many
Gordon Lee Pattison, Los Angeles, CA. In 1959, when I was 14 years old, I moved from Los Angeles to Honolulu. I had just started taking French as a foreign language at my junior high school in Los Angeles and wanted to continue. However, there was only one junior high school in Honolulu at that […]
Guide To Your Privilege Right
Z Frohna, Los Angeles, CA. So. I’m a white woman who lives in L.A. But I’m also disabled, and a part of the LGBT+ community. Am I privileged? Yes. If someone has privilege, whether it is the dreaded white privilege or economically fueled privilege, it doesn’t mean, “they are a terrible person,” or, “their life […]
“Beauty Inside Shines through the Outside”
Matthew Powers, Riverside, CA. “Growing up Irish and being raised by a single mom in the 50’s and 60’s in Omaha I saw racial tension and acts all around the city, but I can’t say I understood anything about it until my younger sister and I were transferred to a different school because mom couldn’t […]
I’m Asian, yet not a threat
Kelli, Placentia, CA
I am not my skin color
Jaylah Davenport-Acosta, Palo Alto, CA
Abuse, Poverty, Mental Illness, but Race?
Torleif Soderstrom, Palo Alto, CA
Ignorance is not bliss with racism.
Sydney, CA
Chicana Falsa I Am Not!
Amber Nicole Gutierrez, Hemet, CA. Everyone grew up with a different life-style, just because I look of Mexican decent does not mean I am the same as every Mexican stereotype. I am an American and have grew up in the middle of both worlds of “American” and “Mexican”. I understand Spanish and speak some. I […]
Shame is a source of power
Issie Gotto, Piedmont, CA
One people in heart and mind.
Jon Castor, Woodside, CA
My life’s as precious as yours
Patricia Burns, Los Angeles, CA. Thank you.
The color that matters runs red
Jeri Grigsbay, Magalia, CA.
Race was constructed by white men
Robert Symens Bucher, Oakland, CA. Aspen X I am a white man, and I realize that the concept of race was created by people like myself a long time ago. The purpose of race was to create a tiered society in which white people had superiority to the other races. It is important for all […]
Discussing racism makes me feel uncomfortable
Charles Stremel, Mission Viejo, CA To preface, I am white, I’ve grown up well-off and never really had to worry too much about things. My parents divorced around my birth, but I was too young to even remember, so I wouldn’t even call that a hardship. My views on the current topics that discuss commonly […]
We Do Not Look The Same
Le Hoang Nhat Vy, Huntington Beach, CA As an Asian American growing up, I have been continuously been called the looking same as my other Asian friends even though we are two completely different people regardless of what any people say. It really irritates me when that happens. I grew up in Vietnam for my […]
It took 25 years to appreciate being Latina
Cecilia Joy Contreras Solano Riverside, CA
Not white, but my kids are?
Rob Silva Oakland, CA First generation with Indo-Dutch/ El Salvadoran heritage. Family has seemingly always been the non-white in the group, especially when listening to the my parents’ stories of assimilation. So strange then when my son was bullied at his new school in Berkeley for being the white kid.
My mixed-race son looks All-American.
Emma Alvarez Gibson, San Pedro, CA. My husband’s heritage is Japanese/Portuguese/French. Mine is Mexican/Irish/Scottish. Neither of us fit in anywhere while growing up; both sides of each of our families considered us oddities at best. People never knew what to make of us. I was too white for the Mexican kids and too uptight about […]
I will never really ‘get it’.
Celia Beasley, Seattle, WA. Being an upper-middle class white woman, I know I will never truly understand what it feels like to be a person of color in America. Despite my attempts to be aware of racism in this county through conversations, news stories, interviews, books, this website, etc, I know that I will never […]
Inequality, Segregation, Defining, Evil, Degrading, and Culture.
Tyler Henry, Ladera Ranch, CA In history, race has been used to segregate, define, and degrade people. It also has been used to raise people higher than one another creating inequality in humankind. All of these are different acts of evil. A person’s culture is a product of race. It allows people to connect with […]
We are all humans doing life
Jolynne, Chino, CA. If someone makes me nervous it’s usually because they’re different to me. Different than what I’ve been exposed to. It’s hard to emotionally stay with the difference regardless of what that difference is. The brave ones of us stay.
Indian, European, past enemies collide kindly.
Harleen Thind, American Canyon, CA. The reason why I chose these six words are because my mother and father are of different races, my father is European and my mother is Indian. Indians and Europeans were enemies in the past, they despised each other in the worst of ways. My father decided not to care […]
I am not one for boxes.
Denise Duvernay, Cupertino, CA. People are always trying to figure out exactly, what I am. But does learning my nationality, ethnicity, religion, sexual background, or any other particular thing tell you anything about WHO I AM? So often, I feel like people are just looking for any excuse to dismiss you, or box you into […]
Not a tool against Black Women.
Betty Rosenda Green, Chino Hills, CA. With the recent controversies of Zoe Saldana playing Nina Simone in blackface and Zendaya Coleman having been cast originally to play Aaliyah, I believe it is important to see how deep mainstream media like Hollywood work to erase Black Women, particularly with darker complexions specifically in this case, by […]
You talk well for being black!
Darius Alexander, Laguna Hills, CA I hate when I meet some white people and after having a deep conversation with me, they say, “Wow you talk extremely well for a black guy no offense.” Stop doing that. It’s like you’re saying that blacks aren’t supposed to speak with good grammar.
Mexican Born achieving my American dream
Jesus Castro Menifee, CA California Baptist University CBU HIS311 I was born in Mexico and am the first person in my family to have a career with retirement benefits. Proud to be in this country and served in the Military. I now have a family and I am teaching my 2 year old son the […]
Taxi took me, not black friend.
Steve Scott Hollywood, CA
Wow, you sound like a white girl.
Tanea, Lancaster, CA.
Blacks Would Go Extinct Without Whites
Miranda Metto, Richmond, CA. Very tired demands from racist aggressive, rude, uncivilized ignorant black people and their white fan club to pity and apologize to people who aren’t contributing anything equal or better than anyone and to be expecting all white people to dumb ourselves down so they can keep up.
I’m not your damn “china virus”
Todd Inoue, San Jose, CA Stay vigilant. Protect yourself at all times. And wear a damn mask.
We are all brothers and sisters
Christina Williams, Aliso Viejo, CA. Race is such as small idea in comparison to bigger ideas like love, togetherness, family, connection and happiness. I wish to raise my children in a world where people are celebrated for ideas and compassion and not for superficial ideas such as skin color and ethnicity. Race is outside of […]
All suits. Same deck of cards.
Denise Taylor, Temecula, CA. We love movies with popcorn, breakfast for dinner, prayers before bed, and extending kindness. Just love… a lot of love.
I get sunburned in ten minutes.
Christine Leach, San Francisco, CA. If the sun is intense enough, I can and have gotten sunburned in ten minutes, literally. I joke with my friend in Nigeria that I can’t visit him because it’d be too painful, physically. It’s a silly point, but one I’ve joked with friends about, who are black, hispanic, or […]
Military families: ahead of the curve.
Monique Hollis-Perry Alpine, CA Military bases overseas were homes to many biracial families like mine, and my sister and I went to school with classmates who looked like us. It was many years and thousands of miles from being sent to Fort Gordon, GA as a test case in the 1960s to see how (or […]
Sir, it’s just a random search.
Naim A., San Francisco, CA. These are the words I hear every time I go to the airport. Being Arab-American, I always face discrimination whether it’s from peers or random people on the street or social media but never let it get to me. The airport is the one place that always seems to get […]
Hockey is not a white sport.
Robin Perez, San Francisco, CA As a young kid, I never thought of getting into hockey as I had always known it to be a so-called “white sport” that disinterested people of color. I would later find this to be more of an oppressive statement than I would realize, as it is used to exclude […]
Chicano/Native-American trying to recapture my past
Joseph Velasco, Santa Barbara, CA My brother and I have been a quest for most of our lives to try and understand our family stories in the context of what it means to be “American.” As a person of color, I am reminded by some that I am other. But as a Chicano and Akimel […]
Led me to pursue more opportunities.
Alondra, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA Coming from a family of immigrants I saw how much they sacrificed and how they struggled in the pursuit of the American dream. My father was born in Guadalajara, Mexico and when he moved to the U.S he had to give up his education in order to help his family. […]
How do you pronounce your name?
G, Mission Viejo, CA My whole life has been slightly more challenging due to the fact that I am a first-generation American whose name is different than the traditional “Michael” or “Jake”. Growing up, the first day of school was always a bit of a struggle. I always knew when a teacher reached my name […]
No, I Won’t Mow Your Lawn!
Skye Tavarez, Sanger, CA
Too brown for the fancy restaurant.
Jane Medina Orange, CA My daughter Annie had just turned 21. So she, my husband, my son, and I put on our cocktail party clothes and went to the fanciest restaurant in Orange, California to buy Annie her first drink. As our car climbed the steep hill where the restaurant sat like a crown above […]
Taxi rejection opened white man’s eyes
Steven J. Scott Los Angeles, CA
Oh wow! You’re actually really smart.
April Wright, San Francisco, CA
Born Wright, I’m a bridge builder
David B. Wright, San Diego, CA I believe my parents raised me to believe that there was only one race and we all belonged to it. I have striven to live up to that and still need to improve. I am a Wright which means Builder and I am constantly trying to build the bridges […]
My “green” > Macy’s + Barney’s fiscal year $
Anonymous, Los Angeles, CA This is a reaction to the recent news stories of the African-American film actor who was unlawfully detained by NYPD and Macy’s after purchasing a pair of sunglasses from a Sunglass Hut at Macy’s. He was asked to show his ID and told he couldn’t afford the item, though he has […]
Whites can’t distinguish Harvard from Hoodlum.
Alisa Dennis Los Angeles, CA Many white people do not personally know any blacks, or very few. As a result, their only reference point for black culture is drawn from stereotyped, caricatured images from T.V. news, sitcoms, Hollywood movies, or quickly driving through the outskirts of economically marginalized black neighborhoods where they are likely to […]
Choose a side or betray both
Malik Price, Los Angeles, CA
I was American, now just white
Charles, San Francisco, CA, New Rochelle, NY, Worldwide Essayist Richard Rodriguez, said it best back in 1997, what can be the American inability to not conflate race with culture and class. I quote: “Essayist Richard Rodriguez of the Pacific News Service talks about race and class on the PBS News Hour October 31, 1997. RICHARD […]
The “Non-Aztec” Looking Mexican
Claire Rainey, Los Alamitos, CA. I have a friend from Spain who I adore. He is gay, I am a Christian. One day we were road tripping with our mutual friend from France. She was telling us about her new found “love” Fernando who happens to be 100% Mexican. My Spanish friend condemned her for […]
Racism and America are inextricably connected.
Floria, San Jose, CA In the words of Annalise Keating, “racism is built into the DNA of America.” It is inescapable and seeps into every aspect of people’s lives, from housing to access to education, jobs, and more.
Mexican American Reaching for the Stars
Jessica Soriano, Fontana, CA. My race does not define me, and it will not have any impact on the goals that I have set for myself. I am reaching for the stars and will settle for nothing but the best.
Exotic for a black girl
Jasmin Fortune, Temecula, CA. I am a multiracial girl who has bullied for the way I looked from K-12. I have been hated because girls thought their boyfriends liked me. I would be threatened to get jumped because they thought I thought of myself as better than them. Black girls never liked me because I […]
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 they can tell. I am proud to be so many things from all over the world.
Do you live in a Pyramid ?!
Antoinette Abdelmalek, Trabuco Canyon, CA Funny right. But I feel as though if you really want to laugh I should share some of my personal favorites: ‘Do you drive a camel to school?’, ‘ Are you related to King Tut?’, and ‘ Can you read Hieroglyphics?’. No, no, and you guessed it, no. Growing up, […]
Embrace Our Differences and Coexist…Please
Delaney Toler, Mission Viejo, CA
Anti-asian racism is America’s tradition
Ken Yamamoto, Santa Barbara, CA Historical immigration policies
You speak Spanish??? You look white.
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.
Half-white, half-middle-eastern. Where do I belong?
Aimiee Gauvreau, Redondo Beach, CA. I’m almost 47 now; I felt more alone as a child and teenager of the 70s and 80s. I teach high school English in a beautiful California beach community, and the kids are more open now, yet I see how the aloneness persists within them too. Maybe in another 50 […]
Islander ancestry balancing being mainland born
Juanita Duran-Wilson, Arcata, CA.
You’re nice for a black person.
Imelda Rivera Edwards, Antioch, CA. My 13 year old son shared this statement with me when I picked him up from school in Dublin, California that has predominantly Asian and white student population. He said, “mom, I told my classmate that that’a racist remark.” I said, “Good for you.” (BTW, I’m Filipina and my son […]
Understand that you will never understand
Katarina Iannucci, Mission Viejo, CA
I am not your Black friend.
Johnny Wannamaker, San Clemente, CA Living in the overwhelmingly white populated South Orange County and attending public school here has allowed me certain insights as a biracial student. The issues around race are not addressed. Although I never faced physical harm, I was acutely aware of the social coding that kept myself and other students […]
Not a thing. Just geography + time.
Odile Sullivan-Tarazi, Redwood City, CA. Of course, culturally it has been made a thing, and a thing which privileges some and penalizes others. We need to fix this.
You may not know you’re racist.
Taylor Hirano, Irvine, CA. Growing up in a mostly Caucasian community, many of my fellow peers didn’t know they were racist against me. It could come from backhanded compliments like “You’re so pretty for an Asian”, to minor comments such as “My sisters boyfriend is Asian, you probably know him”. Whenever I said anything they […]
Why won’t we just turn colorblind?
Julia Wright, Irvine, CA.
Your race does not define you.
Lauren Machado, Lakewood, CA
I am not the China Virus.
Samantha Tong, Castro Valley, CA
Go back to your own country!
Melisa Azimi, Irvine, CA The first thing that comes into peoples’ minds when I tell them I am Persian, is their hatred for my country. Iran and the US have a lot of tension between them and are often against each other. I think what people fail to realize is that the problem is the […]
The model minority myth blinds Asians
Dylan Ha, Milpitas, CA The model minority myth is the idea that Asians are the “perfect” minority. They don’t retaliate against the majority, conform to societal standards, and assimilate into American culture. This myth is used to create a divide between the minorities in America. The myth blinds Asians into thinking that they are not […]
My race is not my story!
Karlee Jackson, Mckinleyville, CA I’ve never understood race. Is race the color of my skin, my heritage, the way I feel about myself, or what the world tells me I am? Growing up I’ve been placed as a white girl and people believe in privileged; however, the color of my skin isn’t my story. Just […]
Kofi is a fake white man!
fakeKofi M. G. W. Opantiri, Los Angeles, CA. I am the eldest child of two boys and a girl born to an American-African father and a French-Canadian (white) mother. Born in New York City in 1949, the “one-drop” rule informed me early on that I was Negro and colored. Like millions of American-Africans, I became […]
You are pretty for an Asian
Laurel Nelson, Corona, CA My whole life I never felt like I was the ‘right’ race to fit into being ‘pretty’ because of this phrase I was always told. Every race and every individual is beautiful. CBU HIS311
Do you eat dogs and cats?
Ian, Lake Forest, CA Being an Asian American, we are constantly under the attack of racial discrimination and stereotype. In middle school, since I lived in a white town, being the ONLY Asian in my school’s 150 years of history, I get asked the same question every single day: “Hey! you Asian right? so you […]
“A Teacher Who Looks Like Me”
Meghen, CA I’ve been babysitting for my current family for about a year and a half now, and I’ve heard of and been present for stories in that time on being Black in a predominantly white neighborhood. One of the first and better chats was my 10 year-old getting excited about moving as she would […]
Race is adaptation to your environment.
Tate Lee, Mission Viejo, CA Specific mutations can be specifically beneficial for an environment. In a cold climate, shorter and thicker arms would prove to keep someone warmer, while longer and thinner ones would expend more energy to keep blood circulating. We can see from history that physiological changes occur when individuals live their lives […]
I don’t belong on both sides
Renee Chen, Mission Viejo, CA As a first-generation Chinese American, I found it increasingly difficult to be accepted by both cultures as it seems that I don’t fit in as either Chinese or American; I’m either too “white-washed” by my relatives or “too Asian” by my peers when I was younger. And they base it […]
White Male Privilege Is A Lie!
Thomas Hardy, Chico, CA I grew up in an extremely poor family. My father was a WW11 vet that lost most of his knee in the war. He was tough though and had his own tree service where he, himself climbed. We had 7 kids and 6 of us boys slept in one bed, shared […]
I compose music. But I’m brown.
Luis Enrique Jimenez Jr., Los Angeles, CA IT’S TIME TO LET CLASSICAL MUSIC DIE By: Nebal Maysaud Western classical music depends on people of color to uphold its facade as a modern, progressive institution so that it can remain powerful. By controlling the ways in which composers are financed, it can feel like our only […]
A$!@n Kid Helps Teacher with Computer
Khoa Le, Elk Grove, CA. Ever since I started school as a kid, whether it’s a math class, history, or English, a teacher will always have technical difficulties with their computer. They then ask the class, does anyone know how to fix this. An Asian kid raises his hand and helps the teacher. As I […]
More than “just a Black girl”
Jolie Anne Chevalier, San Jose, CA. This is me at eight years old back in 1979, the daughter of an African-American/Seminole Indian mother, and a Irish-French-American father. Growing up, I was faced with contradictions in a world of opposites; although I was multiracial my mother told me I was Black, and to identify as such […]
Ignorance is Bliss in Korean Culture
Juliet Kim, Irvine, CA In Korean culture, mental health and awareness is not something that is openly talked about. Being a first-generation citizen of the United States, I grew up with both American and Korean cultures that have shaped me into who I am today. I feel that mental health and awareness is extremely important […]
I was scared of my race
Kiesha Ireland-Tran San Francisco, CA I am an African American girl, yet I grew up scared of black people. I felt that I was unsafe and didn’t belong with them. An adult in my life lead me to believe these things that changed how I perceived myself and others. People identified me as ‘white’ despite […]
I’m African American; With No Kids.
Aniaka McCowan, Union City, CA. Everyone one always says “oh my god you have a kid” Just because I hold a child doesn’t mean I’m a young mother. A caucasian women asked me why I ruined my life having a bastard child you probably don’t even know the father. I simply said why do you […]
The Nappy Headed Black Girl
Tre’zure Glover, Banning, CA. Being an African American woman comes with its assumptions and stereotypes. The main stereotype and assumptions deals with our hair. Many people question why is our hair so nappy? Why is it so greasy? How long does it take to grow? do you wash it everyday? Those are just some questions […]
I BET YOU HATE YOUR HAIR
Tiana, Wildomar, CA. Typically I get complimented on my hair that I have inherited from my mother’s side. As a mixed breed people struggle to figure out what I am exactly, but my hair is a tell tale sign that I am not white. Aside from various compliments I always get that one girl that […]
NO MORE WEAVES FOR ME FOLKS!
Nikki Hearn, Sacramento, CA. Being “Black” just the way God made me is enough.
Girl, you got that good hair.
Clare Norris-Bell, Los Angeles, CA. In the Black community, hair has been been a measurement of one’s value for generations. In the African-American culture, “good” hair refers to hair that is not kinky or not what is pejoratively called “nappy”. It is hair that is closer to the texture of people in parts of the […]
Red hair gets the most stares.
Stefanie Walker, Sacramento, CA. Sometimes I just want to dye my hair and see what it would be like to blend into the crowd-to not be defined by my red hair color anymore-to not be a “red head”. Red heads are the biggest minority of all in my opinion, how many do you actually know? […]
Becoming American, it is not easy
Sandra Castañeda Anaheim, CA I have spent 42 of my 44 years in this country and it doesn’t make an ounce of difference, I’m still treated differently. My head says I’m American my heart says I’m Colombian, because that’s where I’m accepted.
Somewhere between Salsa and Country!
Stephanie Connors Eureka, CA Music is one of my biggest reminders of the cultures that I grew up with. It fills me with nostalgia and pride, longing and love of the people who came before me. The people from: everywhere! I love all of it now. From day to day I swirl around in a […]
I was always different growing up
Julie Long, Pioneer, CA. When I was 8, we moved from a big city to a small country town, where there were, maybe two other families that weren’t white. I had no idea at 8 years old what race was. I never even differentiated a difference based on appearance, but I remember being suddenly shocked […]
To be young, gifted, and black.
Maynard Hearns, Santa Cruz, CA. The black story in america is very simple: we were slaves, and then we weren’t. We were never given freedom, or equality. When we begged for it, we were lied to. When we Marched on Washington and pleaded our case, we were shot in the back of the head. When […]
Middle-aged Karen, from invisible to villain
Karen Campbell, Los Angeles, CA
Old chains are hard to break.
Jennifer Allen, Oceanside, CA Chains of habit, societal expectations, historical wrongs, unfair advantages, inaccurate history. Even when you have the tools, it takes time and effort to chip away at the customs enough to take them off. For everyone
Don’t assume- alot you don’t know
Oliver Parr, Tuscaloosa, AL. Being white in the state of Alabama automatically means that most people assume the worst. I was raised in the State of California where race truly is not even a topic of discussion. I grew up not looking at the color of a persons skin but how tough it is. I […]
Whites have the luxury to ignore it.
Kirsten Liske, Santa Cruz, CA
Oh sorry I am new here!
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 […]
Why don’t you consider yourself White?
Anonymous, Redwood City, CA. White people have been trying to kill my people for 2000+years. I think that gives us an out on being part of any “race”.
You came, you smiled, we loved
Jennifer Blankenship, Grand Terrace, CA.
Haole is a very racist word.
Theresa Nakata, San Diego,CA Growing up a “haole” girl in rural Kona, Hawaii, every school year I was bullied for the color of my white skin and the shape of my nose. As I got older and experienced other cultures, the personal shame and pain I felt about being white in Hawaii was replaced with […]
You don’t look like an Asian
Poonam Sherpa, Mountain View, CA
Out of isolation. Family comes first.
Cheryl Devall, El Cerrito, CA Unlike most of my extended family, I live alone by choice, childfree. Love my people AND need my space. After the ‘Rona hit, I figured I’d be safely sheltered, working from home in Northern California. Until my older sister, who lives with our recently widowed Daddy in San Diego, texted […]
You tell me what I am!!!
Paul, Hayward, CA So My Mom is creole and her parents(my grandparents) passed for white and I didn’t know I had black ancestry until I was 28yo my dad is Irish/English… people tend to tell me what race I am. I identify mostly as white but look Latino but depends on who you ask… apparently […]
I am white. So?
Alan S. Doctor, Cambria, CA. I was born in San Francisco on 15 Sep 1930. Dad was Scotch/English and Mom was Polish with a dash of German. Both 1st generation born in USA. My neighborhood friends were Hispanic, Oriental, white and refugee Jews from Germany. In high school I liked to walk home through the […]
He should already know the answers
John David Rodriguez, Sacramento, CA. Being an Asian-American today is not even a far cry to what it was 20-75 years ago, especially if you were a Japanese American who had to endure living in the American Japanese Camps. Not even many Americans remember those days. I am a Californian that is Japanese, Mexican, Irish, […]
Proud to be American, Mexican American
Sal Guardado, Riverside, CA It has taken over 30 years to gain a sense of personal belonging to a country in which I was born and raised. Could this be because I was born to immigrant parents and always felt the need to compensate for somehow not being “American” enough? As I age, reach new […]
Angry Black person or unsatisfied customer?
Christina B. Henderson, Riverside, CA. Why is a Black person speaking up for themselves in a situation when customer service has been less than satisfactory stereotyped as being an angry Black woman/man? Shout out to CBU HIS311.
Poverty and racism leave children “behind.”
Susan F. Bohrer Merced, CA I started a tutorial program and later worked as a social work intern in a middle school where 70% of the students lived in poverty; 80% belonged to minority populations. From the teachers I learned that college was for other kids, and from the students I learned that it didn’t […]
All my life: “What are you?”
Patricia Williams, Encinitas, CA. Thank you for creating this project!
White Male, Not Straight, Still Privileged.
Mark Stuart, San Diego, CA While I hid my homosexuality for 1/2 my life, I was regularly bullied through high school for being different. But no one ever called 911 on me for bird watching or leveled a shotgun at me for jogging through a neighborhood.
I ate pasta, family ate rice.
Melanie Vanderlipe Ramil, Sacramento, CA. Growing up, I wanted to be as “non-Filipino” as possible and felt great achievement whenever a friend said to me, “You seem so white!” During my middle school years, I claimed to not like rice (the staple for every night’s family dinner). My mom, after rushing home from work to […]
I became an activist and prisoner
Dan Kelly San Francisco, CA I was in a Brooklyn HS in the early 60s and the images coming from the south inspired me to question the social conventions that supported segregation, From that, it was a short jump to questioning foreign policies that justified invading 3rd world countries. College seemed irrelevant and I left […]
Not all Jewish people are cheap.
Leonard Fribourg Mission Viejo, CA I worked swap meets for many years and was always astounded when folks would ask if they could “Jew me down” and think nothing of it.
It’s easier to say I’m White
Laura Pierson, Los Angeles, CA. I am Native American, Mexican, Spanish, English, Germany, and Irish. I was raised by a single mom that is Native American, English, German, and Irish. I didn’t know what being a Mexican meant or was like and I’m still trying to figure it out. As a child, I told people […]
It’s already hard to be heard.
Natalie Skelton, Mountain View, CA Close your eyes and hear someone’s words, unfiltered by race, sex, orientation, religion, whatever. If you read what someone thinks before you know what they look like, do you have a different viewpoint? Try to remember that.
Asian-American stories are rarely told.
Timothy Leong, Orinda, CA. I want to change that. Representation in American media spaces need to change in order to combat the stigma that comes with the model minority myth. Also to show the world that we are all different and vary from stereotypes.
Divide And Conquer: The Media’s Agenda
Aaron Diaz, Santa Clara, CA.
Black Lives Matter! All Lives Matter!
Natalie, Upland, CA CBU HIS311
My Melanin Is Not A Weapon
Taliyah E Davis, Los Altos Hills, CA
Cross street? Or smile? I’m sorry.
Anonymous Berkeley, CA This is the struggle I have inside ever time I am walking alone at night and come across a man or group of men, often men of color. Should I cross the street to be safe and be “that girl” that crosses the street in fear of the black man? Or should […]
Last Black Man Standing In SanFrancisco
Stephen Grove Malloy, San Francisco, CA. Would love to contribute my experience here in the Nation’s Wealthiest and Progressive City…one would think it were Shangrila when in fact it has been the most negative “race” based experience I’ve encountered in my 55 years of African-American Life in these United States.
Black, white, brown are colors not races.
Maureen Krueger, Santa Ana, CA I choose my friends not on the basis of skin color no more than I base my choice of friends based on height, weight, the color of their eyes, or the color of their hair. Friendship is based on character and similar interests. Those who use physical characteristics to determine […]
Yes, they are my biological grandchildren.
Robbie Engel, La Habra, CA I’m German, their mom’s Mexican. Stop acting like I kidnapped them.
You are just a dirty Jew
Heide Levine, Fresno, CA These were the words I heard all the time growing up.
I’ll experience this, hopefully they don’t.
Takiyah L., Oakland, CA. If all it takes for me is to take on the burdens of intersectionality, just so my brother and sister, and future generations of Black and Brown youth will not have to experience that, then I am all down for the cause. I would not want them to endure such things, […]
Hard to go outside a Jew
Gavin Vogel, Los Angeles, CA I chose these six words because of my Grandfather, a person who does not go to Temple very much but keeps Judaism close to his heart. As a young skinny boy in Manhattan, he was walking home from school one day as a few bullies walked by and they called […]
Daughters of Muslim father are American.
Suzie Husami, San Diego, CA. My mother and father met in college in upstate New York – he, a Lebanese -Muslim-Republican named Muhammad and she, an American non-practicing Methodist-Democrat named Maureen. They fell in love and had three daughters – Najla, our olive-skinned sister, and my twin sister and me – pale and freckled. My […]
Who is your daughter’s father?
Itoko Richardson, Daly City, CA. I am Japanese and my husband is Black (he extremely dislikes to be called African-American). Our experience alone was interesting and filled with many racist, stereotype encounters and reactions. But my experience with my daughter is interesting. When I and my daughter are out, I can feel strangers’ wonder of […]
Just call me a human being
Lily Campbell, San Francisco, CA. I am a Freshman in Highschool, and for the past month, my religious studies teacher has been teaching us what the meaning of race is. Race is a category that humans have created to tell each other apart from one another, but we are all apart of one race, the […]
I LOOK white but… I’m MEXICAN!!!
Jade, West Sacramento, CA Whenever race comes up in a conversation I try to avoid it because every time I tell someone I’m Mexican they always say, “But you don’t look Mexican” and it bothers me because not everyone looks a certain way.
Fractured by race–forgiveness made whole.
Rasheda Carroll, Los Angeles, CA
Yes, I’m Latina.
Tracy Centeno, Van Nuys, CA I am Mexican and Salvadoran born and raised in California. My granddad was mix with another race so he looks white but he wasn’t. Many thought that I was full whit and kept saying that can’t Mexican or Salvadoran, it made me feel sad too know that my own community […]
Teacher this is my home flag
Randi Sin, Eureka, CA When my dad was in the 3rd grade he was tasked to draw his home flag. He proceeded to draw the American flag, in which the teacher told him this was incorrect, his was the Mexican Flag. This was met with very offending words from my grandmother, who just like my […]
Much of it is now underground.
Tom Gilles, Los Angeles, CA.
Love white people, hate white privilege
Chinna, Vallejo, CA. I love my Caucasian brothers and sisters I just HATE the institutions in which racism is embedded in.
Judgment based on an individual’s ACCENT.
Ame Cruz, Sacramento, CA. It’s not just about blacks & whites. People tend to judge based on others’ accents as if they’re not good enough because they don’t know English well.
I don’t fit anywhere: Multiracial identity
John Calloway, San Francisco, CA. I have been struggling with being a mixed race, multi-racial, muliti-ethnic identiy all my life. Belonging neither here nor there. I mean how can you be Filipino-American with a name like Calloway?
I am more than a race
Chris, Tustin, CA
Take a moment, see their view.
Nicole, Yorba Linda, CA The more we try to understand each other’s experiences, the sooner we can come together.
Racial acceptance only lies in pianos
Madeline, Anaheim, CA
I ask again, am I racist?
Karla Torres, Oakland, CA Am I racist? This is something I’ve been asking myself recently as I’ve encountered new neighbors living on my street. This neighborhood has always been predominantly black and Latino and while there have been issues between the neighbors, things have never gotten to this level of uncomfortableness. All the homes here […]
Facts don’t care about your feelings
Teddy, Long Beach, CA Race in America could use a 3rd party perspective
My children don’t look like me.
Ava Nanjung, San Diego, CA As an Indian/White mother to my three biological children of color, strangers find no issue asking me or them if they are adopted. Not one inherited my white skin. I wish one of them looked more white. If they did, I wouldn’t have to worry about them simply existing in […]
I’m Chinese, I’m not a virus!
Sandy, Irvine, CA I know everyone’s scared of the virus but no prejudice, please.
Race Is Not Who You Are!
Diana, Van Nuys, CA Try to prove your being a human by your deeds and not the appearance!
Love and learn from one another
Hannah Leigh, Chico, CA
White Bones Ache For Black Moves
Mike Tracy, Oakland, CA. When I was 3 or 4 I asked my parents to put brown sugar on my oatmeal so I could grow up to be a running back like Jim Brown or Floyd Little.
I Know Tons Of Black People
Seth Mishler, Fountain Valley, CA
Not your basic blonde white girl.
Noel Schultz, Mission Viejo, CA For the race card project I chose the six words “Not your basic blonde white girl”. There are many stereotypes that fly around those who are Caucasian, females especially blondes. Some say that blonde white girls who live in Orange County are pretentious and privileged. Claiming that everything is naturally […]
Living In Accordance With Nature’s Way
Chad Howarth, Oceanside, CA We are each responsible, regardless of race, for making ourselves strong. The particular suffering that is in our blood, and imposed by accident of birth, are the weights we are given so that we might lift them and become strong. I am not particularly sensitive to popular race issues for this […]
Asian girls are the terrible drivers
Van Pham, Aliso Viejo, CA In my whole life, I have been wondering why people could judge others by their ethnicity. I acknowledge that races were ranked based on intellectual and moral standards according to our ancestry. Hence, some ethnicities would rank themselves as superior and others as inferior. However, according to the Gene Denby […]
Stop Pretending your Racism is Patriotism
Linnea Bevan, San Luis Obispo, CA I would first like to start off with a tweet from our current president in July of 2019: “Our Country is Free, Beautiful and Very Successful,” Trump tweeted. “If you hate our country, or if you are not happy here, you can leave!” To start off this discussion, it […]
You’re German? Was your family Nazis?
Kaleb Wombacher, Irvine, CA Being of mostly Western European descent I really don’t experience a lot of hate or judgment so I try my best to be a good ally for those who do. But the most appalling thing I’ve been asked regarding my own race came from my overtly German/Austrian Lastname, Wombacher-Trolinger. It was […]
I am everything, we all are.
Danielle Garcia, San Jose, CA. Race is a concept, we’re all the same inside.
May I please touch your hair?
Vy Nguyen, Aliso Viejo, CA I have never seen blond hair in person until I immigrated to the USA. My husband took me to his friend’s birthday party and I saw a little girl with silvery blond hair for the first time. I asked her if I could touch it. She was shy at first, […]
Do you wear Hijab at home?
Hda, Irvine, CA I am a person who used to cover my head with a scarf. It is a religious reason and I like to follow it, so I used to cover my head from a certain age until now. This was so normal before I came to the U.S because almost all the girls […]
Shouting: ” No Chinese”! But,… I’m not.
Patricia Dunn-Serota, Sonoma, CA. I had rocks thrown at me as someone shouted no Chinese, but I am Caucasian .
Reasons to not Hate Mexicans
Angel, Northridge, CA You should not hate people of Mexican origin because them, along with others should feel happy in their own skin. If a person is happy in their own skin they can be hard workers, be strong enough to get college degrees, and not want to commit crimes against societal bullies. Mexican children […]
Change comes through continous struggle MLK
Hope CA We can and must do better if we are to create the world worthy of our collective sacrifice
“East or west food is best”
Akshan Chand, San Jose, CA
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