The Race Card Project
By Michele Norris
Juan Lagares,
Spain
Some people from USA think that Spain is located in Mexico. They are confused because both countries have the same language, but Spain belongs to Europe and Mexico belongs to America. A bunch of people really don’t know where Spain is located, which means they see spaniard people as Mexican people.
Claudia Martin
Thailand
Thai-German-French-Cambodian. In Asia people always assume I’m white, and am treated like an outsider, telling me I’m not really Asian, but in Europe, it’s the opposite. So if I’m neither accepted as a white, or an Asian, I can’t help but feel like I’m always excluded.
Kelly O’Brien Pruitt,
Houston, TX.
I love living in a multicultural City. I love seeing different sizes and shapes and colors, different combinations of ethnic groups. To me this is what America looks like. I want to tell every white person who thinks that America belongs to them is that we came from Europe and we took this land from the Native Americans. This is not our country we took it.
Barney Rush,
Chevy Chase, MD.
Ours is an adopted family: my wife and I have two daughters, both of whom are Caucasian, as we are. We adopted them through agencies, the older when we lived in New York; the younger when we lived in Florida. After living six years in Europe, we returned to the United States in 2002, when our daughters were 14 and 8 years old. We had always told them that they were adopted, and so grew up never considering this fact to be a secret, or something that made them materially different from their friends, and certainly not something of which they might be ashamed. So it wasn’t surprising that our younger daughter, now in 5th grade at our local elementary school, would mention to her new friends that she was adopted. What surprised her was that her friends were surprised, and disbelieving. Hence her request to me when she brought a friend home after school. Why the disbelief? It wasn’t because her friends were unaware, or uncomfortable with adoption. To the contrary: there were plenty of adopted children in the school. What was different, I think, is that most of these adopted children were Asian or from Central America. So the idea that a child could be adopted who was Caucasian – THAT didn’t compute. And perhaps there was a deeper thought: “You look just like me; how could your “real” Mom have given you up?” I wonder about that; but I don’t know.
Gianna Radoi,
USA.
People think that being white means you are American. I am second generation, born and raised in America, but my parents are from Europe. Sure, they fled communism in the 80’s, but for a better life. Things did not always come easy for them when they started new lives here, with only the money they had in their pockets, and the clothes on their back. Their skin color did not change the way they worked or the way they were treated, nor does it benefit them now. Being white does not have an impact on my work ethic nor does it affect my grades in class. We still struggle because we are human. If anything, I would like to apologize that I am white. I cannot do anything about my skin color, but we can all change the way we look at others based off of their skin tone. CBU HIS311
Whitney,
Durham, NC.
More 6-word offerings…
– Life was less racial in Europe
– Look black, more than half white
– Ticked one box, denied one parent
– Forced to deny half my heritage
– Why should I pick just one?
It’s not that race isn’t an issue in Europe, more that after nearly 8 years living there, I felt more comfortable and more accepted for my mixed race. More people knew at a glance that I wasn’t “just” black, that I was multiple races. Not only that, but there were more boxes for me to tick. There were more options. I didn’t have to choose just one, as I did when registering at the DMV in North Carolina.
Nabeste,
Chicago, IL.
I’m a Mexican-American. I hate white people. I have grown to hate them. They came to America to steal the land and kill the Native American Indians. They brought the slaves here. They brought with them diseases that are here now. They went and took Texas and all the states that belonged to Mexico. And still these people claim that they want America 💯 anglo? Go back to Europe if that’s what you want. I wish the Indians would have never let the Europeans put a foot on this land.
Carolina,
San Jose, CA.
My mother was born in Morelos, Mexico and my Father was born in Lima, Peru. I was born in San Jose, CA. Whenever anyone asks me “where are you from?” I never truly understand the question. I’m American? I’m mixed? I’m Latina? Especially since I’ve been studying abroad in parts of Europe, the confusion with this question only rises. When someone in Europe asks me where I come from I say “I’m American”. They follow up by asking, “No, where are you originally from?”. It’s funny because in both Peru and Mexico they won’t acknowledge me as one of them yet my skin is too tan and my hair too black to be considered a true “American”. I guess I’m just a drifter.
Lezlie Graebel,
Mount Shasta, CA.
Science has showed us that our origins are from Africa. With the exception of those in Europe who have the distinction to carry some Neanderthal genes. The gene for light skin has also been traced to a relatively recent mutation. What divides us,; what unifies us; what protects us is culture. A human creation that is purely conceptual. It is the acquired knowledge that a person uses to interpret their world and generate social behavior. When safety is recognized in a culture that outstrips those that are no longer viable, a shift of consciousness will occur. It is up to us all to add to the conversation individually, and that conversation becomes collective. What an elegant way to create a new culture. In 6 words.
Benito Camela,
Dallas, TX.
Why no calls for diversity in Africa, South America or Asia? Just Europe, and even countries with no significant history of colonialism.
Krystal,
Tillamook, OR.
Half of my family is from Europe, the other half is from America–as in, Native Americans. When my great-grandfather passed away, they went through his possessions and found a KKK hood, and I bear that shame to this day. I am sorry for my ancestors and what they did to people based on physical appearance.
Reich Krieger
Germany
Americans: “There are indigenous people that were here first.”
Asians: “There are indigenous people that were here first.”
Africa: “There are indigenous people that were here first.”
Europe: “Race is a social construct, everyone is the same.”
Anti-racist is a codeword for anti-white.
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