George Floyd Archives - The Race Card Project

All white childhood, now I’m learning.

June 23, 2022June 23, 2022 Childhood, Farm, first experience, Fordland, George Floyd, grandpa, Laura Haney, learning, MO, white

Laura Haney,
Fordland, MO

Growing up in rural MO there were no black people. I never heard a racist remark growing up, I never heard anything on the subject, period, not at home and certainly not at school. When I was a kid, (I’m 53 now) there was a black family that lived in town, briefly, Grandpa had them out to our farm, the two old men visited and I played with the kids. At the time I didn’t know how huge that was, I didn’t know that the rest of the community frowned on us, I didn’t know I was doing anything more than just playing with some kids. I remained just that naive throughout most of my life, only in the last few years have I begun to pay attention, to educate myself. Since George Floyd’s murder I have actively sought knowledge and understanding, I am learning.

Slavery never really ended. Just repurposed.

June 6, 2022June 10, 2022 Black Codes, Coach Rob, Constitution, George Floyd, Jim Crow, loophole, Mass Incarceration, slavery

Coach Rob

The Constitution never really abolished slavery, anything with a loophole, never closes the loop. (Black Codes, Jim Crow, Mass Incarceration, George Floyd.) How can something be abolished if the remnants still exist?

Never Been Asked: “What Are You?”

October 14, 2021February 14, 2022 BLM, blonde hair, Columbia, Ella Harris, fair skin, fear, George Floyd, light eyes, look white, MD, passing, society

Ella Harris,
Columbia, MD

I always felt disconnected from my African American identity. With my blonde hair, light green eyes, and fair skin, the world that I live in is fundamentally different. I am never asked where I am from, or if I am mixed. I am never asked the notorious, “What are you?” And rather than facing the discrimination that most African Americans face, my dilemma is that I must prove my blackness, and thus my biracial identity, in a society that views me as white.

For a long time I equated my own adversity to the discrimination that most African Americans face, but in reality, I possess a unique power: If I so choose, I can live my life as white without contradiction. This was a privilege I refused to acknowledge for years until I watched the death of George Floyd.

A few days later, dehydrated and aching from holding a sign for hours at my first protest, I somehow felt energized — I wanted to do more. I could no longer wait for someone else to present me with an opportunity to take action. I had to forge my own path to advocacy. I ultimately created an entire website, https://blacklives2020.weebly.com, to present what I had found.

Creating and sharing this website has empowered me to develop my voice and stand firm in my beliefs. I have the privilege of being white-passing and the responsibility to tell the narrative of my African American ancestors.

Becoming an activist has also forced me to be vulnerable with people I have known all my life and people I have never met. I revealed my insecurities about my conscious and unconscious privileges as white-passing. I came to terms with my outsider status in both the white and African American communities, while also accepting that even though my narrative is different, it is still valid.

George Floyd’s murder fundamentally changed how I perceive myself and my role in society. I am black, living under the guise of a white person — a juxtaposition I hated for so long — but now I see the power I possess. It is this power that drives me to continue my journey.

White, privileged, and until Floyd, clueless

October 5, 2021 Belchertown, embarrassed, George Floyd, MA, Marvin Moriarty, racial divide, wealth gap, white privilege

Marvin Moriarty,
Belchertown, MA

George Floyd’s death at the hands of police stuck me hard and made me start looking into race matters more thoroughly. I found out about the “wealth gap” and the horrendous manner in which whites created it and continue to systemically integrate such practices into almost every facet of life in the US. Embarrassed but emboldened to help right the wrongs. Active in DEIJ group with local land trust and using knowledge gained there to change my life practices to be more mindful of the history of my privileges and to seek to share them across the racial divide.

My Dad’s a cop, Am I Racist?

April 1, 2021April 6, 2021 AL, am I a racist, america, cop, George Floyd, I'm white, label, officer, Opelika, police, political party, William McCullough

William McCullough,
Opelika, AL

Especially now in today’s world police get labeled with racists. Why is this? I believe that it’s because of the actions of a few. There are very many racist police in America and they do act upon their so-called beliefs. But because of their actions, all police get labeled as racist. This doesn’t sit right to me. Some people will argue with me on that point but I will argue back. They will say ‘Well the officer who killed George Floyd was white and it was because of his race’. To that, I would say okay and agree with their point. It’s sad this is what makes national news in America. You don’t see the good that has been done or that’s happening every single day. There is definitely oppressing happening among all races but most among the African American community especially in America. It’s still going on today and has as long as anyone can remember. I don’t care what political party your claim or agree with you have to see what’s going on. There is always something to be done whether you are going to stand up and do something about it. It is hard to ignore, especially living in the south. You may not see the harshest parts of racism but there are still small parts in which you see every day. So that brings me back to the point, does that make me racist? I’ll actually make it easier, I’m white am I Racist?

Your perception is your faulty knowledge

September 24, 2020 China, flase, George Floyd, Jiale Chen, perception, shooting

Jiale Chen,
China

For centuries humans have constructed systematically around the false perception of purity that is connected to color. The whiter the people are the more superior they are. The added characteristics of features if appearance add to the racial identity but also to racial discrimination. The idea of the current generation being most non-racial is built of falsehood that the earlier perception and idea of discriminating and building an identity on appearance has dissolved. What we fail to address is the fact that the current generation tries to ignore or fails to address the problems of racial discrimination that is more evident especially in the recent times. The shootings in America and other places across the world are proof of how this ideology is still dominant but is not addressed enough. George Floyd’s death was a trigger for the much abandoned social problem that is most prevalent in the Western world quietly cushioned under the falsehood of progressiveness. Being of a racial identity different from the whites myself, there are many situations I have been made to feel inferior or looked upon as a person of lower esteem. What the world needs to realise is that racial identity is linked to the geography and the biological needs of humans to survive in that environment. This is achieved through acclimation, genetic adaptability and biological plasticity.

Join the Newsletter

Info

Join our community