empower Archives - The Race Card Project

Indian who was clueless about race

August 20, 2024August 20, 2024 Charuta Apte, classroom, clueless, empower, face, Hispanic, Indian, Race, recipe, relief, Sammamish, smile, WA

Charuta Apte,
Sammamish, WA.

I am an Indian, and teach in a under-served community in a school which is equally white, black and hispanic. In the beginning, it was a recipe for disaster. Now, it feels empowering. Just last week, I had a few student accuse me of going easy on a girl who they think is white but who is actually 75% hispanic, and I said “I’m not black, white or hispanic, so don’t bring race into this classroom”. When I said it, it felt like so many students breathed a sigh of relief. That really put a smile on my face.

Indian who was clueless about race

January 15, 2024 Charuta Apte, classroom, clueless, empower, face, Hispanic, Indian, Race, recipe, relief, Sammamish, smile, WA

Charuta Apte,
Sammamish, WA.

Chicano/Native-American trying to recapture my past

September 8, 2020 Akimel O'odham (Pima), CA, chicano, empower, Joseph Velasco, other, person of color, Santa Barbara, students, teacher

Joseph Velasco,
Santa Barbara, CA

My brother and I have been a quest for most of our lives to try and understand our family stories in the context of what it means to be “American.” As a person of color, I am reminded by some that I am other. But as a Chicano and Akimel O’odham (Pima), I sometimes still struggle to find my place. But as a teacher, I try and empower students to have these conversations and create their own space.

Free speaking teens, changing relational space?

July 22, 2019July 22, 2019 change, children, CO, empower, Evergreen, free speech, influence, N word, n*****, negative, relational space, Tara Saltzman, teen, teenager, word

Tara Saltzman,
Evergreen, CO.

My teens arguing in favor of de-degrading(?) the word n*****, inspired by conviction that changing the influence of words (no longer receiving the word “n*****” as having negative intent or implication), changes relationships. wondering if they are empowered by the innocence of youth and lack of historic understanding AND regardless able to infuse real change through that space.

Speaking Proper Doesn’t Mean “Speaking White”

November 28, 2017 black and educated, break, educated, empower, Messiah Toure, PA, Philadelphia, proper, speak, speak white, stigma, vocabulary

Messiah Toure,
Philadelphia, PA.

All my life, I’ve felt empowered by vocabulary and being educated. However, there seems to be a correlation between being educated and being white. And a correlation, unfortunately, between being uneducated and being black. It’s a stigma that really needs to change, it’s entirely possible to be black and be educated. It’s entirely possible to be uneducated and white. We need to break those ideas.

White, male privilege can transform lives.

September 9, 2016 control, empower, equality, Human Rights, lift, Macedon, male privilege, NY, oppression, Power, Stacey Wicksall, suppress, transform, white

Stacey Wicksall,
Macedon, NY.

Those who have traditionally been able to oppress others also are the same group able to lift others from oppression. The power to transform is in this group’s control. Will the group choose to oppress and suppress? Or will they instead decide to progress by elevating and empowering? The lives of non-white, non-males will be transformed by the choices this group makes. White, privileged males will also transform their own lives based on the choices they make regarding human equality and rights. The question is: will future transformation be positive for all?

This project gives racism more power

July 8, 2014July 8, 2014 Aspen, Brandon, CO, empower, hurt, ignorant, Power, project, racism

Brandon
Aspen, CO

The purpose of saying something racist is to invoke. By allowing people to express that they were hurt by these words gives them (words) more power. The more we try to educate to not say these things because they hurt the more we lose traction in this battle. We need to teach people to be strong and not let ignorant or uneducated people hurt them. Stop saying what not to do and start teaching what to do. Only you can hurt yourself, others can say as much as they want and it will only hurt or offend you as much as you let it. Start empowering people to be strong individuals rather than giving these feelings, words, or racist people more power than they should have by broadcasting how much they hurt.

My whiteness empowers daily racial blindness

August 22, 2013 Beaverton, empower, OR, privilege, racial blindness, whiteness

Jim
Beaverton, OR

As a white man, I am constantly swimming in a sea of racial ignorance. I have the privilege of never having to think of myself as a racial being in this society. I can spend hours, days, weeks, and even months never having to think of myself as a white man. I can go anywhere and be assured that I will be around people of my own race. Until I begin to truly reflect on my racial identity in this society, and begin to instruct others on this, especially my white friends and colleagues, then nothing will change for my friends of other races who don’t get to share in this privilege.

Topic scares, unnerves, and embarrasses people.

July 30, 2013 CA, embarass, empower, Kathryn, polarize, Race, Sacramento, scare

Kathryn
Sacramento, CA

Sad to say the issue of race still negatively challenges and polarizes people in so many parts of the world. This just means there is still opportunity to be empowered by what we can learn from each other if we can stop fearing people who are different.

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