Ky Hopson-Fernandes, Tampa, FL
My color will define my life
Marlon, Minneapolis, MN
A transnational adoptee, consumed by “in-betweenity.”
Rebecca York, Takoma Park, MD Fighting for visibility and validity, in white and of-color spaces is perpetually exhausting. Transnational adoptees are at the heart of America’s racial, cultural, and nationalistic legislation and cultural beliefs. Stop gate-keeping, and let us join the conversation.
Why does my color bother you?
Claudia Davis, Akron, OH. I have traveled several places in my lifetime. However, this pass weekend after the Presidential election I experience a shift in the atmosphere. People think and feel they have a license to say and do what they want toward people of color. The disrespect is hitting a different level prior to […]
My color doesn’t define my success
Michala Day, Farmville, VA.
Heroic face seldom seen in media
Charles Los Angeles, CA Leaders of color are seldom portrayed in our theater, films or story traditions.
I’m white. How can I help?
Anne Huntemer, Sonora, CA. Coming from a place of privilege, how can I help welcome and fight for my friends of color? I know I haven’t experienced what you have, but I’m here to support you in any way I can.
There’s no finish line to color
Omar, USA Race has two meanings, and both can haunt us. The color of our skin, hair, eyes, etc.. or the delirious desire to be the fastest, the strongest, to win the race. They’ve always been intertwined. Well, as we know now, those division lines of color, or those finish lines of race-tracks are very […]
Plants, birds, people – celebrate life’s colors.
Rose Mary Prifest, Wayne State, Harper Woods, MI If there is anything important I learned in my lifetime, it’s acceptance of peoples’ differences. The key is education. It is opening your mind and heart to learning what makes people who they are. We may not agree with how they worship, whom they love, and how […]
Laundry
Allie Felsner, Wayne State, Detroit, MI Laundry is the only thing that should be separated by color
God painted the world in color
Cassidy Capoferri, Wayne State, Macomb, MI Growing up Catholic and in Catholic schools, we were always taught that God loves everyone, no matter what. He created all people equally. It was so simple when I was younger, but the older I get, the more I see people ignoring this. It doesn’t matter what religion you’re […]
No Color Leaves The World Plain.
LesleyAnn Moore, Boston, MA. Race is beautiful. Diversity fills the globe and allows freedom of expression through its inhabitants. We are born already filled with differences. Our color is our culture, ethnicity, and race. The world is a painter’s palette ready to disperse every shade imaginable. Once we recognize and become accepting of other colors, […]
The world looks better in color
Hannah Gold-Garvey, Virginia Beach, VA.
Soul Surfer is Light without color
NanJo Carter, Richmond, CA. I grew up in the fifties and sixties. We moved to Japan when I was 2. We moved to Montgomery, AL when I was six and I attended Capitol Heights Elementary School. These were intense times with the National Guard escorting us to class and the school. We experienced discrimination and […]
I’m sorry I’m staring at you.
Jessica Flake, Amelia, OH I work as a demo’s assistant at an international grocery store which will not be named for advertising purposes. Being in Demo’s means I make samples for people to try of various products that we want to sell. I have been called various ‘slurs’ by some people of color in the […]
Uniquely Made, The American Girl Today
Christina Rains, Riverside, CA. French, Indian, Mexican, Dutch, but American? It is quite clear that you cannot judge individuals by their color. Race in reality just identifies where your family has lived and what part of the world you are from. Throughout my life, I have been called “white girl” but in reality, this categorization […]
Color Doesn’t Matter. Tell My Boss.
Tina, MI. These six terms are my experience as it relates to every work environment I’ve encountered. I’ve been successful whereever I’ve worked and am now busy doing the “enterepreneur thing” (successfully). My employment experiences have all been the same. Single black female, alone in a sea of white as if no other qualified blacks […]
Color for crayons, people are people
Katheryn Ward, Tulsa, OK.
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 award assistance based on socio-economic status, not race/gender/religion/etc. To truly help all disadvantaged people we must break from the outmoded thinking of archaic legislation.
I’m caramel, you’re peach, we’re sweet!
Leah Turner Lancaster, PA One time, a little girl ask me what color I was. At the time my snippy come-back was “Choca-mocha-latte!”, but I figured that was a little much for a six year old who was honestly curious. So I looked at my skin and said “Caramel”. She said “Oh,” Looked at her […]
My creativity eludes definition by color
Jay Fluellen Philadelphia, PA I am an African American male who teaches in the public school system in Philadelphia. I constantly defy the comprehension of my predominately African American students by talking without cursing, listening to classical music, using words they don’t understand and by dressing professionally. I push passed all of this to teach […]
Colour? All you need is love
Alan Kummer, U.K. Scientifically, colour doesn’t really exist. Thank you ‘National Geographic’ for fully opening my eyes.
Race is color, color isn’t you
Alejandra Vargas, San Jose, CA.
White’s a color, not a race.
Brittni Staufer, Lafayette, CO. I hate having to check a box for my race.
I’m An Individual NOT A Color!
Nadra Enzi, New Orleans, LA. Anyone with eyes can see that I’m a dark Black man. That and a couple dollars might buy you a cup of coffee at a trendy shop. Two terms of Obama-inflamed identity politics makes me reassert a lifelong commitment to individualism. I’m not a one-size-fits-all person. The fact I voted […]
Be color brave, not color blind.
Anonymous, Norfolk, VA It’ll all be different.
What’s the point when color fades
Spencer, Wilmington, NC. Everyone dies. And when we do die, there will be no color, just bones and dirt. It’s funny that race is so important when it doesn’t last forever. We only have a short time on the earth and yet we spend so much time dividing ourselves based on something superficial, that no […]
My color does not define me.
Amaka Amanambu, Davie, FL. Love is what we should speak, act and show. Doesn’t ask where is my footprint.
“Appalachian” means “none of your business.”
Amy Tanisha, Petaluma, CA. When asked the infamous “what are you?” question, I define myself on my terms. Sure, its easy for someone to understand that my mom is white and my dad is black, but “white” or “black” is not the house I grew up in. I grew up in a house full of […]
Being blonde isn’t always more fun.
Heather Raymond Grand Rapids, MI Understanding Race Project – University of Michigan People say that “blondes have more fun,” but having light hair isn’t what it is cracked up to be. Many times I find myself at the receiving end of stigma when I have a “blonde” moment: dumb, human mistakes blamed on the color […]
The color of Freedom is Green
Kylee Robinson, Seattle, WA.
Ashamed and embarrassed to be black.
Nobody, Durham, NC. I would change my race to anything non-black if I could. I don’t think white people understand how limiting it is to only be seen as a color and not as a person. When you’re black you can be the Scary Black Person, the Angry Black Man/Woman, the Thug, the Smart/Articulate Black […]
I am white. No, brownish pink.
Har Simran Kaur Khalsa, Los Angeles, CA. Since I started wearing mostly white clothes along with my practice of Sikhism, it has become glaringly clear that I am not white — or rather, that my skin is far from white. I am aware that I still experience much white privilege.
Prayed God would make me White
Amber Price, Atlanta, GA. I was raised in Chattanooga, Tennessee. I grew up ashamed of my Blackness. I heard the n-word for the first time in elementary school. I prayed every night for God to make me white. At the age of 17 I was told to go sit with the rest of the Blacks […]
Your ticket is based on your color
Jodiah Toney, Boston, MA.
Hero. Musical Genius. Jazz is color.
Mark Lynn Honeycutt, Knoxville, TN. I’m a white, middle class, born and raised East Tennessean. But also a musician. Well, drummer. And my heroes have been black men since I was little. Jazz was tinted “black” to me, and it was/is wonderful.
Your color doesn’t make you better.
Sasha Dee, Richmond, VA. It drives me crazy that people think something as arbitrary as the color of their skin makes them inherently worth more than someone else. Your skin color should be the least of the things about yourself that give you self worth. Be kind. Be generous. Be a good person. Be proud […]
White women kill for that color.
Kavita Charleston, SC As an Indian-American woman working in agriculture, I used to frequently get some variation of this comment when I sold at farmers’ markets. Really? Should I thank you for that comment?
We’re a’ Jock Tamson’s Bairns
Susanna Gourlay Wilbraham, MA This is a saying my dad taught me. I moved to the USA from Scotland and it was a phrase he told when I was talking to him about how sad it was that people get treated differently based on the color of their skin. The saying means, “We’re all God’s […]
Three daughters, three hues; whole family.
Christine Alexander, Spring Valley, CA.
What color will your kid’s be?
J. Torres Kansas City, MO My father is from Puerto Rico, born and raised. My mother is Colombian. However, raised in Panama. They met in the 1950’s while my dad was in the U.S. Army. Us kids always called ourselves PanaRicans. Until my mother gave us her true background. I attended college in Michigan in […]
We are not the color yellow
Kevin Xiong, Sacramento, CA. Color is just a label.
Why do you always act white?
Anika Moore Gulfport, MS You can not act a color. You can not be a color. Just because I speak as though I have read a book once in my life does not make me instantly “an Oreo”. Please stop.
Skin color does not effect intelligence
AMANPREET SINGH, Canada
Pale, Irish Skin; Multi colored heart.
Emilly Kelly Kennewick, WA
My Mother Hated My Dark Skin
Mike Elliott Alexandria, VA My mother was brown. Her skin a shade so perfect until the day she died she was “Puddin” to her family and friends. My father a lighter shade of brown was “high yellow” and proud to be colored. He had a fraternal twin who was dark like an egg plant, blue-black. […]
Proud to be an African American
Brandon Watkins, Clarksville, TX. I am an African American from North Texas. I have lived here all my life. I have never been one to see color nor have I ever been one to judge or stereotype anyone. I love all, and raise my children to love all. Some of the things I see in […]
People of Quality Respect Race Equality
Saheba Cuccia, New Orleans, LA. Aspen X Adopted and raised in the South, I have seen and heard of the racial barriers that some people use to divide us. The color of your skin should not determine anything such as relationships, jobs, and social standing in society.
Human beings are not simply monochromatic
Sarah Martin, Wichita, KS. Perhaps this is my artistic side coming out, but when you paint a human being, they are not painted simply using white or black. No, they are painted with a wide variety of colors that blend together to make a beautiful picture. Too often people separate persons into categories that divide […]
There’s more to me than color.
Christina Veland, Virginia Beach, VA Throughout my entire life, I have heard the phrase “well, of course you’re good at that. You’re Asian!” But there is more to me than the color of my skin. Beneath the surface is a real person with real struggles. It is difficult explaining to my peers that it hurts […]
Rascim is not only about color
Jayden Berrios, Boston, MA.
White doesn’t define who I am!
Briana, Stockton, CA. The color of my skin does not define the true person I am on the outside or even within. The color of my skin does not show you my deep meaning. One cannot judge off of the pigmentation that they see of one person. In reality, we are many things, deeper than […]
No color barriers luckiest son ever
Dustin Marek, San Jose, CA. I was always afraid of never being accepted, since most of my very Caucasian family is scattered throughout the U.S. and when I met them for the first time they accepted me with open arms.
The color that matters runs red
Jeri Grigsbay, Magalia, CA.
Don’t judge me by my color
Melanie Best, Princeton, WV. Everyday the color of my skin seems to negatively impact my life. I live in a very racist area, and while I’m not “black black” I’m still different and that’s bad enough.
I’m tired of walking on eggshells.
S. E. USA. I’m white. I have never once paid attention to what color someone’s skin is (unless I admired the color). Now I’m told that not paying attention to race is racist? I truly don’t understand what a white person can do that isn’t racist and it has me afraid of even talking to […]
We are all of the human race.
Tommy Edward Sarmiento, Columbus, OH. Don’t wash anything, with color, with darkness nor with white light. All human beings have a right to express and interpret and grow within themselves ideas; ideas of love, of what we fear, what makes us think “isn’t that strange?” Freedom and equity should belong to each human. We should […]
Image, Color, Race wont deifine us
Ehsanullah, Ashburn, VA. Family of four From Afghanistan Love Basketball
Is my color who I am?
Lora-Ellen McKinney, Renton, WA. I am not my color, though I am in some ways what my color represents in America. I am, by this definition, an African American first because this what people see. I also identify with African American history, culture, family structure and faith practices. But alone in my house where I […]
Don’t go blind looking at color
Andrew Pak, San Jose, CA.
Grateful, granny called me black boy
Kevin Browne , Submitted via Twitter: @drbrowne #TheRaceCardProject “Black Boy” for Michele by: Kevin A. Browne I was grateful; granny was prophetic, almost making me out of clay, caressing my tar with old love. black before it was a color. we come from an oily family, our skins sticky to the touch. we, who gushed […]
Judge by character, not by color.
Helen Zhang, Camarillo, CA. When I was in middle school, I noticed that my classmates tended to form “cliques” with people of the same ethnicity. However, I preferred to learn about the values and traditions of other cultures. Speaking to people of different backgrounds continues to allow me to stay open-minded and gain new perspectives.
THE WALL, BLACK, AN HONORABLE COLOR.
David DeChant, Marine Vietnam Veteran Key West, FL Michele,Greetings again. I am a member of the core group of Vietnam Veterans who built The Wall ~ National Vietnam Veterans Memorial in D.C.; and was at the meeting in Senator Warner’s office when General George Price, US Army Retired, ended the color controversy about “black” granite […]
YOU define yourself; NOT your color.
Angie Ward, USA.
Race generalization is not for everyone
Alex Campbell, Aurora, IL. People come in many different shapes, sizes, colors, and with different histories. It is unreasonable to pack many millions of people into one single idea. Terms are made to have wide acceptance and understanding and that is fine. However, generalizations (especially race) should never go past the simple idea of convenience.
Will not apologize for my color
Vanessa Garcia, Chicago, IL. We are all humans. Spread love.
I dislike hate because of color.
Darrick Gilmore, Washington, DC.
I am my color, it’s me.
Elon Race Card Project, Isabella Cannon Room, Center for the Arts
Judging based on color is inevitable
Danny McCabe, New York, NY.
A world without color? No thanks!
Melannie, Mentor, OH.
Color of your skin defines you
Chad Franklin, Laguna Hills, CA.
I feel guilty of my skin color
Elisha Lowery, Delaware, OH. At times I feel guilty for being white. I feel people look at me and say “she has it easy she is white”. I feel guilty of how certain people still today treat colored people and they should’t treat them badly because we are all human.
I fight for Americans, whatever color
Damon Williams, Florence, CO. I served four years in the 82nd Airborne Division from Jan 2001 to Jan 2005. Served in three tours and would do it all again for my family and fellow Americans! Airborne, H-Minus, All the way!
Content of character, white male N/A
Greg S. Furman, Vancouver, WA. They will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. Except white males. Your privilege predetermined your only value.
You’re so white, good for you
Sarahi Bueno, Tucson, AZ. My first language is Spanish, so when people hear my accent they ask me where I’m from. When I tell them I am from Mexico people compliment and congratulate me for the color of my skin. Its usually Mexicans who tell me this.
More colors more stories more gratitude
Penny Shaff Altman, Portland, ME. My father told me stories drawn from his childhood in the Ukraine. My mother told me stories about her life growing up as a Jewish immigrant. I told stories to my children. I tell them to my grandchildren. My youngest grandson’s great grandmother is famous for her stories of Gullah […]
An arbitrary system of color judgement
Emily Buehler, Elon, NC. Elon University
I LOVE THE SKIN I’M IN
Athena White, Chicago, IL. Embrace the power of love for it has no color. Teach others that lack this purity and watch how well it blossoms. “Love” speak it, mean it, live it…nourish one another by erasing racism, hate and terrorism within our own country against one another and we shall unite as one.
Don’t judge me based on color
Anonymous, Riverside, CA. People usually judge me within seconds based on the color of my skin. Not only does it hurt, most of the assumptions are wrong. I am proud of my skin color just like everyone should be, but I wish people would not go around making assumptions based on a color. CBUHIS311
White privilege holds EVERY person back.
Margaret Ann Watts, Elgin, IL. We all bleed the same color.
Dignity and respect favor no color.
Constance R DeWitt, Submitted via Twitter: @crae100 #TheRaceCardProject
Fear of Others, cloaked in color
Laura TX
Many colors inside, only white outside
Cheryl, Denver, CO.
I am Native, I am American.
Tammy Trouche’, Canadian, OK. I may appear to be white, but I am as colorful as my ancestors. I can’t imagine a world without color. Mother Earth would be dull and lifeless without the purity of the colors. That is true of ALL people. We are full of color, paint humanity in FULL COLOR.
Mixed with many races not one
Jy’Maire O’connor, Philadelphia, PA. People bade me off the color of my skin just because my skin tone is brown/black doesn’t mean I’m only black and those stereotypes you place on “African Americans” doesn’t really apply to me i’m more than one race and you would know that if you talked to me instead of […]
What color is she? -Grandma
Ashley Ward Edgewood, MD My Grandmother grew up in a different time, where to be light was right and to be dark was wrong. My grandmother was extremely light, but my biological father is west indian and extremely dark. Dark like the ocean and I favored his complexion over my maternal genes. I was my […]
Same color doesn’t guarantee same beliefs.
AH Simpler Birmingham, AL
Black business is GREAT business too!
Anika Dixon, Little Rock, AR. The color of my skin should not determine the type of house I can sell you or the type of properties I can manage for you! You allow me to manage your ‘hood properties’ but you allow your own to manage your ‘no problem’ properties. REALLY??
This is your race? Go fish.
Adrea Benedetti, College Park, MD. I will not let race define who I am nor will I judge another based on the color of their skin.
You sound like you are white!
Lyron Andrews, Long Island City, NY. I used to be a minister back in the late eighties and I was visiting and speaking to a group of mostly elderly and all African-American parishioners in Harlem about managing through adversity. After the talk many approached me and warmly commended me and thanked me for sharing the […]
The difference is culture, not color.
Brenda Ward, Schaumburg, IL. The color of our skin has nothing to do with who we are. It is where we live, who raises us, our family traditions, our geography. We try to peg the differences on color because it is easier to see and understand and our lack of interest in exploring and appreciating […]
Judge my soul Not my color.
Gloria Bozor, West Orange, NJ. Monmouth University I attended a dominate white college for my undergrad degree. For four years professors, staff, as well as peers assume I was an anger, bitter, African American because I didn’t have too many friends, I didn’t speak much in class, and I stayed to myself. My grades were […]
Color And Ethnicity Makes No Difference
Russell, West Long Branch, NJ. Monmouth University
Different hues outside; same fears inside.
Luke Brad Bobo, Ballwin, MO. We may be different hues, shapes, etc. on the outside but we share a common humanity – we have many of the same fears, same dreams, same wants, same concerns, etc.
Discrimination is more than just color.
Shari, NJ. Monmouth Unoversity
Race equals color, not my character.
Whitney Bell, Geismar, LA.
Be yoursellf, regardless of your color
JT Robertson, Brockport, NY. Your color should never dictate who you are on the inside. Be yourself, free of stereotypes and the societal rules that govern us all. Just be you, because that’s the greatest thing you can do.
I’m not a color, I’m me.
Kirstyn Paige Andrew, Courtland, VA. No one should be judged, in any way, shape, and or form just because of the color of their skin. Everyone is unique in their own way and can never be replaced. God created us all for who we are and what we are for the better, our outside is […]
Color Defined, Now Mixing is Fixing
Doug Shipman, Atlanta, GA. The demographic changes seen in the census are at a turning point– race has to change because the categories are rapidly falling with intermarriage, internationalization and the rise of majority-minority in America.
Why is color so important to humans?
Sagal Rawe, Minneapolis, MN.
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