Katharine Corona, CA When I was young I grew up on a street with boys and ended up being a pretty big tomboy. I enjoyed sports, I was competitive and I liked playing with my friends. As I got older I began volunteering at the local hospital and became a fire explorer with my friends. […]
Nona Lynn Simons Orangevale, CA My Six Words: Have you ever felt different from everybody else? I have and sometimes I still do! In the fifth grade, I was different because I was part Jewish and my classmates weren’t. They went to church and I didn’t. During the last week of school, one of my […]
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 […]
Shelby Files, Royersford, PA
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 […]
Asia Smith, Kansas City, MO This has been said to me many times throughout my life. I am a black girl who goes to a majority white school. I love my own culture but growing up in Missouri around a lot of non-black people like Hispanics, Filipinos, Japanese, Indian and Middle Eastern has helped me […]
Margaret Hayes, Bartow, FL. I am mostly White on my mother’s side. Her family is all Southern. I do not look anything like them nor was I raised in the South so I don’t always think or act like they do. I am Native American on my father’s side. I definitely look much more like […]
Jasmine Patterson, Decatur, GA
Sara Adams, Minneapolis, MN People treat me differently, make different assumptions about me, depending on which son is at my side.
Christopher Davies, Bridgewater, MA. For the hogwash between people with different skin types to lessen it is up to parents to teach their children that we are all on the same team. lets all work as one to make planet earth a better place
Nordelys, Chester, VA I came from Venezuela, where people are common mixed because 50 to 100 years ago my country received people from Europe, Asia,v America and others caused by wars. Today, it is normal to see ladies with very different features, mixtures of surnames between Italian and Spanish… Now, I can appreciate how unique […]
Leilany Lechuga, El Paso, TX I was born in the United States and my ethnicity is Hispanic I find it weird that some people think that their ethnicity is superior to ours. It’s not our fault that we were born to different places and from other ethnicities, we are all humans. Sometimes when I go […]
Trisha, Whispering Pines, NC I found this website to be very inclusive to everyone who has issues with race or even to those who are blind to some of the issues. Part of the problem is wanting to identify with a group and finding solace with that identification. How do we end racism when we […]
Spike Fongchon, Spokane, WA Asians are just like other human beings with emotions just like others, what makes them different is skin color.
Andrew Schlager, Kansas City, MO. “You are holding the binoculars backwards.” We are so consumed by generalized assumptions about race that we fail to see that every individual is different. We see people from afar, just as a person would see looking through binoculars backwards, and make judgments without really looking closely, like a person […]
Paula Morris, Long Beach, CA. A white girl growing up in Orange County, CA, where I was anything and anyone “different” was “bad”, I have found love with two wonderful men in my life: the first one (who died) was African American, and the second one is African. The happiness both have brought me is […]
Joey Jang, South Korea.
Jordan Mix, Versailles, KY I have a strong background of German in my family because it is on my dad’s side and mom’s side. In 1855 my great-great-great-great-great-great grandparents, on my dad’s mom’s side, immigrated from Switzerland and Germany to Louisville, KY. As soon as they got to Louisville Bloody Monday happened. It was an […]
Marlee Hanning, CA.
Jessica Hernandez, San Juan Capistrano, CA. My little sister were born light skinned versus me who was born brown. My parents like to bring that up all the time, saying that because she is light skinned, she’s going to get all the guys. Because she is light skinned, she will be beautiful. So what about […]
Malan Hadizadeh, San Francisco, CA I was driving my then three year old son to preschool the Friday before Mother’s Day and asked him, “Who’s the best mom?” thinking that he would say me. His response was “You’re all the same but different.” I was hurt and proud, all at the same time. To this […]
Gianmarco Tissier, Germany Growing up in Germany with a French and Italian background, I’m always the stranger, no matter where I am.
Carlos Guerrero, Cumming, GA So I’m half Mexican and half American. I get the looks from my white mom which puts me in the middle of two vastly different cultures. I know I’m one of many White Latinos, just using my voice for my other hermanos.
Leah Alexander, Cleveland, GA I believe we were all made by a Creator that loves each and everyone of us very much, but He loved us enough to make everyone different and unique. By doing this, we are able to find unity and community with each other, not based on like appearances, but because of […]
Lauren Vorbeck, Leawood, KS I choose to believe that when people understand the differences, they are less afraid to reach out to someone new. Our job as society members is to educate each other on the differences so that no one is afraid to reach out to another. Can we be different? Certainly! Should we […]
Zara Edwards, Sacramento, CA.
Jackie Spencer, New York, NY. The generalization we attach to people based on race is appalling. As an example when you speak of “immigrants” you do not think of this white blond person! I hope that raising this point makes people think before they generalize. We are all individuals with different beliefs and personalities and […]
Melissa, Tishomingo, MS
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 […]
Mary Horton Richmond, VA I didn’t realize until shortly before her death how different the world my mother gave me was from the one she was raised in. My mother had Alzheimer’s, and in the last few years of her life, she reverted to some of the attitudes and behaviors she had learned while growing […]
Tina Myrum, Alexandria, MN. Growing up in a small town, there was not a lot of racially diversity. However, I listened to the news, read papers, and learned as much as I could about other races. I learned that we were not that different. Most people looking at me would assume that I have had […]
Anonymous, Orlando, FL p>Disclaimer the person in the photo is not I but someone who looks like me. My ancestry is Berber Kabyle (North African), Turk (Eurasian aka European and west Asian) and French( Western European). I look mediterranean light olive skin, brown wavy hair, big brown almond eyes, thick eyebrows, long lashes, long head, […]
Aretha, Toledo, OH Not all differences are embraced and celebrated. There has been times I have felt uncomfortable in situations and circumstances for being different, especially being around others who were different than me. I’m certain that there were also times I made others feel uncomfortable for being who I am around them. How often […]
John Smith, Las Vegas, TX. Races are diffrent, not only by color of skin, but by brain and how our body is built, its sad but true some races are capable to do better things then others, when the white man whas building rome the Africans where still living in mud houses, and most of […]
Mengyao Jiang, Chengdu, Sichuan Racism is hate, racism thinks one is superior, another is weak. However, race is a matter of just means different. Different means variety and variety is beautiful. What we need as one human race is a change of mindset and teaching to a budding generation the real meaning of race; just […]
Michelle Gentry, Abernathy, TX
Eryne Tinajero, Honolulu, HI. I am biracial. I wasn’t raised with much knowledge of either culture. It’s always tough to visit the two different sides of my family. I feel as if they don’t see me as one of them. I feel like an outsider because I don’t know the cultures. I don’t know the […]
Sarah G, Alliance, OH Right now especially, the country is so divided because of background or skin color but I’d like to think we can all remember what it is to be American. We all came from different places, no matter where or when. We should stand together and work for acceptance.
Ioana Hojda, Aberdeen, SD Immigrant, white wife of an African immigrant and mother to mixed boys. We have moved to the US from Italy, our first country of immigration. When we travel abroad we have three different country passports for 5 people: Romania, Cameroon and the US.
Victor Sampson, Waterbury, CT.
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 […]
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.
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 […]
Allison Greenfield, Bloomington, IL.
Ciandra, Denver, CO . Black people are not monolithic. We are a diverse group of individuals with different experiences. I grew up in Colorado and I have my own experience of what it’s like to be Black in America. My experience with racism was subtle but still painful…it hurts when it’s implied that “you’re not […]
Sandy Jimenez, Woodside, NY.
Tony Andersen Eden Prairie, MN
Jeanette Ruiz, Atlanta, GA. Growing up I learned to hate my afro hair. I was the only one in my family with course African hair texture. Although there were others in our Hispanic neighborhood with course hair and dark skin, my mother with straight silky hair made it seem like a problem. She would take […]
Sharaya S., Wayne State, Detroit, MI Growing up in foster care and different states, people treat you different in the South vs. the North. It’s never fully accepting but feels like home, even when the hatred can be felt from complete strangers.
Opeyemi Parham, Dummerston, VT. Both my Middle Class, African slave descent parents were artists. So my life had shadows from Margot Jefferson’s Negroland, but great differences, on tolerance of cultural diversity and expectations.
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.
Anne Lincoln, MA I was asked by Admissions if I would agree to having a black roommate. I said yes, but when she learned of the request (I never knew how), she was angry–at the school, and confusing to me, at me. From that moment on, there was only anger. I was naive and woefully […]
Heather, Fishers, IN If you have never heard about deaf culture, please go and read about it. Growing up the oldest child of a deaf mom, I never remembered learning sign. I didn’t know we were different. I didn’t know I was loud! I still don’t know when I am being loud. I love my […]
Sajid Ali Khan, INDIA.
Victoria, Fairfax, VA. I was born in Conway, SC. I’ve lived in the States for nearly two decades now (all of my life so far). It wasn’t till I was in elementary, and I had to ask my mom why boys would say “ching chong” to me that I realized that I was somehow different. […]
Robert San Francisco, CA Fear of outsiders is not the same as hate for outsiders. Urban cultural stereotypes popularized and promoted by the very individuals in that culture have played an important role I creating fear. It’s not the reason but it is irresponsible of us not to talk about it.
Jason C, Brooklyn, NY People wonder why there is still racism, discrimination, and prejudice in our society today. Its because we don’t do anything to change our past social norms and we continue to be influenced by them. We cannot rewrite our past, but we can rewrite the future to make a better society for […]
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, and I just almost blend in, but not quite. Even though a quarter of my school is Asian-American, just like me, I stick out like a sore thumb. Or rather, […]
Drew Middleton, Summerville, GA. My six words are about people thinking that they are different but they are all basically the same in one way or another.
Abhijeet Ghadvaje, Detroit, MI, Wayne State Rather than saying we are all the same, accept that we are different. Rather than discriminating, embrace the existence of the beautiful diversity.
Katina Walton, Eight Mile, AL
J. G., Wayne State, Detroit, MI People are complicated. We all have similarities and differences.
All my life, people have mistaken me for “races” that I am not: Mexican, Hawaiian, Filipino, Indian, Brazilian. I was always flattered because I thought this meant I looked exotic and “different,” I wanted to look different. I didn’t want to look “haole,” our stolen Hawaiian word for “white.” That’s when I uncovered the implicit […]
Ty Martinez, Oak Lawn, IL. Black Mexican Korean Italian – sharing the best of each other with each other through similar yet very different cultural experiences. We amplify our togetherness by honoring our own mixed uniqueness.
Sylvia Stancil, Wayne State, MI While I will concede that these mere six words may represent an oversimplification to addressing extremely complex issues, recognizing the humanity first in anyone is a good foundation upon which to build open and honest dialogue. There is a thread of commonality that should serve to bind us provided one […]
Val, Athens, OH
Jonathan Rivera, NY. It may not all be sunshine and rainbows when you are in the minority group, but it has its benefits for sure. I am a Hispanic young male and let me tell you, I have been exposed to many new and different experiences because I am within a minority group. I am […]
Alexis Houck, Lake Elsinore, CA. We may be different colors or ethnicities, but we are all human beings and no one should be judged or thought of any differently based on their differences.
Dustin F. Hecker, Needham, MA. Identity politics will be the death of the grand American National experiment. In my humble opinion, we need to stop focusing on the 2% of our DNA that makes us look different than others and focus on the 98% of our DNA that makes us really quite similar. That does […]
Edwin Amador De Trinidad, New York, NY. We are all professional, bachelor’s degree and have in common one thing: The academic progress of the students. By the way, part of is a mix of black, white, and Amerindian. I am a Nicaraguan who celebrate all race in one culture. Can you notice all my ethnic […]
Michael Restivo, Rochester, NY.
Anonymous, Norfolk, VA It’ll all be different.
Juanita, Salt Lake City, UT.
Jeannine Chavez, Huntington Park, CA. As a United States citizen who lives in Los Angeles as a gay Mexican female, it has limited my privileges. Being a different race, sex, and having a different sexuality than others have all caused me to be oppressed and quite often hear remarks about these three social identities that […]
Sydney Skroch, Minneapolis, MN. I have lived in Minnesota my whole life and my world has opened up extremely slowly to diversity and different cultures. However, learning about the world through the eyes of others has always been super interesting to me, and with every new experience, I feel myself shaping. I am part Italian, […]
Frank Siringo, Denver, CO. Marrying someone from a different race has allowed me to see the world through a different lens. It is an enlightening and challenging part of our relationship that continues to provide growth opportunities almost 20 years on.
Allie Cohen, Baltimore, MD. Journalism 175 Class Being unique is what allows the world to be interesting and helps facilitate the creative flow of ideas. Without different types of people with different perspectives, creating innovative, out of the box ideas, would be challenging.
Steve Williams USA I was 12 and working in my Dad’s gas station in a small town in Nebraska in 1968. I had never seen a black man before. As soon as I laid his change down instead of handing it to him directly I realized he was no different. But too late.
John Willis, Austin, TX.
Chuck Lehneis San Diego, CA Born here in San Diego, I find I fit in best. Yet, I don’t identify totally with the culture, by and large. Most of the surfers are white, most of the tourists are white, most of the people who are out and about on a Saturday night too. I see […]
Anonymous, Mechanicsburg, VA. It is hard not to be myself to please someone else who does not really care about me at all. I hate having to be someone different when I am in public so I do not scare anyone else. It would be different if I was ignorant and loud in public, but […]
Bella Marcom, Kailua, HI.
Noah, Siloam Springs, AR. To much today are we scared to talk or ask about things related to race, but that just shows us even more how important it is to have these discussions. We need to be having these difficult conversations especially when evaluating our own views. Don’t be afraid to go out side […]
Miriam Lennmark Tampa, FL If you want to really look at how race affects us, look at sisters. Sisters with the same biological parents, same home, same everything…except the color of their skin, hair, and eyes. Our lives are so different. She looks Caucasian…I look…well, brown. Most people will tell me I look Latin, but […]
Dhani Slater, Houston, TX. Great expression idea (the Race Card). I believe our differences should draw us together out of a healthy curiosity, and a thirst for learning about the diversities of humanity & nature that make things special.
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.
Emily Patten, Phoenix, AZ. I grew up in a city with a substantial lack of racial diversity, yet my parents and teachers were able to instill values of acceptance and empathy. In my adult life, I’ve found that those two beliefs go pretty far in the way of understanding those who don’t look like me. […]
Katherine Porter, San Leandro, CA. I grew up disowned by my racial cultures…too different from White, too different from Chinese. Talked about by cousins, wondered about by strangers, eroticized by college boys, and discounted by the census. Always had to check “other” on the surveys. Felt like I had to be the best example of […]
Shelly Schultz, Spokane, WA.
Emily Vallies, Spokane, WA. I am happy to participate in a project like this. It is very important to me that people start realizing their privilege and start working to make this country a better place for diversity to blossom.
Jamie, Wylie, TX. I live in a society that I am afraid of the world that my kids will have to be adults in. We are going backwards instead of forwards. We are losing our view of everyone is the same, no matter how different we might look. I am having to have HARD conversations […]
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.
Back when I was a kid, I used to wonder why or how people are different, why do we all have different races? When I was in preschool, my mom would always tell me not to play with kids that were bad. Those kids were black. She said that they were troublemakers, misbehaved, and that […]
R.E.A.L. Talk, High Tech Middle Media Arts, 7th Grade Trailblazer Why people often think that they can only be one thing for their entire life is one of my greatest curiosities. One of our greatest powers is the ability to change, to be something different. Choosing to have just one label for the rest of […]
Elon Race Card Project, Isabella Cannon Room, Center for the Arts
Dmitri San Franciso, CA Different by blood, one by goal. – In Latin
Tanisha Rueter, Gladstone, MO. It makes me sad when people tell me my son is “too white”. No, he is perfect, just like everyone else it. The world would be a boring place without the many different colors.
Rachel Rodrigo, Chalfont, PA. Instead of blood on my hands, I have white on my hands. There are days when I read or hear people who are also white like me saying or doing terrible things to people different races and cultures. Some days I feel guilty that I’m white even though I didn’t choose […]
Ethan Lowell, Lakeland, FL.
Tamara Feiertag, Austria.
Alisha Carter, Charlotte, NC. Elon University
Ryan Allen Basalt, CO Relating isn’t comfortable, apparent, or always easy. You don’t necessarily have to succeed in finding common ground…you just have to make the effort. Others will notice. It becomes contagious.
FessunUp Cracka, San Francisco, CA. My father never said n*****, but the multitude of subtleties…assumptions…these are mine to deal with. When I was a teenager, I frequently made racial slurs…weird, considering that there were only 3 black kids in my 1500 student high school. Now it is different for me. This cracker minored in black […]
Coleen Owens Katy, TX We (my sisters and I) were often the “minority” – growing up in a military household and moving often – whether it meant repeatedly being the new student or not speaking the language, we had many rich experiences because we didn’t fit in… we were nomadic for a time, and taught […]
Cynthia Parra, Beaumont, TX. Through my profession, I have been given the opportunity to work with university students from marginalized groups and I have become a local social justice advocate. What I have learned is that everyone one wants to be be love, accepted, and not judged. We as individuals, just go about looking for […]
Epifanio Rios, Philadelphia, PA. My name is Epifanio, I am a fourteen year boy who attends the high school SLA. I probably know as much about race as the next guy but I think race is perceived differently by everyone. To me I think race can’t only be defined through your skin tone but were […]
Tina S. Walther, Milan, MI. My mother was pregnant with me when she moved from upstate NY to the south in 1962. While the weather was nice the surroundings were challenging – especially for a white, woman, Catholic, with no accent and someone not willing to have a maid or gardener. So it was time […]
Mel Lewis, West Long Branch, NJ. Monmouth University
Mary Anne Nagy, West Long Branch, NJ. Monmouth University
Deanna Getty, Islip, NY. Monmouth University
Karen Bright, Little Silver, NJ. Monmouth University Continuum: a continuous sequence in which adjacent elements are not perceptibly different from each other, although the extremes are quite distinct.
Domhnall Mac Cann, Northern Ireland. This is my revoke of my yester days This is my chance to repeal, retract, reverse Every broken and unfulfilled promise Truly countermand this incertitude Which I have became accustom with Habituated towards easily and effortlessly Undoubtedly i will mitigate this self hate Seriously attenuate at any means necessary I […]
Seema, Chicago, IL. Women already have identity issues because of an extreme and over-sexed image of women in Hollywood. Additionally, women of color are marginalized because of their under-representation in TV, movies, magazines and advertising. As an Asian-American woman, I see very few Asian men and women and when I do see them, we are […]
Navid Mehrabkhani, Hyattsville, MD. The purpose of choosing these words involves how my race impact and influence the ways others see me. People assume that’s because of my race, because I’m from Iran, people assume I’m a terrorist. I believe my race should not influence the way others interpret my life or my actions.
Darian Saal, Pekin, IL.
Makaela Powell, Parker, CO.
Conzuelo De Luna, American Canyon, CA. I might not look like other Mexicans, but just because I’m pale, with lighter hair and eyes doesn’t mean I’m different
Cesar Gonzalez, Sacramento, CA. Race is an illusion. Made up. Cosumnes River College
Joshua Cruz, Salt Lake City, UT. As a Hispanic growing up in Utah, I have lived in multiple cities, each different than the other. From cities where the Hispanic culture is massive, to where I have become the only colored family in the neighborhood. With multiple occasions filled with accusations such as have you asked […]
Maureen Burns, Ann Arbor, MI. Understanding Race Project- University of Michigan I have three lovely granddaughters. We’re all different. It doesn’t matter. We’re family.
Tanya Seals Las Vegas, NV
Sandy Jiang, San Francisco, CA. When I was in a different state for a course, we were building a foot trail for a national park and I was talking to the park guide. We were talking for a bit and then he told me “Your English is very good. You have a nice tongue.” It […]
Hunter, Birmingham, AL. What does race mean to me? When I think of race I don’t think about skin color. I think about culture, religion, and values. Today many people do not understand what it means to have a specific culture. Even though we seem to make claims about it every day. Truth of the […]
Denali Lukacinsky, Honolulu, HI. People look at me and assume all kinds of offensive things about what black people are supposed to be like, they come up to me and explain all the ways that I’m “different”, and “better” and “not like them.” Well guess what, I am like them. Don’t lift me up by […]
Rebecca Pope, Lawson, MO.
Jose Cabrera San Francisco, CA Can you not tell that I am different? From looking at me you would not be able to tell that I am vegetarian, that I care about the environment, and my grades. You would assume that I am Mexican, but then again aren’t all Latinos Mexican? You would assume that […]
Nicholas Perez, Floral Park, NY.
Lina, Denver, CO. Being here makes me aware of how different I am, that I am female, I am Asian. People would never consider me to partake in their social life. The only people who talk to me are men who want to get in my pants. I hope this is not applicable to most […]
Bettina Sferrino, Oakland, CA. As a mixed race person, I get these questions all the time. The persons asking have a strong desire to know and place the “other,” and a feeling that somehow the persons asking these questions can’t move forward interacting with me without knowing that information. I can’t help but think for […]
Maya Segirah, Los Angeles, CA. As if the qualifier, somehow, makes me different from the rest, which are by implication inferior, and therefore I’m better? I should be pleased with this? What makes people think THIS is a compliment? And why are they invariably annoyed when I point out that this is not a compliment?
Thelma Thomas, Topeka, KS.
Jenn Fox, Tolland, CT.
Jalize Brooks, Boston, MA. I like that im mixed. It makes me different.
Anonymous, Spokane, WA.
Steven Bickham, Spokane, WA. Spokane Falls Community College
Ida Canard, NY. Submitted via Twitter: @IdaCanard #theracecardproject
Jackie Houston, TX My parents are South American immigrants who were granted amnesty during the 1980s. I was born and raised in Texas. I didn’t have many Hispanic friends growing up. I grew up around many Texas Germans and am now at college in Houston studying German. People are surprised when they discover that I […]
Lesli Weston, Ann Arbor, MI. The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes For more interesting conversation about Eleanor Estes and The Hundred Dresses visit: The Back Seat Book Club
Marie Adams, Lilburn, GA.
Sky, Skowhegan, ME. In mostly white places like Maine, I feel like there’s not very much obvious discrimination or prejudice. In 50/50 places like New Orleans, white people seems to live in rich neighborhoods like Uptown and the Garden district. The lower and upper ninth ward is where I lived. Mostly black people live there. […]
Jake, USA. My mother is from Ghana and my father is from New York. I am African-American and it drives me crazy when people who have a distant relative from Africa consider themselves African-American when they have no cultural ties to Africa. Black Culture is different from African Culture.
Corey, Mentone, AL
Rabab Ahmed, Stamford, CT. “Where are you from?” is a question I used to proudly answer to when I was younger. Although I always had to clarify, “no, it’s not in India. It’s a small country right next to India.” But as I got older I found the question tedious and sometimes puzzling. It wasn’t […]
Nancy Sale. Pleasant Hill, CA. During my career as a public school teacher this statement (which I made up) was written on a paper banner by my students and hung on the wall of every one of my classrooms for years – I still have the banner even though I am now retired.
Rachel, USA. We are all human and we are not different but the same. A beautiful rainbow.
Richard Tango-Lowy, Manchester, NH.
Karen Fritts, USA. We talk and talk about race, but most of us stay in their own corners during the discussion. We cannot begin to understand each other from a distance. We cannot begin to trust one another without understanding. Are you willing to foster a friendship with someone different…a friendship that you are comfortable […]
Chelsea Briggs, USA.
Margaret Levasseur, Grosse Pointe Park, MI.
Deborah Haught Riverside, CA California Baptist University CBU HIS311
Tiffany Gresham, OR
Jamila Best New York City, NY Brooklyn Whereas my ancestors dealt with the troubles of blatant racism, today, Blacks may find themselves in a position in which we are still facing racism, it’s just coded differently. Sometimes, it’s in the face of a disgruntled white employer who may depict you as an angry Black woman, […]
Tiana Icesis Bryant New York City, NY Brooklyn My six words are like the Civil Rights Movement is different from any other subject, more independent, it’s a Lone Ranger. All the other things people say that’s important are not really because they are backed up with some things. People back everything up that’s important to […]
Jessica Winfrey Portland, OR I am biracial and bicultural and was educated for the first 6 years in a very diverse school on an air force base in North Dakota. After my parents divorced, my mom and I moved into the neighboring town, which was predominately white. I recall being warned ahead of time that […]
Melissa Holland, MI I was adopted at three days old and know nothing of my biological heritage. I enjoy feeling as if I’m a mixture of many different ethnicities.
Joyce Jordan Fort Myers, FL This incident occurred when I was 7 years old. I never forgot it and remember watching her get back on the bus. It changed forever how I feel about race. To me Jessie was a friend. I never even noticed that her skin was different than mine.
Suzanne Koch Sunnyvale, CA First and foremost, I’m a mom. Being a mom to a child who doesn’t look the rest of our family is both the simplest thing in the world and the most complicated. Falling in love with my son, who is adopted and has brown skin, was as straight-forward as any Mama/Baby […]
Steve Bedminster, NJ Humans are diverse. Not all whites are the same culturally and genetically, and the same applies for Asian, Latin American, Spanish, and Black people as well. In this diverse world you will meet a great deal of diverse people. Most of them will be of different ethnicities than you. This is perfectly […]
Chiara Bologna, Italy
Robin A. Schneider, Seattle, WA. Collected from The Race Card Project, On Location: Seattle Community Colleges
Natasha Sykes Saint Louis, MO Biracial. New Kid. Moving all the time. Never fitting in.
Marsha Leibson: entry of for a 5th grade student Miami, FL This is a fifth grade student’s work. His name is Alex. He has a good understanding of what he thinks racism is.
Evelyn P Yenson Seattle, WA And we need to have mutual trust, respect and kindness
Jill Noeh Ann Arbor, MI Understanding Race Project-The University of Michigan Explanation: I’ve found that throughout my life, I have avoided people who look and act differently than me. I grew up in a white neighborhood that was sheltered from people who were different. At first it wasn’t me purposefully trying to avoid these people, […]
Charles George Pickett, Spokane, WA. As a child of twelve I worked after school, on weekends, and all summer in a scrap metal yard, and was the only white employee. All the black men became my mentors and family. When the race riots came I could not understand what they were about.
Jing Chuang Eugene, OR
Albert Toronto Who are the real Americans? Why do we have African Americans, Asian Americans, Chinese Americans, Korean Americans, but not English Americans, German Americans?
Jennifer Chain Eugene, OR
Mara Andino Los Angeles, CA My parents are both Puerto Rican. My mom has red hair and freckles constantly mistaken for Northern European, my dad is Black and Tiano Indian. Growing up in NYC in the 60’s and 70’s not many people looked like ma and spoke Spanish too. It was a struggle too dark […]
Jerry Cordaro Cleveland, OH I’m Caucasian, my wife is African-American, and we’re the parents of two kids. Because of our work schedules, I’m usually the one doing pickup and drop-off, and a few summers ago I was picking them up from camp. My son is light-skinned, and there was a little boy about six or […]
Gregory M. Foster Sr. Hamden, CT I served in the military with many different races. they were my friends my brothers in arms and my companions in times of despair I never felt they were anything less then another human being!
Su Stevens Dallas, TX I spent the first 24 years of my life in Mississippi. My father was from New Orleans and my mother was born and raised in Mississippi. I am Caucasian. My parents believed and taught us that every person was the same no matter what was different about them. At such a […]
Anne Peterson Oakton, VA
Peter Goodwin New York, NY We have separated ourselves into separate communities, sometimes with physical gates, often with mental or emotional gates, and so have very little contact with the ‘other’. And we can pretend that that we have no residue of racism in our emotional make-up while never having any contact with people of […]
Robert Bogue Ashland, OR
Stuart Lipnick Glencoe, IL
Ananya Kepper Santa Monica, CA I walk around feeling like myself, not like an Indian woman in a sea of white people. It still catches me off guard when people ask “Where are you from?” “Santa Monica,” I reply, every time. “I was born in St. John’s Hospital on Santa Monica Blvd.” I make them […]
James Nashville, TN
Christopher Sandoval Irvine, CA This may seem like a statement for someone to tell others, but its something I have to privately tell myself. I am a Mexican American engineer highly educated gay man. No mater what avenue I turn to for acceptance I will always stand out. Even in a family with six siblings […]
Pete Reich San Francisco, CA I heard the piece on Race Card and six word essay on NPR and was intrigued at the topic and motivated to come up with my own 6 word essay, based loosely on my experiences growing up and traveling etc., and mine came naturally to me. My hope and goal […]
Jessie Micallef Ann Arbor, MI
Brigid Greska Ann Arbor, MI An interesting point has been brought up in multiple classes I have taken this year: between “races” there are more similarities than within each “race”. This further proves that race does not actually exist and that it should no longer be a factor. It is perplexing to me how it […]
Bryan Ren Ann Arbor, MI Being an Asian American in the United States has created a dilemma. I find it hard to relate to being strictly American, but I also discover difficulties while trying to hold on to my Chinese roots. As a result of my race in this country, I feel a disconnection between […]
Paula J. Currie-Raymond Oakland, Montreal All of my youth I felt less than; however, I was never sure why that was. I spent a lot of time asking myself the question – never in a conscious way, but rather in the subconscious. I lived all of my youth in a neighborhood where most families were […]
Keenan Wright Lakewood, CA
McKenna Jaymes Northglenn, CO I am white and was sitting with a few black friends, other black girls came and sat with us. Finally, someone I didn’t know looked at me from the other end of the table and asked why I was sitting with them. I was dumb-founded. I sat there everyday with my […]
Anonymous Culpepper, VA Me being Hispanic I feel like everybody thinks I’m just a normal “Mexican” who came to the U.S.A. Is not even close to them, I still feel bad about being Hispanic, it has been five years almost six years since i moved to the United State. People treat you different it doesn’t […]
Jeanine McElwain, Davis, CA. “Another possibility was: What does N****r mean, Mom? (5 words) This is a question I had as a child in the early 1960’s, growing up in an all-white, working class neighborhood where white kids used the N word to tease/insult each other. When I first heard it, I thought it was […]
Jaime F. Galdamez Madera, CA It’s not plain to see out in the open, but those of us of different color and ethnic back grounds, those of us way below middle income, those of us who’ve been discriminated against, and stereotyped can see and feel the racial tension and classism coming from the right. We […]
Anonymous Ann Arbor, MI
Danielle Thestger Ann Arbor, MI
John Fisher-Smith Ashland, OR . I immigrated from UK in 1939 when I was 12 1/2 years old and entered 7th grade in Huntington Long Island. I was afraid walking miles to school. I was teased a lot and bullied for being different. Sammy, the only black boy in town, was my true friend in […]
The Elementary children of the Faith Formation Class at First United Methodist Church of Iowa City, IA After much sharing and discussion, our statement was unanimously agreed upon. Learn how to use the Race Card in YOUR classroom. The Race Card Project_ Classroom Activity_2012
Charles Wright Hernando, MS I think fear is the basic emotion that fosters racism. The comfort zone gets compromised by all the stereotypes, then the consequent anger over the fear that is created forms lifelong common beliefs that evolve into hatred. BAH!
Peggy Hutchinson Columbus, OH Different meaning; culturally, religiously, socio-economically Same meaning; we breathe the same air, the same way; we are the same creatures What’s good (or bad) for one is good (or bad) for all of us.
Seth Agress Submitted via: NPR’s Talk of the Nation
William Eckman, Atlanta, GA. We come from different families, different cultures, different schools but for all to win as a great nation we must be less tribal and remember “out of many one”! This is the glue that holds us together and allows all of us to work to make tomorrow better than today across […]
