You’re Mexican? Why are you white?
Fátima Tamayo, Chicago, IL We are all mixed and looks can’t define us.
My role model was not black.
Jamal Wills, MD. People often say that black kids need black role models. I sort of cheated. The wild hair, thoughtful eyes, the chin and...
Italian Boyfriend Uncomfortable Visiting Arizona Home
Mike McNamara Chicago, IL Especially in the non-winter months because he gets so dark. Growing up in Tucson, he was sometimes mistaken for Mexican, which...
White until someone tells me differently
Megan Forrest, Chicago, IL Living in suburban Chicago is always weird because I dress the same as the rest of my peers, talk the same,...
Like looking through a semi-opaque window.
Tony, Chicago, IL. I chose these six words because when it comes to race, it is like we are looking at each other through a...
I Don’t Get To Be Colorblind
Jenn M. Jackson, Chicago, IL. Every single day I am accused of “making things about race.” I’m told that I’m “looking for racism” in everything....
Assist based on need, not color.
Bobby Chicago, IL Current iterations of affirmative action programs are a relic of the narrowminded thinking of the past century. They should be reformed to...
My skin is not your accessory.
Michelle K. Chicago, IL Racist men who are interested in me solely for their “yellow fever”: my skin is not your accessory. Racist people who...
We’re ALL racist in some form!
Dana Lee Sterbens, Chicago, IL. Discrimination in not only for people of color. We all discriminate against “other” or “the unknown”. I have experienced racism...
Muslim. Assumption I don’t speak English.
Elizabeth Liechti Chicago, IL Because I also speak German and Arabic I am sometimes VERY tempted to have a bit of fun with the person...
You’re not my only black friend.
Jana French Chicago, IL Craving honest conversations about race in America. Must get over white baby boomer guilt and talk frankly about what unites and...
Let me handle this, minority friends.
Nicholas Pencak, Chicago,, IL. From hailing a cab to asking for help from a stranger. The difference my presence makes when I’m with minority friends...
Cautious eye-holding while saying hello.
Mark Loup, Williams Bay, IL. This is one of the reasons I’m glad I left Chicago, one of the most segregated big cities in America....
