Noah Clayton, Lakeland, FL. In the past year I have started be become really fond with Bass fishing. I caught my first Bass towards the end of 2012 and ever since then I have become “hooked”. As I was watching videos on YouTube and doing a little research on techniques and places to fish I […]
Josh McCumber, Palm Beach Gardens, FL Truly listening. Asking good questions. Showing understanding and empathy. Not everyone’s perception is the same.
Marvin Lucas, Deerfield Beach, FL From My experiences, perspectives, objectives, hopes, and dreams. There’s a variation with each individual, groups, and cultures. And yet My objective is to reach a pinnacle of being human which transcends beyond race. However, realistically on a society as a whole that’s almost virtually impossible because every individual come with […]
D’Lauren Oxidine, Delray Beach, FL. As a future doctor of education, one would assume that success would be highly attainable. However, because of my age, gender and race my level of success is different from my older male and female counterparts of different races. Knowing this means treating my entire doctoral experience as an unofficial […]
Kennysha Ransom, Miami, FL
Kaitlin Hahn, Miami, FL
Adan Reyna, Miami Gardens, FL
Adan Reyna, Miami Gardens, FL Hi, my name is Adan Reyna, I’m a Latin guy who is on the hunter of his dreams. I come from Panama to study aeronautical sciences. I’m taking my major at Florida memorial university; because for me, they have one of the most complete programs in aviation are.
Vero Korbenfeld, Miami, FL More often than not, minorities are running a race against each other, to see who wins the “most tragic history” ribbon. Who is more deserving of equality. In some way or another, most of us come from a history of wars, holocaust, slavery, escape, discrimination, abuse, you name it… It is […]
Yuki, Ft. Myers, FL. Hear me out here. I am so sick of people talking bad about me being white, like oh I’m sorry Jaiana that I was born with hardly melanin just burn me at the stake and call me a KKK member, but that’s totally fine right? Black people cant be racist! Okay […]
Joan M. Godoy, Miami, FL When I’m there, my intonation is too sophisticated. When I’m here, my accent is not good enough. Same happens with the way I eat, I dance, I think, I move, I am. Nor from here nor there? I choose to believe I’m beautifully rare and both from here AND there.
Sofia Guerrero, Orlando, FL Everyone always assumes I’m Mexican or, because of my fairer complexion, Spanish. Often, they don’t even know where Puerto Rico is…
Jayla Whiters, Miami, FL
Miranda Childe, Miami, FL I’m a 68-year-old native New Yorker transplanted to Florida after my divorce made it emotionally and financially difficult to stay in my beloved home town. My parents were retiring to Hallandale, and as an only child with no children I was now free to come and be there for them. We […]
Flo, Miami, FL
Julie, Miami, FL I wasn’t tuned into racial differences growing up as my community was fairly homogeneous. It wasn’t until I began to travel at the age of 20 (and eventually married someone of a different race) that my eyes were opened to just how much impact ‘race’ plays in our everyday existence.
Kathy Holmes, Riverview, FL At 60, I am embarrassed to say…I was woefully uneducated about systemic racism. Doing my best to learn and trying to do my part by teaching at a community college. I encourage my students to find their voices. And use it.
Valerie Howell, Miami, FL
John Ise, Miami, FL Something that I wrote for the Biscayne Times newspaper. It’s worth considering that perhaps the best antidote to racism to acknowledge that “race”, at its core, isn’t real. Racism indeed is real, but race is a man-made fiction. It’s further worth considering if we can transcend race while being hyper-conscious about […]
Brooke Cobbin Jacksonville, FL For years, I have been pleasantly surprising people because when they read my name Brooke (Morgan) Cobbin they expect to see a white girl. When they read my essays, my emails…they think I am white. It’s funny to me because of how names are trendy. How many Madisons do you know […]
Theresa Goldenberg Melbourne Beach, FL In Zora Neale Hurston essay “How it Feels to be Colored Me” she explains that she didn’t realize she was black until she moved to Jacksonville Florida and it was reflected in how people treated her. When my son started applying to colleges he quickly realized that most of the […]
David DeChant, Marine Vietnam Veteran Key West, FL Michele,Greetings again. I am a member of the core group of Vietnam Veterans who built The Wall ~ National Vietnam Veterans Memorial in D.C.; and was at the meeting in Senator Warner’s office when General George Price, US Army Retired, ended the color controversy about “black” granite […]
Mara Floyd Fort Myers, FL Doris* and my mother have been best friends for over 40 years. Both teachers with their masters’ degrees, the two women from neighboring cities met at an educational conference. They were as different as could be. One was married, one was divorced. One owned a house, the other lived in […]
David O’Neil Greenacres, FL Great project long overdue
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 […]
Tracy Sherwood, Sarasota, FL
Delaina Peek, Sarasota, FL. One’s culture and Race is important and defining, but Love overcomes all and we all are the voices of Love
Johanne Rahaman, Miami, FL. I am half black, half Indian, from the Trinidad, with an obvious Caribbean accent, and while I enjoy adding my bit to the diversity of America, it’s also a curse, because I have often in the past heard people make derogatory comments about African-Americans in my presence. They have referred to […]
Matthew Workman, Oviedo, FL. We are all human beings. I’m not saying to throw away what race you are but to open your mind to a greater picture. We come into this world the same way and will leave the same way.
Matthew English, Lakeland, FL. Michele was at my college today for convocation. Her words spoke the truth. I will always listen.
Sebastian Portillo, Fort Myers, FL These 6 words are just a personal meeting to interactions I’ve had in the past with people against my race. I am of hispanic parents/ An older male told me once I did not belong in the country, and he was from Florida. What seemed funny to me was that […]
Joni Arredia, Key Largo, FL
Jennie Clement Riverview, FL Thank you for doing this project. I noticed how my university applications changed in the wake of 9/11; how there was all of a sudden a magical radio button for being Arab. I had previously been invisible; moderately enjoying white privilege until 9/11. I was no longer “white”; which was a […]
Keva, Coconut Creek, FL I have been asked this question innumerable times, is there a reason I can’t be both, or why I am not considered to be both?
Maggie Martinez, WEST PALM BEACH, FL. When I get the chance to check “other ” on any form it makes me feel as if I am tearing down another little wall and letting the form creators know that I will not be put in a box. Race is fake and constructed to keep people of […]
Hunter Jaymz Harris, Lakeland, FL. I’m mixed with a bunch of things. Yet it’s best never to forget the people and places you come from.
Walter T. Pearson, Jacksonville, FL. I’m a black man, of many various ethnicities, Fifth American generation, from a family of military veterans,including my children who are currently serving in the Afghanistan region wars. I have no relatives from Africa (that I know of),so I wonder WHY must anyone that is not white, have to be […]
Anonymous, Miami, FL. Though I was born and Raised in a suburb a few miles south of Miami, Florida. My mom and dad are from Ethiopia and Sudan respectively. As a child, I’d say about 99% of the community were “white”. During middle and high school it shifted to about 49% “white”, 49% Hispanic and […]
Kit Robison, Doral, FL. I am most comfortable when the primary language is other than English. People assume I understand when they hear a lack of accent and see my skin but no your cultural logic did not compute in my head.
Jim Roaix, Lake Worth Beach, FL I was born in northern Maine, so far out in the woods that it took two days for tomorrow to get there, and we scheduled Summer for July 7th from 2 to 4 in the afternoon. I was exposed to all races at a very young age and always […]
Ken Plummer, Fort Lauderdale, FL …Nothing but RACE
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 […]
Kenneth L. Selmore, St. Augustine, FL. As long as AA’s misuse our economic power in America we will get no respect and our children will continue to die.
Emily Bertot, Clarksville, MD. I grew up in Florida in an extremely non-diverse, middle-class area. Moving up North was a big culture shock, but it forced me to realize how many different types of people there are. I was also made aware of my privilege.
Anonymous, Coconut Creek, FL. Never heard of the term “othering”, until the PBS special. If nothing else, it’s a great example of creating language where we can speak to each other, however small.
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, […]
Dawn Clearwater, fl We are all healing these wounds- exposing it the air is the best way to heal.
Michael A. Caldas, Miami, FL I’m a Cuban and Jamaican descent mix. Most people when they look at me think that I am either Cape Verdean, Polynesian, or Middle Eastern. When I was at Tuskegee, on the road there, we stopped at gas station to make a rest-stop and when one of the older white […]
Florence L. Tate Sarasota, FL When I was three years old I sat with my grandparents around the fireplace and listened to my father reading the Chicago defender about the details of my cousin’s lynching .
Corey Qalker, Hastings, FL I am Corey walker and I feel like people get so many stereotypes and don’t know the real you and what you really are and who you really are. University of Tennessee, Knoxville Sociology 110
Willie Hines, Gainsville, FL That’s what some say about people from other counties and it’s how they say it.
Rose Brown, Fort Myers, FL I don’t typically tell people that I’m Jewish. In elementary school, I was the only Jew and as such I was solely responsible for singing Jewish songs during the holidays and explaining our traditions. It continued in middle school, with everyone turning around to look at me during our week […]
Gabby, Fort Myers, FL
Pedro Bermudez Miami, FL
Patrick, FL I grew up to racist parents in a particularly a diverse area. You can imagine the views I developed. Over time I have unlearned what was fed to me. I still hold a few cultural prejudices that I cannot work around as they really do go against my values. But I’m proud to […]
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?)
George Young, Miami, FL
Melvin Morgan, Jacksonville, FL
Theresa Salomon, Parkland, FL. A few months ago, as my 7 year old son was about to seat next to a class mate, he was told that Blacks should stay on the other side. That sentence changed our lives. My son and I had many conversations about racisms, and throughout I was able to redirect, […]
Malorie Hill, Miami, FL.
Tony DellaCrosse, Jacksonville, FL.
Evan Arce, Orlando, FL My father was ginger with blue/green eyes. My mother was milk-white with black hair. My kids have brown and dirty blonde hair. DNA tests say I best match people of Italian and southern Greek descent. Some people seem to think otherwise? They always have since I was a kid. I think […]
Dale F. Klco, Hobe Sound, FL I don’t try to be or even want to be a racist. But, sometimes (much more often than you might think) those thoughts just “happen”. It’s like a reaction instead of something thoughtful.
Simone Bouyer, Riverview, FL I don’t want to be followed around the store while shopping. I don’t want to be pulled out of line at the airport. I don’t want to pay more for my house or any other purchase. I don’t want to be eyed with suspicion. I am a professional. I work hard. […]
Alex, St. Petersburg, FL To look at me I fit an archetype of an overweight, white male. I feel like I’m so much more than that, but to onlookers, that’s all they see.
Derek Haines, Fort Walton Beach, FL.
Kevin Heaven, Sunny Isles Beach, FL. Too many times I find myself as the only minority or Black person at a particular location, I get hungry too, but when I […]
Rob West, Lakeland, FL I am a leader in the industry & in the community and I am well respected. Most days, I wear a suit to work, but I wear a hoodie when I run and gym shorts when I go shopping. I should not have to worry about being followed, have the police […]
Phil Nolan, St. Petersburg, FL I can’t help it. I know it’s viewed as stereotypical but when I’m around Muslims I am defensive, wary, I take seriously Muslims shouting “death to American, Islam will bury you and behead those who deny Allah.” It’s the same with black people. Their lack of impulse control and history […]
Samantha Williams, Pensacola, FL. My father is black and my mother is Filippino. I was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada where the majority of my mother’s family lives, I was not as well acquainted with my father’s side of the family. My father stated that they weren’t going to make the same “mistakes” with […]
Hank Van Putten Jr, Casselberry, FL. Experience is a hard teacher. The exam comes first, then the lesson follows. – Vernon Jordan
Dilan Edward Kirkland, Apopka, FL I used to care, but after all the rioting, looting, raping, and killing, I honestly couldn’t care less about racism or social injustice any more than I do right now. my daddy always said you can’t always have what you want. Just a part of life. Only a degenerate doesn’t […]
Jazmine McKinney, Winter Garden, FL. Yes, I am black. No I am not angry. I actually smile all the time, and I get odd looks because of it. I guess I don’t act like people think black girls should act? Yes, I love Disney. I honestly don’t like rap music all that much. I love […]
Sarah Prieto, Miami, FL p>I was born in Miami and raised by Cuban refugees, exiles among many people just like me. I never felt completely anything, American or Cuban. When I ask people where they’re from, it is because I want to understand their immigrant, child or grandchild of the immigrant story. Our families’ traditions […]
Morgan Fort Lauderdale, FL My now three and a half year old brother named Kendall was born to two crack addicted parents. My grandmother now has full custody of him and is his Mother figure. My grandma goes a few times a week to the Walmart across the street to do her grocery shopping. Benny […]
Dave Perry, Tampa, FL. This is a derogatory term which belittles and demeans grown white men. I’ve heard this racial slur repeated far too often without impunity.
Alaska, PCB, FL I am Native American 100 percent! Whites stole this land, but I don’t care! We are all equal! Let’s all share this country!
Patti, Panama City, FL Excellent approach to drive discussions and fresh solutions. The brevity of 6 words creates focus within versus parrot talk
NR Jr., Tampa, FL. So as a paid volunteer in the US Armed Forces who has traveled extensively across the world. America has a “big” color issue. I spent 6 years living abroad and coming “home” is the worst thing ever… Let me give you the reader a take into my thus short life of […]
Jeanie Mitchell, Atlantic Beach, FL. I’m a taxi driver. I’ve been accused of being too liberal to be a cab driver. I see so much, every day. I transport a lot of people and I hear so many stories. I fear being a white woman, carrying a white man, in this industry, more than I […]
Tess, Melbourne, FL. Recently I have had to face the fact that my very dark skin is indeed the first thing most people notice about me. The fact that I’m short/tall, healthy/not healthy, sad/happy, age and what not seem to follow way after my dark skin has introduced me to the world. I love to […]
Dillon Harris, Fort Lauderdale, FL People assume I am Hispanic and I am often treated with the same discrimination that actual Hispanics are. Nobody should have to go through discrimination or racism. It is uncalled for and rude. We need to all work together to put an end to discrimination.
John L., Orlando, FL Just because I’m of this race and you’re of that race do you assume my actions are driven by this difference between us? I tell you no, and you think, “It must be because I’m ______ that this ______ person is doing this. He is ______ racist scum. I will tell […]
Diego A Rivera, Miami Gardens, FL Honduras is a beautiful country in Central America that is going through a rough patch but has so much to offer, a very rich culture and a lot of potential.
Kyria Rezner, Cocoa, FL I was raised in a diverse family believing everyone is equal. When I entered the real world, it disgusted me. I was saddened over the way people learned to label themselves. “I’m Italian.” “I am German.” “My family is Irish.” The one that effected me most however was one that would […]
Jake Moorehead, Jacksonville, FL Sometimes I feel like as a white man, it isn’t my place to speak. And I understand where that comes from. It doesn’t anger me, but sometimes it frustrates me because I do want to be an ally to people of color. I believe that judging people preemptively based on their […]
Jared Blocker, Gainesville, FL. My name is Jared. And this is my attempt at trying to post a race card. I was born and raised in the US, yet I don’t see myself as just black, I also see myself as an African-American. Whenever I hear the term “black” I think of my brothers and […]
John Everett, Miami, FL. same difference~ it should be more about who i am than what i am, agree? see, i could survive being you but could you exist being me? i’m hated and shunned just for my skins’ hue no matter what i say it doesn’t matter what i do but you lie in […]
Brianna Nikole Palenzuela, Sebring, FL Race is a social construct created by society. Genetically there is only one human race. But you know what is real? That wasn’t just created to point out differences? Culture – The traditions and values that you grew up with and that grows with you as you age and have […]
Shantelle Willock, Miami, FL
Victoria, Fort Myers, FL I’m half Cuban and half hillbilly American. I think the six words I chose to encapsulate my cultural identity well.
Rebecca Crea, Coral Springs, FL. We can’t change what we won’t acknowledge.
Liliane Dizon, Tampa, FL. Each time I have been pregnant, people (mostly white women) have said the rudest things to me. Most recently, as my daughters were standing next to me, a woman said “You must be excited to finally have one of your own!” I asked her to clarify what she meant. She pointed […]
Zanetea Reece, Fort Myers, FL. I am a bright skinned young woman, grew up in Southwest FL. We we’re not tought about our history in school. But racisim is and was learned at home. Because of that I grew up and still am a loner. No one wanted to be friend me because I didn’t […]
Ky Hopson-Fernandes, Tampa, FL
Desh Bagley, Tampa, FL. Yes. I am the owner of the science and technology center that offers Java, C++, Arduino, Robotics, and Engineering workshops for students. Yes. I do wish that more girls took classes here. No. The young guys who take classes aren’t surprised by me. Yes. It’s their parents who often ask to […]
Maria, Lakeland, FL. I’m Italian, so have to identify as white. Do I stand with ‘Christian white America’? No. Race, orientation, even hair color are not things I judge people on. “Love your neighbor as yourself”, period. No If’s And’s or But’s about it.
Leah Sherman, Tallahassee, FL My partner’s father asked me this question the first time he met me after discovering that my doctoral study focuses on Italian studies. I am a brunette with brown eyes and my partner’s family is fair with blue eyes. I should also mention this was not only the first time I […]
Yamile Escobar, Cape Coral, FL Be prejudiced can lead you to make decisions that you can regret later on. Just, love, learn and give without exemptions.
Steve Morris, Seattle, WA. In the mid-1950s my father made a business trip from our home in Connecticut to Florida and back. He decided to make the trip by car, and to take my mother, my brother, and me along with him for a family travel experience. In the Deep South I witnessed undisguised segregation […]
Marlene Resnick Sarasota, FL My Uncle Eddie was my favorite uncle. He took me to every carnival, fair and circus in town. He was Irish, my only non-Jewish relative and he was my hero. Aside from the ethnic confusion he created, he was the kind of mentor, supporter and playful companion that I wish for […]
Crystal Jasey Jacksonville, FL
Sheila Veatch, Saint Augustine, FL
Harold Laski, Jacksonville, FL
Paige Sharrow, FL.
Charlotte Kendall, Orlando, FL. This was in New York in 1967. The sh** hit the fan at school! Family and church were there for me. I couldn’t believe the racism, from students and teachers. We learned a lot.
Dahomey Abanishe, Secrest, FL. As a child in Kansas, I always assumed I was African-American and not because of what I was culturally but because of how I looked. I am Truly a Nigerian American culturally. My father is Nigerian and I was raised eating pepper stew and listening to Fela. No one fried chicken […]
Celeste Havis, Jacksonville, FL. Science and religion alike informs us that the concept of race is an illusion. Why do we continue to hang on to this antiquated concept when it only serves to divide us? I have dedicated my life to building positive human relations and now it appears to me that we are […]
Alex Weitz, Lakeland, FL. It is because I play soccer (that’s also six words)
Deborah Williams Clearwater, FL Fear affects all of us. Bad people are out there but it’s not based on skin color. When you walk by, take a moment to look that fear in the eye. Smile and say HI! You will see that 99.9% of the time your fear was unfounded.
Karen Munroe, Alachua, FL. 1962 Ohio.
Leslie Cole, Lake Worth, FL.
Claudia Vero Beach, FL Scary but enlightening’s
Raquel Diaz, Miami, FL. I’ve used this protocol in workshops before and it was quite reflective to see that I identify with being Cuban (cafe con leche) American (side of bagel). I am proud of my Cuban parents leaving behind everything to give us a better future in America. I love being Cuban American!!!
Amaka Amanambu, Davie, FL. Love is what we should speak, act and show. Doesn’t ask where is my footprint.
Daniela Miami, FL And yes, it is possible for me not to like baseball and be Latina at the same time!
Debi Gerbert, Ponte Vedra beach, FL. Love the project
Anita Cohen, Boca Raton, FL. I did not even know about prejudice until Martin Luther King was killed and I was in my best friend apt baking cookies. Her mother wailed and when I left I was surrounded by people who wanted to hurt me. Her mom took me home. I never hated anyone for […]
Larry, Orlando, FL. In closing up my elderly parents’ home, I was given some family news I did not expect from a relative I haven’t kept up with. It seems she did genealogical research and found out my grandmother’s family was deported in 1912 because they were Jewish. They came to America again a few […]
Maureen McConnell, Inverness, FL. Since I taught in Boston public schools 30 years ago, my view of the racial landscape has forever changed. Since then, when I see an all white event or audience my subconscious asks “Where is everybody?” I like a mix of people best. That feels most comfortable.
Alexander Zielinski Tampa, FL
Alexia, Deltona, FL. My heritage, culture, ethnicity etc. does not pertain to the stereotypes that spill from the mouth of a privileged man. For I am man as well, I am not a “lazy immigrant, job stealer, mutant to society”. Pay your taxes then we can maturely discuss how reality works.
Carolyn Anderson Allentown, PA Why would anyone want to visit any state having the “stand your ground” law?
Ben Davis, Saint Augustine, FL. Each person on Earth should have our respect, unless lost for good reason.
Bobby Flam, Miami, FL Owner of Jumbo’s, the first restaurant in Miami to integrate. READ MORE on Bobby Flam and Jumbo’s: Miami Diner, Pioneer in City’s Race Relations, Serves Last Cup Jumbo’s Restaurant Closing Its Doors By FRANCES ROBLES JULY 22, 2014 MIAMI — While the line of white customers used to snake out […]
Joe Schechter, FL. This happened when I was in high school. It was not the only incident of its kind. It was especially galling when you consider that members of my family died in the Shoah (Holocaust). I am not white enough for some people, & far too white for others.
Joey Klein, Lakeland, FL. Why is it that if one disagrees with the claims of a feminist, or an SJW, that the one disagreeing is sexist, or racist? The claim that women make less money than men in the US because of systemic patriarchy can be used as an example. I’m not entirely bought into […]
Elizabeth Thompson, Gulf Breeze, FL. I cannot claim to know how it feels to be black. I cannot claim to know. Unless you are black, neither can you claim to know. Because we non-blacks do not know. If you can imagine though, and wonder what it would be like, to walk with the burden of […]
Jessica Ruth Robkin Port St. Lucie, FL I have faced discrimination my entire life, though the moment that brought about the above sentence occurred outside of my mother’s hospital room, while she lay dying from pancreatic cancer at the age of 57. My father and I happened to meet someone who had known my mother […]
Shelagh Mullings, Coral Springs, FL A white supervisor said this to me in 1965 when I was the lone “Negro” working in a white collar job for a large international corporation in San Francisco. I am a naturalized American with light skin (yellow) who was born in Jamaica, BWI. I was well-spoken, quiet (shy), and, […]
Danielle Petterson, Tampa, FL. I have light brown skin and I consider myself to be mixed. Most people have a simple-minded belief that “mixed” means that one parent is black while the other is white. To me, it runs so much deeper than that. I have 4 grandparents from 4 different countries: Puerto Rico, Curaçao, […]
Nelson Morgan, Miramar, FL. My hue is from God. My pain is from man.
Alexander J. Nesmachnov Lakeland, FL The bombers of the Boston marathon were first mistaken as Russian. Many still believe they are, and me (being Russian) have been labeled socially dangerous by certain individuals
Walter Harris Gavin, Sarasota, FL. Walter Harris Gavin is the author of The Autobiography of Obsidian Dumar, a novel of identity and creator and producer of Race Across America: Inconvenient Truths, Uncomfortable Conversations a web series if visual essays.
Adam Stefanik, Orlando, FL.
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 […]
Brent Pappas, Cooper City, FL. Normally, I feel it is prudent to forgive others when they wrong us, and to remember their previous actions in order to predict how they will act next and best prepare for it. Increasingly however, I have begun to feel that perhaps it would be for the best if everyone […]
Jenna DeBell, LONGWOOD, FL. Race doesn’t exist, we create it. The concept of race has always baffled me. Judging a person’s character, intelligence and abilities merely by the color of their skin does not correlate in anyway. In fact, it seems ridiculous. Race is referred to as “groups of people who have differences and similarities […]
Sara Branly, Jacksonville, FL. Although i’m white, i have an incredibly diverse family’ culturally, ethnically, racially, religiously, etc.; you can’t tell anything about a person by the color of their skin.
Sonja Racquel Bradley, Flagler Beach, FL. When I was a child, I confess that I hated my name. Of all the ‘s’ names my parents could have picked, why this one? Why not Sabrina, or Sasha? At the very least, they could have utilized the “normal, American” way of spelling it: Sonia or Sonya. But […]
Gil L. Pettigrew, MS Miami, FL I am a university science instructor, science educator, naturalist, scientist & author based in culturally diverse South Florida who is not only proud but smug about my my multitribal, multiethnic (Creek-CherokeeXCeltic-AfricanAmerican-Latin-French) Indigenous American heritage.
Jesila Desir, Bradenton, FL. Why should what we look like and what we come from make a difference in how we live and how people are treated?
Marc Strickland, Niceville, FL. I am a 63-year-old college-educated white Republican.
Michael Samuels, Saint Johns, FL.
Tom Tito, St. Petersburg, FL. Maybe. We will know how good or bad the Trump administration is in a few months. By “We” I mean low wage families trapped in crime infested inner cities with failing schools. Trump has talked about us, will he do anything? I was shocked by the racism in the Republican […]
Sarah Taylor, Casselberry, FL.
Daaiyah Ellison, Lakeland, FL.
Daaiyah Ellison, Lakeland, FL.
Toni Henry, Sanford, FL.
Celest, Lakeland, FL. Southeastern University, Understanding Human Diversity Class. For everyone living in today’s society; we can all grow if we are honest with our choices, words, & actions. Honesty; that time when my a group of my white friends and I changed the letters on a church sign to say, “church of the nig,” […]
Ashley Seidl, Lakeland, FL.
Ethan Lowell, Lakeland, FL.
Esterline Ducarmel, Orlando, FL.
Rohan Nakka, Lakeland, FL.
Jasmine Balsalobre, Oviedo, FL. My appearance does not determine my morals, my passions, my hobbies, my opinions, or my relationships, so how can it determine my value as a person? Why do I get to feel safe when I see a police officer while others, similar to me in all but skin color, fear for […]
Nicole Valenzi, New Smyrna Beach, FL. My experience with race only started really when I entered public school. Until then, I can count on one hand the number of non-white people I interacted with. My mother told me part of the reason she took us out of our sheltered private school was because I pointed […]
Juan Oquendo, Lakeland, FL.
Cora Keahl, Lakeland, FL. My mother has always held high expectations of me when it comes to grades and knowledge, I’ve always been really good when it comes to testing and keeping my grades up. And when I told people that I was Asian (Filipino), they would make remarks like, “that’s why you’re so smart” […]
Izarya Nathan, Miami, FL. Whenever I speak out against wrongs being done I immediately become ostracized and veiwed as a threat to status quo.
Krishna DeCarish, FL.
Donnaven Kroenert, Jacksonville, FL. The Civil War is still being fought in the South, whites are being thrown under the bus everyday, people won’t drop the past, and keep bringing up a subject that just causes more problems.
Travis Rems, Venice, FL. Never considered myself a racist….but as I get older, I wonder…or is the world just changing?
Pamela Torres, West Palm Beach, FL. CubanAmerican daughter often teased for being light skin. It hurts.
Nicole Moriarty, Tallahassee, FL. I’m white and I’ve been living in the south for about 5 years and this crazy thing continually happens to me: white people see the color of my skin and assume, wrongly, that I harbor the same ignorance and racism that they do. Don’t get me wrong, I’m aware of my […]
Bonnie Howard Fort Pierce, FL
Luisa M Havens Miami, FL
Yvonne Ovachi Bennett, Leesburg, FL. For every wrong there’s a right. Everything has a perfect opposite…. Hate/Love, Die/Live, Loss/Gain, No one/Everyone!!!!
Bryan Estime, West Palm, FL.
Isaias Ortiz Davenport, FL Este hombre es un negro blanco! This man is a white black. The first time I heard that phrase was circa 1980, a family member said while referring to one of his friends, while they were singing and playing their guitars together. I was 20 years old by then, growing up […]
Ahpaly Coradin, Pembroke Pines, FL. It is easy to forget that discrimination, ostracism and prejudice are not the exclusive currency of the white race. As much as I have been discriminated against by whites in America and abroad, I have suffered similarly from my own kind, in all my lands of origin.
Tac Mohamed, Miami, FL. I’ve heard it from friends, co-workers and many in between. Other variations include: You’re pretty smart for a black man. Is that a compliment?
Paul Amellin Fern Park, FL
Howard Bonds, Miami, FL. I hear many people talk about Irish slavery in the Americas. Yet, I can find no documents. No ship names. No bills of sale. No ledgers, tariffs or transactions of any type. Europeans kept very detailed documents of their shipping even way back then. So far only african slave ships are […]
S. Aleana, Ocala, FL. I did not come from a privileged white family. My family line on all sides traces back to the early 1900’s. They were poor Irish immigrants. I have been told I do not understand how minorities feel because I am white and privileged. I have never been handed anything in life, […]
Harmony, Titusville, FL. Having been born in the 70’s, my parents gave me a pretty groovy name. I love my name! But people make a lot of assumptions about me because of it. Mostly they assume I’m going to end up being either “Overly black” or “Overly white” because of it. I’ve had people conducting […]
Kristin Koby, Palm Bay, FL. I was put up for adoption before I was even born. A loving white family of 7 took me in and treated me, a mixed race infant, as their own. They soon after adopted a black child so that I could have a sibling my age to grow up with […]
Douglas Wayne Thomas, Kissamee, Fl. I am not apologizing for something I have no control over. Every major contribution to mankind was done by people of my race, Society owes White people a debt of gratitude not scorn.
Bernard Victor, Sunrise, FL. Being smart and intelligent can be the best thing for communities and society but it can also be the most dangerous thing. Please, make good
Celestial Holmes, Yulee, FL. It’s frustrating when whites are dismissive and argumentative about race issues and privilege in America.
Eliyahu Hakohen, Englewood, FL. Being Hebrew is no picnic, everyone uses us for their scapegoat when needed. Jews have been blamed for all the madness including the black plague. Is that why we are the Chosen People ?
Cheryl Bryant, Lake Mary, FL.
Kathy Maloney Johnson, Ormod Beach, FL. Racist rants lightly veiled stringently denied. Actual face appears in marbled swirl. “Take back our country” racism deniers. Racism deniers family of holocaust deniers. Unto the fourth generation eugenics theorists.
Brooks Fountain Tarpon Springs, FL
Margret Treiber, Naples, FL. Let me preface this with the fact that I don’t openly despise the holiday season. I have nothing against the passing Christmas Carol or jazzed up tree. In fact, I do enjoy “the season” somewhat. I grew up in a very secular environment. For the first several years of elementary school, […]
LaPortia Barrows, Daytona Beach, FL. My parents fought for not just my equality but my children’s children’s equality. Why is that I still have to explain to my children that some people are not going to like them just because of the color of their skin? Why do I have to shield my children from […]
Mr. Louis W. Hill, Homestead, FL. So my ancestors were brought here and was sold, beaten, raped, and much more and to this day the ancestors of the people who did that is still at it and has been joined by others who’s ancestors never knew my ancestors. Yet for years, we have been acting […]
Jamie Lee Myers Jacksonville, FL Many people seem to identify who they are by their race. We also all seem to have a tendency toward making assumptions based on how people look. I am fair with naturally red hair that is currently blonde. Most think I am Irish and that is in my family tree, […]
Sheila Khakpour, Jacksonville, FL. Now a days everyone is so quick to judge each other. It simply just takes one look. It can be based on your skin color, how you look, or even your name. People are so quick on judging other individuals, no one actually tries to get to know each other anymore. […]
Leroy Watts, Orlando, FL.
Edward M Moriarty, Clearwater, FL. A profound change to my thinking of right and wrong, when a FRIEND was removed from a picture of my friends and myself that appeared in my hometown newspaper in 1959 rural Maryland.
Patrick Vandergriff, Lakeland, FL.
Luz Sierra Djss, Orlando, FL.
Hannah, FL.
Kerri Love, Longwood, FL.
Emily LaLonde, FL.
Lisa Dawson Andrzejczyk, Palm Coast, FL. I am black.. I never thought of myself as anything else. I am light-skinned for certain, clearly aware that few if any of my African ancestors exited a slave ship looking like me; but ever since I was a little girl people felt if was someone appropriate to ask […]
Lauren Gilbertsen, Lakeland, FL.
Warner Squire, Bartow, FL. I’m convinced that much of our society and standards are based on perpetuating manufactured truths in order to manipulate people who have become way too busy to do their own research in SO many areas; not only do they have little time and resources, but they are taught from a young […]
Alyssa Yates, Orlando, FL. I was going to say something about how it pis*** me off that some people assume that my life has been easy just because I’m white (in some 6 word format), but then I thought about how bigoted I am against rich people. I’m not even a hateful person, and it’s […]
Daria, Sanford, FL.
