Indian or American? Why not both?
Nivedita P.,
Boulder, CO.
Why do we feel that a single label can divide us so easily? It’s more complicated than one word.
I’m Hispanic, stop thinking I’m White
Leslya Chavez,
Houston, TX
Born and raised on the East coast of Virginia, though was raised in a Hispanic household. Grew up only Spanish till I was placed in Kindergarten and had to teach myself English. Coming from a Hispanic background where Spanish is your main language at home and then your second language is English, even though I was born in America. I still had to make sure my culture continued to grow within me. It got to a point where I became fluent in both languages and even people in the Hispanic/ Latinx Community would see me as a White girl. Just because I’m light-complected and don’t have the features of a Hispanic person. Deep down it breaks my heart when I have people or simply patients that have difficulty getting around their daily lives and I encounter them struggling to try to explain to those around them that they need help looking for something. And when I see them struggling I do the best of my ability to guide them in the direction they are needing. The face of relief they give me when I ask them if they need help in Spanish fulfills my heart each time. Though, it’s saddening that even within my culture I’m just seen as a helpless white girl that doesn’t know Spanish at all. And it shouldn’t be viewed that way, or even simply looking around for someone that is tan or darker complexed and ask them for help. Therefore they should at least build the courage to ask if someone around speaks Spanish and if they could be of their assistance.
Being biracial and adopted is complicated
Lauren Juanita Hines,
Alexandria, VA.
I am the American melting pot personified: born to a Mexican father and Caucasian (white, mostly Irish) mother, raised by a Lebanese mother and a German-Irish father. I remember weddings as a child where we all danced the Middle Easter dabke. Cousins on the other side of the family won awards for Irish dancing. Now my Mexican family blows up my phone with renditions of Mañanitas on my birthday. It’s a huge family: Catholic on all sides.
I’m not white in my family
Lisa Craig
Washington, DC
It’s a bit complicated. My father’s family consists of Scottish, Swedish, French, German, English, Mexican, and two different Native American tribes. My mother’s family consists of French-Canadian, English, Inquit (Alaskan Native Americans), and some other ethnicities that I am not aware of (I am not close to them). All of my family easily passes as white. Except me. Some people think I am mixed Asian. I frequently get asked if I am adopted. My father openly tells me that I must convince people that I am pure white because he was and is still embarrassed that his daughter doesn’t look like anybody in his family race-wise.
DIFFERENT face colour SAME beautiful DIFFERENT
J. G.,
Wayne State,
Detroit, MI
People are complicated. We all have similarities and differences.
Being a mulatto woman is complicated.
Dorian N.
Spokane, WA.
I am mulatto. I have a black father and white mother. I love being bi-racial, I take pride in it and feel very lucky to have heritage that stems from two completely different directions, but it took many years to achieve this level of confidence, because when strangers, family and friends come at you repeatedly with comments such as “You act very white,” “You don’t seem black.“ “You date too many white guys” or “You wear your hair too straight” back to “Why don’t you straighten your hair?” And “You don’t talk black” I mean the list goes on and on. I’ve experienced a lot of self-doubt and lacked the ability to identity with how I feel inside in comparison to how others feel I should look like and act like. It has been a struggle, but at the end of it all I ended up realizing that racial identity has been made complicated when in reality it doesn’t have to be. So what is complicated about being mulatto isn’t being mulatto itself, it is complicated because society makes it so. Society hasn’t always been satisfied with me being half-and-half; it demands that I identify with just one, but I refuse to do that. I style myself how I want, date who I want, and treat everyone of all colors and cultures with respect. I’m black AND white, and that is just the way it is. I owe no apology, nor do I need to repress either side.
Trindijew? Jindidadian? … I give up. “Other.”
Priya Charry,
Middletown, CT.
Much too complicated to be expressed in a single word. Jewish father of Eastern European descent, Trinidadian mother of Indian descent.
Complicated, a foot in two worlds.
Javiera,
San Diego, CA.
My husband often jokes that I’m not “brown” because my light skin makes me look like an average white person. But growing up in rural Missouri, I never felt like a “white” person because I was teased for my hispanic features. I’m not mixed race and was born in a Latinx country, yet somehow feel like I have a foot in both worlds since I lived in the US my whole life. I feel like white people and hispanics want me to choose a team, but being hispanic is more complicated than that; I’m technically both. Despite being percieved as white by some, I have felt discrimination and rejection for being hispanic.
I feel even more conflicted when I think about the children I will eventually have with my white husband. I feel guilty that I’m glad his/her features will most likely be white enough that he/she will not experience discrimination. I’m also sad that because my child will look white he/she won’t feel the connection to a hispanic heritage, and he/she may even feel like an outsider when around other hispanics.
WHITE feminism. I live with contradiction.
Danielle Nelson
Winston Salem, NC
I’m proud to be a feminist, but I’m not proud of the unspoken privilege that comes with being a white feminist. Fighting privilege with privilege? It’s so contradictory, yet I cannot ignore both these parts of my identity. WHITENESS consumes me every day, every minute, but because it’s so ingrained in society, I sometimes fail to see it. The never ending battle…race and gender, gender and race. Inseparable, but yet such a complex, complicated narrative…..
Sexism: worse than racism. It’s complicated.
Woman,
Raleigh, NC.
Yes, racism exists and at times, thrives, but if you’re a woman of color, you’re more likely to be affected than your male counterparts. Sexism, an outworking of centuries of patriarchal systems – systems that allowed for racism in the first place – makes every “ism” it’s present in worse. So, when we talk about race, let’s not forget the dirty secret in the closet, and let’s deal with that too, because the two are inextricably intertwined.
It’s more complicated than I thought.
Erin Daly,
Submitted via Twitter: @erind90.
Two hands shaking, have no color.
Don Wright
Lewistown, ID
It’s not easy working with a diverse group of people until you get to know each other. It starts by sticking out your hand and inviting the other person to get to know you.
It doesn’t have to be complicated, just a simple gesture of mutual respect.
Ridiculously complicted; I can’t handle it!
Lindsey
USA
I wish that we were not so scared to talk about race. The worst thing you can call a person is “racist.” It is a terrible insult and a judgement against your character. Fear of being labeled racist is what holds back discussion.
Also, why are non-white people identified by hyphenated race/ethnicity/nationality? Why are African-Americans still called African when they have been in the US longer than my family? Same goes for Japanese and Chinese descendents on the West Coast and so-called Mexicans in Texas and Southern California (it was their country first!). Can’t we all just be American?
More complicated than the movie crash
Anonymous
Ann Arbor, MI
Understanding Race Project- University of Michigan
Crash
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0375679/
Complicated construct of what we experience
Anonymous
Ann Arbor, MI
