change Archives - Page 2 of 8 - The Race Card Project

Changing the path of my children!!

August 10, 2022August 10, 2022 CA, change, character, children, Chino Hills, culture, embrace, Path, Tina Bradford, White is right

Tina Bradford,
Chino Hills, CA.

Being raised in a home where “White is Right,” I only had one thing I could do. So I went on my own path of development. Creating myself into the black sheep of the family. Why would I do such a thing? So my children could learn we do not judge on based on the color of their skin, their sexuality, their education, or the past. We judge people on their character. We embrace cultural differences and learn from each other. No, my children are not considered supreme beings by my family, because they are mixed. But in my house, I would not want them any other way. I do not want them to associate who they are as a race, but know they will grow into a productive adult that makes the world a better place for you and me. As said before, yes, I am happy I am the Black Sheep of my family!

Si Senor, yo soy del Bario

August 10, 2022August 10, 2022 bario, change, Elizabeth Gonzalez, Hodgkins, IL, life, neighborhood, pride, proud, senor

Elizabeth Gonzalez,
Hodgkins, IL.

I am proud of living in my neighborhood. I did not choose to be born a Latina or living in this neighborhood but no matter how bad it is I still love it. I wouldn’t change a single thing about my life.

I want to help change things.

May 2, 2022May 2, 2022 change, Community College, find your voice, FL, help, Kathy Holmes, Riverview, systemic racism, teacher

Kathy Holmes,
Riverview, FL

At 60, I am embarrassed to say…I was woefully uneducated about systemic racism. Doing my best to learn and trying to do my part by teaching at a community college. I encourage my students to find their voices. And use it.

Listening, learning to sit in discomfort.

February 19, 2022 CA, change, effort, Kris Cornwall, San Mateo

Kris Cornwall,
San Mateo, CA

To help effect change, I have to understand the privilege that is my normal. And this means listening to the truths of those who don’t have my privilege – allowing my discomfort to open my heart not close my ears.

Whiteness Can Make or Break Change

January 13, 2022 break change, change, Cole, Corvallis, OR, whiteness

Cole,
Corvallis, OR

Imagine that person a different color

August 17, 2021 change, Color, different color, Joe Hooyboer, Lynden, person, WA

Joe Hooyboer,
Lynden, WA

Ask yourself, snd be honest with yourself: When you see people in everyday life, how would your view of that interaction change if they were a different color?

Raised racist, decided not to be!

June 19, 2021 change, IN, Indianapolis, raised racist, Sydney Anderson

Sydney Anderson,
Indianapolis, IN

Work in Progress, Committed to Change

April 4, 2021April 4, 2021 Canada, change, Daniel, Stanford Anti-Racism and Allyship 7 Day Journey, Toronto, work in progress

Daniel,
Toronto, Canada

I’m a White privileged man that grew up on a racist homophobic and classist family. Working on my awareness and Bias to be able to impact others and be part of the solution

White and Quite Oblivious Growing Up

March 10, 2021 Anna Fox, change, Christian School, first experience, Goldsboro, growing up, NC, Oblivious, racism, white

Anna Fox,
Goldsboro, NC

I am a white women, and growing up, I did not really realize how much privilege I had. I went to a small private Christian school starting in seventh grade and eventually graduating as a senior in high school there. The whole time I attended this school, I think there were maybe two or three African Americans. I had always been taught by my parents that racism was wrong and I have always believed that. I knew that there were still some racist people here and there because there were some at my school, but I did not realize the extent of this problem. Over the past two years, I have learned how racism is causing so many problems in society, and want to help bring about change any way that I can!

How white of me to participate.

March 9, 2021 Ben Guyton, change, Eugene, fight, meaningful, OR, Race, reduce

Ben Guyton,
Eugene, OR

This is mostly a dig at me– for the impulse to submit a phrase as if it meant I was helping to reduce/fight/calm/change racism. It was much more meaningful, for me, to read through what others said. I had more than one “I never considered that” moment going through them. Thank you for sharing.

Using my privilege to effect change

November 2, 2020 change, Nick Feighner, privilege, WA

Nick Feighner,
WA

I don’t know where to begin.

October 5, 2020October 5, 2020 Arlington, begin, change, Elizabeth Johnson, Family, friends, human, stuggle, VA

Elizabeth Johnson,
Arlington, VA.

There are so many things I wish I could say but am worried they will come out the wrong way. I want to say I see you’re struggling. I want to say I see racism among my friends and within my own family. I want to say it’s wrong. I want to say it needs to change. I want to say we are all human. I want to say we were all created by God. But I don’t know where to begin. And I’m worried it will be taken the wrong way because I’m white.

I think I am becoming racist

September 21, 2020September 21, 2020 A, bad hygiene, be kind, change, excuse, Hispanic, immigrants, Latino, Racist, respect, steal, stereotype, USA

A.,
USA.

I work in an area with a lot of Hispanic or Latino immigrants from different places. I have not had many good experiences with them. For awhile I just tried to excuse their behavior as not knowing or understanding the cultural differences but it’s getting harder. Before I continue, yes I know there are good people and bad people everywhere and in every race. But the stealing, the letting kids run in the parking lot, the leaving stuff on the ground on purpose, the bad hygiene — it all gets to me. One moral I hold dearly is respect and bottom line is for whatever reason the overwhelming majority of them do not show it. It’s not just one race or one family but I’d say 95% of them in this area. The few good ones remind me that it is never a whole race but I feel myself becone more prejudiced and hateful. However in the meantime I still treat them with respect, be kind to their children and help them in any way I can like any other customer. What can I do to stop myself from feeling this way?

White bullying in black territory

July 28, 2020 anonymous, black neighborhood, change, Elkhart, Government housing, IN, white bullying

Anonymous,
Elkhart, IN

Black people will target a white person in a black neighborhood or inside institutions where blacks are superior. Beat them call them names, and even take their food. I have witnessed this first hand. Plus what about black people killing their own? It’s a matter of not really wanting success. They want a lottery ticket but don’t want to do the hard work. You can do anything but not everything, that means you cannot be successful and party till 1am. You can’t be a gangsta and a CEO. You can’t afford an Escalade and a house payment. Let’s get real America. Not just about racism either but about our denials of universal truths that we despise because it is hard. Yeah it is not easy but when we accept the truth, then work towards real success we can see real progress instead of underhanded manipulation just to gain status or a specific desire. REAL CHANGE/ HARD FACTS!

I have a three black cousins, and my uncle who is my mother’s brother is black. I lived on government housing and was chased by black people at times. White racism is real too!

“They should not be doing that.”

June 16, 2020June 16, 2020 change, church, Civil War, Claire, southern, TN

Claire,
TN,

My Big Mama said the above statement to my father. I was hanging out with two of my friends, one a white female and the other a black male. Apparently my Big Mama thought it was rather inappropriate that two young white women would go around town with a young black man. How I lived for 18 years without noticing the racism and prejudice so strongly rooted in my family, I’ll never know. I thought I belonged to a family that was accepting, loving, and far removed from the racist southern archetype. No, it was at that moment that I realized how little distance we (my family) had traversed since the Civil War. It was okay to sit in the same restaurant, or church, or doctor’s office with “them,” but it was not okay to date, marry, or have close friendships with “their kind.”

I will continue to do things that I “shouldn’t.” I will continue to be a friend and an ally to those who need me.

Outdated Illusion Destructively Creating A Narrative!

May 18, 2020May 18, 2020 change, create, destuctive, illusion, narrative, outdated

Corey Mason,
Chicago, IL.

Great fun!

Change comes through continous struggle MLK

January 20, 2020January 20, 2020 CA, change, Martin Luther King, MLK, sacrifice, struggle

Hope
CA

We can and must do better if we are to create the world worthy of our collective sacrifice

White supremacy I win needs dismantiling

November 13, 2019 Capeup, change, generations, Germantown, grandfather, grandson, Ken Woodward, MD, mixed race, South

Ken Woodward,
Germantown, MD

I’m a 49-year-old white male. I have primarily lived oblivious to the pervasiveness of white supremacy and mostly denied its existence. I raised a mixed race step-grandson from a 4 months old to now 24 years old.

Two years ago I started my journey into understanding the world of People of Color. Reading/listening to diverse authors, listening to different podcasts and asking people who look different than me about their lived experience.

This journey has upended my understanding of my American history, its venerable heroes, and the recognition the racial disparity, we encounter today, has been systematically built to benefit a particular group. I am this group.

During a trip home from North Carolina this week, I had to take a detour off I-95 after crossing into Virginia. I passed the remnants of a cotton crop on the edge of a field. All I could think of is the suffering this fluffy fruit delivered upon so many people; slave, master, and country. I then returned to the highway only to be welcomed by a horribly majestic Confederate flag billowing in the wind. Jefferson Davis said, “My pride is that that flag shall not set between contending brothers; and that, when it shall no longer be the common flag of the country, it shall be folded up and laid away like a vesture no longer used.”

The white man says, “what race problem, look how far we have come.” The black man says, “there is a race problem, see how far we have to go.”

Last month was the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first slave in America. We continue to pay the price for how this horrific practice shapes our thinking and policies.

I have benefitted from this history and want to do what I can to dismantle the very structures that have given me this privilege. I never owned a slave, but I still reap the rewards of that system. Without shaming my white brothers and sisters, let’s work to give our children’s generation the gift of true equality.

Change hurts, but not changing hurts for generations.

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