genetics Archives - The Race Card Project

Genetically black and white raised hispanic

May 25, 2022May 25, 2022 African American, embrace, genetics, Hispanic, Mexican/Cuban, Nacogdoches, raised, TX, Veronica Herrera

Veronica Herrera
Nacogdoches, TX

My daughter currently only 2 months was conceived through a donor who is African American. My wife is Caucasian and I am Mexican/Cuban American. When my wife and I spoke about having kids she wanted to carry the child first because she is older than me. We wanted our child to be mixed race because, my wife wanted the baby to look as close to a mixture of she and I. My daughter actually came out looking a lot like me, some people think I was the one who carried her. I am carmel colored and have curly hair, (my mother’s Cuban blood was much stronger than my father’s Mexican blood). I find that many people do not know what a Cuban is and I get told I am mixed with black and white. I think this adds to why my daughter ended up looking like me. Spanish is my first language and I embrace my hispanic/latino culture very much and I plan on raising my daughter in this same culture, I speak to her in spanish everyday and hope that she ends up speaking both English and Spanish from an early age. No matter what someone’s skin color is I believe the culture you are raised in is what you should embrace.

White-skinned negro: community of one.

September 26, 2021October 21, 2021 Boston, community, frustrated, genetics, Jada Golden Sherman, MA, negro, white skinned

Jada Golden Sherman,
Boston, MA.

I’m so frustrated with people’s limited understanding and acceptance of genetics, and upbringing. The labels ‘white’ and ‘black’ are over-generalized. Especially when now that we have dark parents having white-looking babies, and white-looking parents having brown babies. Not all white people are…white, nor “white-minded”.My mother’s family is African-American, and many of them are really really light. As a child, on occasion I was made fun of because I come from a black family – making fun of my hair when it’s not straightened, or my dolls, or my name, or my momma. My mother was incredibly on-point, and progressive in the way she ensured that I view the world aware of who I am, her people’s beauty and also their struggle, and my part in it. I honestly feel like I don’t fit in anywhere.

I’m often exed out of communities that I want to participate in, and am pushed towards white communities because that’s where people think I belong. Now as an adult, I’m made fun of more frequently because I am white. People telling me, “No offense but I’d never hook-up with a white girl. Your lips are too thin.” I’ve been told that my acceptance into a historically black college was to fill their white quota, not because of my brain. As a school teacher in an urban district, I’ve been given grave looks of disappointment when going to interviews because they assumed by my name and résumé that I was not “white”. And yes, its easier for White folk to move along through society, but not when you’re trying to move along in non-white societies. I’m always against the current. The only time that I have felt peace is when I was introduced to the film, “Cracking the Codes”. This is really just a splinter of my experiences, observations, and understandings regarding race. I’m not necessarily complaining but it is exhausting not having any like-minded folks to discuss issues with, because in my experiences people are so divided into black and white groups.

White people don’t understand what I’m saying, and black people don’t think I know what I’m talking about and therefore don’t share knowledge with me. These are over-generalizations, but incidents none the less. I’ve also cut people off from my life after years of knowing them, because they will say the most scary racist mantras about black people. Most of the hateful things that I’ve heard about African-Americans have not come from Caucasians, nor republicans, but many many other ethnicities and Democrats! However, I have used my whiteness for the advantage of studying oppressive behaviors in white communities. There are indeed many different kinds of white communities. Some are just unaware of the real struggles people of color go through, and therefore don’t necessarily know how to change it. Then there are other communities that are disgustingly oppressive. The things I’ve heard!! So I’ve made it a habit of not telling people up front, what my background is because I learn more about them that way, and learn who to trust. Regardless of the limited “reverse-racism” I’ve experienced from African-Americans, it is nothing compared to the oppressive fear and hate I’ve observed other ethnic groups say about, and do, towards African-Americans. That I know to be true. Because of this truth, I want my voice to be heard and given a chance by the African-American communities I try and become a part of, because my insights are valuable. Also, I do not support the color-blind ideology.

Always presumed mixed. Shocked genetically white.

July 8, 2021July 8, 2021 all wite, CA, frizzy hair, genetics, hair, Jeni Bate, mixed, n-word, Salton City, shocked, treatment, white

Jeni Bate,
Salton City, CA

I have frizzy hair. I grew up in an all** white town and the only other people with hair like mine were my mother and grandmother, both of whom are/were racist. My mother always denied we have any black in our family, but I thought she was lying because she was racist. I was always called the local equivalent of the n-word. I left as soon as I was an adult, and though the treatment wasn’t as cruel, I have always been taken as, or asked whether I am mixed. When I had my dna done and found I was indeed all European, I was stunned – and disappointed.

Outside does not match my inside.

January 30, 2019January 30, 2019 genetics, identity, match, Sheila L. Davis, Spring Valley

Sheila L. Davis,
Spring Valley, CA

I identify as Filipina-American. But, rarely do people see the Filipina in me. I have to declare it or speak Tagalog. A co-worker described me as ethnically ambiguous. In the U.S. I may be “ethnically ambiguous” but in the Philippines I am “mestiza” and just by virtue of my genetics I’m given a higher social standing. It’s a strange dichotomy.

We are one big human race.

November 19, 2018 Austin Crutchfield, Detroit, genetics, MI, Michigan, one race the human race, USA, Wayne State

Austin Crutchfield,
Wayne State,
Detroit, MI

We may differ in skin color, but we are all low-key one and the same. Genetically we may be very different or very similar or somewhere in between. Everyone has a different fingerprint even twins though. I think once we strive to find the many ways we relate to each-other, then the more we will begin to converge into one big human race that continues to make the world a better place.

Yes my brother Isaac is white

March 27, 2018 Aaron Huandi Hardy, adopted, brother, brother and sister, China, Chinese, genetics, Isaac, Parkersburg, related, white, WV

Aaron Huandi Hardy,
Parkersburg, WV.

I was adopted from China into a family with white and Chinese. My parents my brother and one sister are all white. Me and my other sister are both Chinese (although we are in no way related genetically. Both Isaac and I are in 10th grade and he is 2 days older than me. So many people don’t realize that Aaron Hardy and Isaac Hardy are related.

How’d your baby get RED hair?

January 4, 2018January 3, 2018 baby, biology, genetics, Grandma, grandmother, husband, mixed, Red Hair, San Antonio, TX

Ahtum,
San Antonio, TX.

I often get asked what are you but when I had a baby with red hair, the question became how did you get a baby with red hair. I always start off with, “well, my mom IS white” then lead into “but my husbands grandmother had red hair” I often want to scream, “didn’t you take biology class in high school like everyone else…there’s this thing called genetics.”

You are more than one race?

February 1, 2017February 1, 2017 7th Grade Trailblazer, biological, categorized, community, Family, genetics, High Tech Middle Media Arts, identify, Inside, irish, man made, Norwegian, other, outside, R.E.A.L. Talk, real, same, scottish, segregation, social media, stereotype, talk, the golden rule, uncomfortable, white girls

R.E.A.L. Talk,
High Tech Middle Media Arts,
7th Grade Trailblazer

Before this project I didn’t know much about race or racism, but then I figured out a lot of people have been stereotypical or racist in my community, with my friends, or people on social media. When I heard this term that people were saying it kind of hurt me because they were saying things like ¨ All white girls do this…¨ and I didn’t know how to react because I didn’t know that was towards me. I thought this because I didn’t identify as ¨white.” I identified as Irish, Norwegian, Scottish, and more. That’s how I got this memoir because a lot of people think I am just ¨White¨ or ¨American¨ but I wanted to prove that I am more than that, I think I´m way more unique this way. I´ve grown up in amazing, loving and accepting family, I’ve always been taught to treat people how they want to be treated, which helped me because some parents don’t teach their kids about racism and how everyone should be treated the same, which could cause problems when their older because if we don’t address this problem nothing will change. Sometimes people don´t want to talk about the issue of racism because it could be uncomfortable or they don’t want to talk about the negative parts of life and what’s going on.

Race was made by US.

Race was not made by genetics, it was made by US. Most people think race is biologically real, but it was really made by Europeans who found people that looked and talked differently from them, so they categorized them into a ¨race.¨ This happened because they were ¨usually assigning the highest qualities to their own people and lower qualities to the “Other” people, either lower classes or outsiders to their society.¨ They made it so they were more powerful than people that were different from them. Race is a manmade word that turned into racism, which caused a lot of controversy between different ethnicities, because they were being rude to each other, but it all started with the Europeans being racist, then evaluated to ¨white¨ people being racist against ¨black¨ people. Racism back then was awful: there were separate water fountains, pools, schools. Even though we’ve come a long way with fixing a lot of racism in our world, there is still a very long way to go because we don’t accept the fact that it doesn’t matter what you look like on the outside. It matters what you look like on the inside.

Race results from capitalism, not genetics

December 8, 2015 capitalism, Danny Mantooth, genetics, NY, Race, Syracuse

Danny Mantooth,
Syracuse, NY.

I look white. But I’m not.

March 9, 2015 Anoymous, freckles, genetics, light eyes, mixed, USA, you look white

Anoymous,
USA.

I’m 1/4 white genetically. But I look white–light eyes, fair skin, freckles–despite the fact that my full-siblings don’t. My best friend is half white and looks white. Mixed-race kids who look 100% white do exist. And we did grow up in the same neighborhoods, with the same families, in the same cultures as our visible counterparts. Which is something a lot of people on both sides of the fence seem to forget.

I’m Mexican-American, heritage comes first

July 8, 2014 American, Bessie King, Boston, diversity, embrace, genetics, heritage, history, MA, Mexican, USA, where are you from

Bessie King
Boston, MA

I don’t think I have been offended by being asked “Where are you from?” before. I was raised to know that I am a Mexican with an American passport in a country where everyone is from somewhere. Until the USA truly embraces diversity and it’s own history, there will be no end to seemingly offending someone when asking about their background. You’re not “from here,” I’m not”from here,” our genetics can prove it, so embrace your own history, too, and open up the gates to conversation and education. Maybe then our country will truly understand that in order to move forward diversity is just a fact of life, not a hot topic.

We all bleed, we all hurt

May 28, 2014 biological, bleed, Characteristics, genetics, hurt, Naadu Addico, NY, physical difference, Poughkeepsie

Naadu Addico
Poughkeepsie, NY

Physical differences caused by a person’s genetic makeup cannot have large effects on a person’s social interaction. It is the way people react to and interpret these biological characteristics that affect a person’s social interactions. For instance, a tall boy’s height does not have any relevance to him until he realizes people constantly ask him if he plays basketball. This physical manifestation of his genetics was never abnormal to him until others continuously pointed it out. In my opinion, this same principle applies to race. Race is a physical manifestation of a person’s biological lineage that means very little, if anything, until people begin attaching certain connotations and expectations based on it. Unfortunately, in our current society, many people subconsciously and consciously allow a person’s race to shape their personal beliefs of a certain group of people.

Even though I believe that most, if not all, people have inherent biases based on many physical characteristics of a person, a bias is not racist until it is acted upon. If a person explicitly takes action against another person, regardless of the degree, solely based on a person’s race, that action is racist. In my personal life, according to my definition of racism, I believe I have experienced some racist acts from people of all backgrounds. Simply because of my race, when shopping I have been followed around by someone of my own race. Simply because of my race, a mistake made out of ignorance has been misconstrued as pure stupidity. I have seen the surprise on people’s face after finding out my home neighborhood because “[I am] not like ‘them’.” Overall, I have learned that the physiological differences regarding race are minimal while the social differences created due to ignorance cause major divisions between people who would otherwise be equal.

They are different, get over it

March 27, 2014 Bedminster, different, diverse, genetics, humans, NJ, same

Steve
Bedminster, NJ

Humans are diverse. Not all whites are the same culturally and genetically, and the same applies for Asian, Latin American, Spanish, and Black people as well. In this diverse world you will meet a great deal of diverse people. Most of them will be of different ethnicities than you. This is perfectly okay.

Genetically speaking, “race” does not exist.

September 3, 2013 atlanta, David Parlier, exist, GA, genetics, Race

David Parlier
Atlanta, GA

Determined by our genetics or ourselves?

April 3, 2013 children, genetics, Jane Hortelano, mixed, Obama, Pewaukee, Race, WI

Jane Hortelano
Pewaukee, WI

This is a question that first occurred to me years ago when I met a friend’s future husband and sister-in-law. The children of a white mother and African-American father, it seemed to me that these sibling differed in their self-perception: I believe that he saw himself as mixed race, while she thought of herself as black. I wondered how this could be and for the first time realized that a mixed race individual had a choice to make, and not just on a census form. (And I think it’s an important choice because these differences in self-definition likely have a significant influence on the way people perceive and experience the world.)

Fast forward to 2007-8 when then-Senator Obama was seeking the Presidency. Like the sibling pair above he is the son of a white mother and African father, and by that time I had become the mother of a mixed race (Asian/white) son. I see my son as mixed race, and was therefore excited by the possibility of a mixed race President. What better role model for a young boy?

But that is when the question of external vs. internal definition raised itself again. Whereas I perceived President Obama as mixed race – and genetically speaking, he clearly is – he defines himself as African-American. It’s hard to describe what I first felt about this: confused, disappointed, maybe even a little personally injured that his white mother seemed to be getting short shrift? I struggled for a long time to reconcile my perception of Barack Obama with his own. It took me several months, but I finally came to accept his own definition of himself as America’s first black President, and also of his freedom to do so.

Scientifically, there is no such thing

April 17, 2012 Douglas, genetics, hair, MA, Scientifically, species, Steve Blake, texture, traits

Steve Blake
Douglas, MA

Genetically, skin colour, bone structure and hair texture are three of literally thousands upon thousands of genetic traits. We are a retarded species.

How do you treat your family?

January 15, 2012January 15, 2018 Family, freedom, genetics, journey, LA, peace

Gina
LA

I am starting to reject the ideas of “Us” and “Them” at all levels, although I never thought I’d feel that way. It’s a journey. When I say “How do you treat your family?” it’s an acknowledgement that we are all genetically related. If you accept that idea, it’s only natural to ask yourself “How am I treating my family? Do I want the same things (peace, freedom, prosperity, safety, education, autonomy) for others as I want for myself?”

Join the Newsletter

Info

Join our community