I’m black, not from the Carribean
Lemuel Reddikc, New York City, NY. People ask me “where are you from?” and I never know how to answer that. I just say “I’m...
Grandma didn’t let dad speak Spanish
Allen Nunez Wickham, Molalla, OR. I remember being asked by my mom at 5 years old if I wanted to learn Spanish., and replying that...
Mexican-American, But No Hablo Espanol
Vincent Yanez, Long Beach, CA. For as long as I remember my mother, and myself as I got older, was given a very hard time...
Wait till Grandma knows he’s black
Zoe Zeerip, Rockford, MI. The elders in my family still believe race defines relationship.
Slavery’s legacy broke my family pride.
Katherine E. Byroade, West Hartford, CT. When I was a child, my southern grandmother took great delight in the fact that she was a Jamestown...
I think grandma had a secret.
Freya United Kingdom 3 years ago my auntie said she knows something but I haven’t called her.
How’d your baby get RED hair?
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...
“Act like you’ve been here before.”
Jessica Johnson, Long Beach, CA. My grandparents took pride in not being a “typical” black family. I grew up in Prince George’s County, MD (about...
The Asian/Pacific Islander category is very enticing.
Cheryl Mercado Arnedt, West Orange, NJ. My grandmother and her sister — red-headed daughters of NYC cops — both married full Filipino men and were...
“Hush, Child, they’ll take Grandma away!”
Robin Greeley St. Louis, MO This is what my relatives said to me at a family reunion in the 1950s.They were afraid that if it...
“Does he know,” Nana asks, worriedly?
Liz Pryor, Northampton, MA. Smith College. My mother was white. So was her whole family. After my husband, who is white, proposed, my grandmother cornered...
What color is she? -Grandma
Ashley Ward Edgewood, MD My Grandmother grew up in a different time, where to be light was right and to be dark was wrong. My...
My Grandma called me “Black Beauty”.
Donna Wolfe Kansas City, MO She bolstered my self-love, self-esteem and confidence. I am eternally grateful. My self-image was that of beauty, grace and intelligence....
I’m American – where’s my checkbox?
Blair White Haddad, Los Angeles, CA. Being the child of an adopted mother, for a long time I only knew half of my genetic make...
I called my white grandmother Mammy.
Kendra Jones Selma, AL My grandmother carried her moniker with pride, though it has a dubious beginning: At six weeks of age my mother was...
