Dominican Archives - The Race Card Project

SO much more than six words……

March 19, 2024 Dominican, happy family, mental health, more than, multicultural, NY, Orangeburg, Red Hair

London Romero,
Orangeburg, NY

I am a mother, wife, daughter, sister, granddaughter, aunt, niece, cousin, friend, professional, mentor, role model, but all they see is a brown person, less than, does not belong. I am born and raised in NY, but constantly people around me treat me as I don’t belong. I’ve always been questioned, and for all, no I’m not the hired help, yes this is my car/house, yes this white skinned red haired boy belongs to my dark Dominican husband and myself (brown skinned Puerto Rican women), yes both boys have the same father, yes I speak English and guess what Spanish too, do you speak two languages? I am a professional, I bought my own car, did not marry a white guy to have the things I have! My family is multicultural, multiracial, different religious upbringings, different sexual orientation, adoption, mental health, and we are all beautifully one big happy family. How many people can say that? Why must we look at someone and automatically place them in a category without speaking to them? People are so multidimensional and if you take the time to speak to someone you may realize how much in common you have. We are more alike than different.

Wow, you don’t have an accent!

April 26, 2022April 26, 2022 accent, Allentown, Angelina A., Chile, Chilean, culture, Dominican, Hispanic, PA, Spanish, you don't sound

Angelina A.,
Allentown, PA.

I myself always get asked about questions about my racial and ethnic background and it never has bothered me. I usually always say I am half Dominican and half Chilean, then I go on to explaining that my dad is from Chile and my mom is from The Dominican Republic. Although I was born in New Jersey, I do not identify myself as being an American even though I know I am. This may be because my Hispanic culture is deeply rooted within my family and household, Spanish is my first language and I did not learn English until I went to school. Now it does bother me when people are amazed by that and say that I don’t have an accent or that I speak well. As if just because I spoke Spanish first they would EXPECT me to have an accent or not speak English correctly. That to me is actually insulting.

You’re Dominican? But you’re Black, really.

April 11, 2022April 11, 2022 carter center, ct, Dominican, latina, oxford, you don't look

Juleyka,
Oxford, CT.

This phrase is often said to me by African Americans and other (usually darker) people from the Caribbean who insist that though I am Dominican/Latina, I am Black in the United States because of its racial history and current xenophobic climate. It’s nullifying in so many respects, and usually leads me to lose respect for the person, who is doing to me–classifying, categorizing, boxing-in–what Whites have done to “others” for centuries.

If you’re Dominican, then you’re Haitian!

March 3, 2022March 3, 2022 customs, Dominican, FL, Fort Lauderdale, Haitian, Jessica Carmona, mixed

Jessica Carmona,
Fort Lauderdale, FL.

People always insist on the fact that because I am from the Dominican Republic I’m Haitian. No. I don’t think this is so because I don’t follow any of the Haitian customs and I’ve never even been there. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with being Haitian it’s just that I consider myself a Dominican, someone of various mixed races. I like to say that I am multiracial because that’s exactly what Dominicans are. And that is what I am!

Dominican immigrant, now 70 nothing changed

August 9, 2021August 9, 2021 america, diverse, Dominican, New York City, NY, Victor M Victoria

Victor M Victoria,
New York City, NY

Race is an ever changing feature globally. America culture in more about skin color than culture. Americans love it’s diverse culture from all corner of the land, yet in another 200 years it may face out due to the mix of color of skins getting blended.

Appearing strong. Mending daily. Race matters.

February 1, 2021February 1, 2021 Anthony Charles Bradburn, Crystal Lake, Dominican, Hispanola, IL, Imperialistic blood, mending, nationality, strong, truth

Anthony Charles Bradburn,
Crystal Lake, IL.

As a Dominican, it’s easy to get lost in nationality. The truth is I have a rich, beautiful Black line of people before me. I am honored to stand with them and cull their strength. The truth is I have white, Spanish Imperialistic blood in me. The truth is the great Taino tribe reigned in Hispanola before these other groups arrived. More space is required to express how I feel about all of this, but at a glance–excited, scared, tender. For now, that about covers it.

I’m much more than my accent

August 4, 2020 accent, Bronx, Dominican, Franchesca Guzman, judged, more than my accent, NY, sound, voice

Franchesca Guzman,
Bronx, NY

When I introduced myself to new people they might just get stuck in my accent, but I am so much more than my thick Dominican accent. Many times we are not given a chance to show how brilliant we can be since we are judged by how we sound when introducing ourselves.

Why are people like me scared?

April 25, 2019September 18, 2020 america, AZ, defend, Dominican, German, irish, Italians, jews, Mexican, People, Phoenix, Poles, scared, Tom Lewis, welsh-anglo-scot, white

Tom Lewis,
Phoenix, AZ.

Most “white” people in the USA are descended from people who were considered “other” and often not even white when these ancestors arrived. All of these groups changed and improved America. Germans, Irish, Italians, Poles, and Jews were as unwelcome as Mexicans, Dominicans, Africans and Muslims are now. I am white welsh-anglo-scot and I welcome all the above groups. Join me?

Can you tell what % black?

April 18, 2018April 18, 2018 Alfred Eric Richner Prieto, Black, Dominican, Duluth, GA, Iberican, percentage, Scandinavian, Swiss, together, world

Alfred Eric Richner Prieto,
Duluth, GA.

14% and Iberian, Dominican,, Swiss, Scandinavian. We are all in this world together.

I’M DOMINICAN AND I AM PROUD

January 16, 2018January 16, 2018 Bronx, Dominican, Jonathan P., NY, proud

Jonathan P.
Bronx, NY

I blend in, wherever I go.

January 10, 2017January 10, 2017 Arab, blend, Brenda Footer, diverse, Dominican, Latin, MD, neighborhood, Silver Spring, wherever

Brenda Footer
Silver Spring, MD

I live in a very diverse neighborhood, where many El Salvadoran and Dominican families live. People are always trying to speak to me in Spanish, because I have olive skin and dark hair. I’m as white as can be, but it’s always been this way. Italians assume I’m Italian, Latinos assume I’m Latin. Arabs assume I’m Arab, Jews know I’m a Jew. I went to a predominantly black college, and there I was always told, “You don’t talk like a white girl, are Spanish?”

Not hispanic enough, not white enough

July 5, 2016July 5, 2016 Alfida Cruse, Arlington, Dominican, German, half dominican, Hispanic, identity, Joplin, Midwest, MO, South, St. Louis, VA, white enough

Alfida Cruse,
St. Louis, MO.

Growing up half Dominican and half Missouri German (white) constantly left me feeling not white enough for the white kids and not Dominican enough for the Hispanic kids. I have been called out and subsequently shunned when my mother picked me up from school in Arlington, VA (“you’re WHITE?!”) and gotten the side-eye when my exotic-looking father picked me up in Lexington. Though I am very attached to both of my cultures, I felt like a hulking American freak among my dainty Dominican cousins in Santo Domingo and like an unwelcome weirdo seeking out platano in Joplin, Missouri. Though as an adult I am quite secure and happy in my identity, my sisters and my mixed or transplanted friends make me feel the most comfortable- people who share the experience of relating to more than one culture or location, whether that’s moving from the South to the Midwest or to the states from Colombia. Treating everyone I meet with respect and not glaring at any unfamiliar lunch/clothing/habits they have is my way of evening out the scales. We should all try that.

Your too white to be Dominican

April 28, 2016 Dominican, Marleny Mejia, NJ. Monmouth University, too white, West Long Branch

Marleny Mejia,
West Long Branch, NJ.
Monmouth University

I am more than a Dominican.

December 17, 2015December 17, 2015 Anglo Dominican, Bayshore, Dominican, Liliana Estevez, NY

Liliana Estevez,
Bayshore, NY.

Race envy on school’s cultural day

May 11, 2015 African American, Andrea Krida Goff, Asian, cultural day, diverse, Dominican, envy, High School, Polish, Providence, Race, represent, RI, school, Spirit Week, teacher, wardrobe, White America

Andrea Krida Goff,
Providence, RI.

I’m a teacher in a wonderfully diverse urban high school in Providence. Every year during Spirit Week, one of the days is devoted to cultural celebration. We have African-Americans wearing colorful headwraps, Asians wearing kimonos, Dominicans waving their country’s flag, and me. Every year I struggle with a wardrobe that represents my race, my culture. I see their stories through their attire. I want one of these stories. My father was half Polish and my Mom is a something generation Western European mix.. Two years ago, I dressed up in an Obama t-shirt. I drew a line down the middle and on one side I wrote Polish and on the other I left it blank. American. White-American. That’s it.

Plantains and potatoes get equal weight.

March 18, 2015March 18, 2015 Dominican, equal, heritage, Hispanic, Lucia Flores, MA, Medford, plantains, potatoes

Lucia Flores
Medford, MA

My parents raised us to be proud of our Dominican heritage, and at the same time went to great lengths to ensure that we had the cultural/intellectual capital to succeed in a white-dominant society. As a result, I am an active participant in American culture as well as Dominican/Hispanic culture in general. I see the dualism as an asset, but sometimes I feel obligated to choose sides. At the end of the day, though, I have my feet planted firmly in both regions.

You’re the whitest Hipanic I know.

July 20, 2014 class, Dominican, Half, High School, Hispanic, Korean, sports, swimming, VA, white dominated, whitest, Woodbridge

Annie
Woodbridgem VA

In high school, a white male classmate once said this to me. I am a half-Korean, half-Dominican woman. I had no idea how to respond. The context I perceived was that he meant that I spoke very clear, unaccented English, ate American-typical food staples for lunch, got excellent grades, and was in the white-dominated sport of swimming. And the tone in which he gave me this comment was entirely complimentary. This statement stuck with me, echoing inside my head for a week, poking at my brain because I remember being put off by the remark. And it was at the end of the week that I realized this was a case of “good minority”, or “not like Them”, etc. And I was slightly horrified. Why was it “white” to speak clearly? Or to pursue your education seriously? Or to excel in a sport that is indeed pricey? Or even to eat peanut butter sandwiches? What’s worse, why had I understood that from him?