The Race Card Project
By Michele Norris
Andi Ray Bartnek,
Canada.
I grew up in a household with 4 generations of females and have spent my whole life having to justify my name and my sex. Part of me liked being different, the rest of me hated having to argue over who and what I was. That hasn’t changed after 67 years.
Shonda Kay Purvis,
Green Cove Springs, FL.
I have had to rebrand myself and change my name because “Shonda K. Purvis” (and her “BLACK” resume) doesn’t get job interviews, but SK Purvis (and “his” “WHITE” resume) does. (By the way, I am a Caucasian female. You thought I was black, didn’t you?)
Elizabeth A. Leeper,
Dubuque, IA.
I am a 62 year old, single, white female. I was born in Pennsylvania, grew up in Asia, and now live in Iowa. Education level: Ph.D. I appreciate racial and ethnic diversity and experiencing different cultures, but I also understand the fear of the “other.”
DeAnna Calderon,
Austin, TX.
I grew up poor in the Southside of Chicago. We were extremely poor and even homeless at times. Sleeping outside in the middle of winter when I was a child. When I was 22 I joined the Army. The treatment I faced as a woman in the military felt like it was 1954, instead of 2004. A man of any color was treated better than a female. When black people and white liberal suburbanites talk of “White Privilege” I asked myself, “Where was my ‘White Privilege'”?’ A lot of poor whites live in the same neighborhoods as blacks and Hispanics, go to the same schools, and work at the same jobs; yet, white privilege is thrown in our face as if we do not have the same struggles. Slavery didn’t start with the Atlantic Slave Trade and black people were not the only victims. In the Bible, Egypt (in Africa) enslaved the Jews. Millions of Europeans were enslaved by North Africans and brought back to the Barbary Coast (http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/whtslav.htm). The first slaves in America didn’t come from Africa, but from Ireland. The Irish Slave Trade dropped the population in Ireland from 1,500,000 people to 600,000 within a decade. “African slaves were very expensive during the late 1600s (50 Sterling). Irish slaves came cheap (no more than 5 Sterling). If a planter whipped or branded or beat an Irish slave to death, it was never a crime. A death was a monetary setback, but far cheaper than killing a more expensive African” (http://www.africaresource.com/rasta/sesostris-the-great-the-egyptian-hercules/the-irish-slave-trade-forgotten-white-slaves/). The term slave actually comes from the Slavs or the ethnic Polish. The Slavs were enslaved by the Ancient Romans. Slavery even continues today in most countries, but the victims are women and children that are sold into sex trafficking. Life isn’t easy for anyone. The only privilege that exists today isn’t white, but green. Money and power will get you whatever you want. Michael Jordan, Russell Simmons, and other wealthy minorities have Green Privilege and with that privilege comes power.
Terry Tringali Killoran,
Sterling Heights, MI
I had black friends growing up. I thought I did. We played together at school and after school at their house, or ours, in the driveway. Little did I know that’s because my parents wouldn’t let them come inside our house, and vice versa. And I remember once I asked if she could come to dinner and my father said NO so fast and loud that I jumped because it scared me. The friendships lasted until they moved away before junior high school. They wanted a more “comfortable“ neighborhood to grow up in. Not until I was an adult did I understand that statement.
Molly McNulty,
Newton, NH
I feel like a lot of people may think white girls or girls in general are the same just because we like similar things or follow certain trends. When in reality we are all different but just like a few similar things.
Ivy
Portland, ME
Yes I am a white female but I do not think I fit the stereotypes associated with the label “white girl”.
Lenore J. Domers
Appleton, WI
I read this “name” in a book entitled Colonel Carter’s Christmas, by F. Hopkinson Smith, published in 1903. It is disturbing to me for the lack of respect for the dignity of a human person.
Mariela Uscanga,
La Mirada, CA.
When people see me, I am often confused as Filipino or from Mexico. People will speak to me in Spanish or Tagalog. It’s a bit frustrating only because when I tell people that I don’t speak Tagalog people question my honesty with them. Or, when I tell people that my Spanish is horrible and not my first language people will ask where I was born. CBU HIS311
Patricia L. Gadsden,
Central, PA.
As an African American female in the 1960’s, I was discouraged from attending college. It was explained to me that I wasn’t college material. I’m not sure what they really meant since I graduated with straight A’s from high school.
Ellyn Ebersole,
Martinsburg, WV.
With the age of social media where it is silently stated that you have to “pick a side” in race relations I have found myself questioning why in an age of rising racial tension, do I have a hard time identifying where I stand?
I love other races. In fact, I find them fascinating. As a Caucasian mid-twenties female, I find nothing more enjoyable than learning about other cultures and appreciating them. In today’s time, it seems to be a never-ending black versus white epidemic.
I have bonded with both black men and women and have found them to be some of the most withstanding people on the planet. I love African American spunk. I love their music. I love the way they outdance white people on almost every level. I love their genius when it comes to having quick witted minds. I love their drive, their ability to still smile in awkward situations that most of us never face and most of all, I appreciate the strength of black women. I wish I had the passion, heart and love they possess.
But when it comes to talking about political issues or race relations, I feel silenced.
I feel that in normal friendships I have, I can talk about world issues and even disagree vehemently, but still be loved and regarded.
As friends, I can even disagree about life choices, attitudes and behaviors, and still keep my relationships intact.
I can criticize white people 24 hours a day. Politics, government, jails, and our community is overloaded with crooked white people that I can talk ill about, and I do.
But if I pick apart issues I have with victimization of all black men in the media who have been killed by a police officer? I am labeled a racist.
If I want to hip hop dance, I am called a person who is “appropriating black culture”.
If I want to sing a rap song, black women are okay with me singing parts of the song where we as WOMEN are objectified and sexualized as meat, yet gasp and shake their heads when I repeat the “n” word in the song.
If I want to braid my hair, then I’m accused of stealing black ideas.
Rather than viewing it as a white woman who LOVES the culture black people have introduced us to, I am now the enemy.
And once again, I am a racist.
I am trying to tell the black community that not only do I love, and appreciate you, but you give me a sense of adventure. I don’t want to steal your ideas, I want to emulate some of them. Because they are amazing.
I am afraid of offending you.
I am afraid that I will be told that I can not be against some black actions, and still love you.
I feel that I cannot disagree with people based on their actions, because if they are black, I am accused of being against their SKIN color, rather than who they are.
I am afraid that if I make a joke about black people after hearing black people joke about black AND white people all day, now I’m being “prejudiced.”
I am afraid that if I have too many white friends, that you won’t want to be friends with me.
I am afraid that maybe I am just “a little too white girl for you.”
I am ashamed to be white when black is the majority because it is a double edged sword.
If I emulate you, “that white girl just wants to be black”.
If I don’t, “that white girl doesn’t know ANYTHING about black struggles or what we have been through.”
How can I be friends with you, if I cannot disagree?
In the end, I don’t know what it’s like to be black. And you don’t know what it’s like to be white. Women have been oppressed even before black people were. And I know how it feels to be a woman. Most of all, I know what it’s like to be a HUMAN with feelings, desires and a heart.
We both have ways we can try to up each other on our histories.
But I don’t want to be friends with you because you’re black. I want to be friends with you because you are you.
But, I am afraid of offending you.
Megan Hoban,
Ridgefield, CT.
Being a caucasian woman in the US I see sexual assault every day. I am proud to be who I am and I am proud of my body. With that being said I refuse to be looked at as an object or treated with any less respect because I am a female.
Tasha Thompson,
Coon Rapids, MN.
I’m a 19 year old white female, and my grandma was born in the 40s. She is very old fashioned and when she talks about my mom’s work in a majority black community where the accept EBT, she starts to sneer and act like it’s the worse thing that could happen. It always makes me uncomfortable and I don’t even want to go to holidays anymore because I’m sick of her comments towards black people. It makes me upset that she would even think it is ok to talk like that, but my family just says it’s the way she was raised.
Julia Rivers,
Milwaukie, OR.
As a high school student dependent on scholarships in order to attend college and reach my goals of a much higher level of education, every day I am consumed by the thought of how I can make myself stand out. What will make the people in charge want to give me their money out of all the other students that are consumed by the same thought every single day. As a white girl from an educated family who’s only “pity” case is the death of my dad and being a hardly out lesbian who has not suffered from any discrimanation, my odds of earning scholarships are dependent entirely on my academic ability and my interest in STEM as a female. I am not one for labels-not about my sexual orientation, not about IQ’s, not about religion and not about race, but if you can not label yourself as something unique, you’re more or less SOL when it comes to earning scholarships.
A peer of mine is being recruited by well known schools across the country. Not the best schools, but decent ones I would consider safety schools. Her SAT’s are significantly lower than mine. Her GPA is lower than mine. The difficulty of classes she takes is lower than those that I take. The hours and diversity of community service she participates in do not match up to mine. Her “well-roundedness” consists of running track and school. Her family income is significantly higher than that of my single mother who is a school based therapist supporting two children …and yet, she is able to apply for a vastly larger number of scholarships than am I even eligible for, simply because she is a first generation college prospect who would add a dash of color to those mediocre college campuses. I understand the need for diversity, it is one of the top criteria for my upcoming decision of which colleges I will be applying to-but diversity should be attained without handpicking students deliberately for their race. I should not be excluded from competing with my peers simply because I am a mix of races that do not alter the color of my skin and come from an educated family. It is presumed that the education of my family means I have greater educational opportunities than first generation college prospects, that being a majority means I can walk onto a college campus, have a check and an education handed to me and provide a stellar education for my future children. And yes, I am acutely aware that the color of my skin has made my walk of life significantly easier. But the opportunities I have are no greater than my peers.
As students of one of the worst public education systems in the nation, it is a feat to get Oregon public school students to graduate, let alone be accepted into a decent university, and being a long time resident of a low socio economic town, every student here needs all the assistance paying for college we can get; regardless of race, family history, gender, sexual orientation, athletic ability or any other factor that forces us to wear a label on our backs saying “I’m the scholarship kid because (insert label of choice here)”. So my coping strategy, as I learned from my single mother who has shouldered her fair share of stresses in her life is this: add humor. I will not influence the powers that be to change their minds about my lack of labels, but at least I’m not a white boy.
La Toya Plummer,
Greenbelt, MD.
Although I have lived with three strikes for more than twenty years, the color of my skin always has been and always will be fundamental to who I am. When you are colorblind, you do not see me. Overlooking a portion of me that is susceptible to the brutal ignorance on a daily basis takes away the strength I draw from it to carry on. Recognizing that aspect completes me as a human being.
Audrianna Galvin,
San Francisco, CA.
Half black, half white female
Samantha Zrada,
Plymouth Meeting, PA
Does my voice really count on this topic? I am a white female who grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia, went to school with mainly white children, and never experienced any racism directed toward me or my family. I am thankful to say that I am fortunate. And yet, it is apparent in this society that there are hundreds of thousands who are unfortunate on the simple basis of skin color. Racism still lingers on after the Civil Rights Act, we are still flawed and will remain a flawed nation until things are finally set right.
That is why when I’m meeting someone of a different background, I don’t focus on them as a stereotype, I try to look beyond that and focus on the person in front of me. And in doing that, I have a very diverse group of friends.
Cyerra Hawkins
Riverside, CA
I’m a African American female and I am irritated behind the fact that people associate African american women as loud and verbose. people are people we all have different personalities and ways of expressing ourselves. Stop with the categorizing and that is for any race or ethnicity. Vicious stereotypes have been used used on African american women for centuries have been taught to the younger generation and perceived in a jokingly way. Be yourself. Do not live up to the stereotypes just to fit in or be cool.
CBU HIS311
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