The Race Card Project
By Michele Norris
Lynn Delgado,
CO
“But you don’t seem Puerto Rican”- growing up and even now I have fairer skin than my Puerto Rican mother. My mom has darker skin, more of a brown sugar color skin tone while I have no melanin. I grew up looking whiter than the rest of both sides of my family, not to mention I would speak like a valley girl even though I’m from Colorado. I would get judged by my skin color and the way I talked.
Pallavi Joy,
Philadelphia, PA
Growing up in a 97% white school system, and being raised by one Indian immigrant parent and one Indian American parent really affected the way I saw myself and my race. I was always too brown in school to fit in with all the white kids, but in Indian circles I was too American. Not fully fitting in with my American culture or Indian culture is a defining feature of my life whether or not I want it to be. I am still learning how to love my dual cultures.
Keith F Thompson,
Brookline, NH.
Growing up as a white male in generally liberal surroundings, I assumed so much. I assumed I knew what racism looked like, and I assumed I would never witness it firsthand.Seeing the Oprah Winfrey Show do the Blue Eye/Brown Eye experiment on their audience was very revealng to me. Overt racism may be dying, but subtle, everyday slights have flooded into the vacuum
.
Then I moved from all-white New Hampshire to greater Los Angeles, and I saw minorities treated differently all the time. By police, by banks, by retail personnel, by landlords.
It’s not always about Confederate Flags and hoods. It’s about the pettiness required to denh even the smallest courtesy, to make the slightest accomodation.
As demonstrated by the Blue Eye/Brown Eye Experiment, minorities endure a thousand small cuts every day, with a general grace and strength. Subjected to the same slights, people used to privelage notice their abscence quickly and will not stand for it.
It’s not about demonizing people,it’s about asking everyone to be thoughtful, to be kind, and to consider others in our actions.
Ellis Clark,
Spain.
As a seventeen-year-old black male, my view to race has been cushioned by growing up in a comfortable, yet politically aware household. While I knew racism existed, it rarely touched me growing up, and when it did, it was the microagressive type. Real issues with race didn’t begin to pop up for me until middle school, and my view on race is now that it is an important part of my identity, regardless of the tribulations that people attach to it. I wouldn’t be who I am without being black, and the thought of not being black is one that never crosses my mind. Although I struggle sometimes with the implications of my race, I think of the feats my ancestors overcame with grace and know that my life today is impossible without the fighting sacrifices they made for me. Rooted in hatred as it may be, my race is risen on account of the audacity of those before us. We owe it to them to continue on with their torch to the mountaintop.
Marcia Lee,
Savannah, GA
When we were growing up we moved a lot, never really met very many relatives on dad’s side. Our widowed granny, dads Mom lived with us and we had finally settled down in a town in south Mississippi. We were teenagers then and it was in the sixties, not a good time or place for anyone who wasn’t all white. Two of our cousins were living with us and they didn’t look at all like us. Our ancestors that we knew about were part CHoctaw and Scotch and French so we looked like a lot of other kids sort of Spanish
or French on dad’s side with straight dark hair and green or hazel eyes. Cousin Lynda had curly hair which I secretly loved and she hated. Many days I secretly ironed her hair. Granny was the cause of that as she would pat us both on the head and say of my straight hair good hair and of my cousins curls bad hair. Then she was always after us about not getting sunburned, even in summer she wore long sleeves and wide brimmed hats. Now we really just went along with it as the way Granny was. Then one day one of my brothers mentioned the cute girl he’d met and wanted to date, when Dad heard her last name he called all us kids to the dining room for a meeting. We knew it was serious cause Dad was a very quiet man.. The next thing he said was aimed at my brothers the truly scary words were you will never, ever think about that girl again, she’s not for you, then he turned to me and you don’t look at her brother. You all know her family are passing. About two years later we found out Granny’s secret, she was passing and so were we.
Sabrina F.
San Jose, CA
Growing up I racially Identified myself as Latine, but then I learned that it isn’t a race. This made me confused as to what I should identify as since I never considered myself white and neither did others. That is what lead me to learn that race is a social construct, but it shouldn’t be ignored since racist structures exist. Now I just identify by my ethnicity and nationality.
Katie Moore
New Echota, GA
I used to hate the way I looked growing up. My mom & brother had fair skin & freckles & I had darker skin & hair. I like the way I look now. I’m proud of my heritage. I am of cherokee, creek, German,& African decent. I stand taller than most women & my hair is almost to my knees & very straight with several shades of auburn & browns. I have a daughter now that took after her father more; wavy hair, fair skin, & blue eyes.
Julie Long,
Pioneer, CA.
When I was 8, we moved from a big city to a small country town, where there were, maybe two other families that weren’t white. I had no idea at 8 years old what race was. I never even differentiated a difference based on appearance, but I remember being suddenly shocked and presented with this presentation of my entire elementary school being all white and me, my brother and two other kids being brown. I became extremely insecure and shy all through high school. The lack of diversity barely increased by high school, to maybe 5 other students. I grew up thinking I was ugly and that only white was beautiful. It wasn’t until I was an adult I learned being different was beautiful too.
Anna Fox,
Goldsboro, NC
I am a white women, and growing up, I did not really realize how much privilege I had. I went to a small private Christian school starting in seventh grade and eventually graduating as a senior in high school there. The whole time I attended this school, I think there were maybe two or three African Americans. I had always been taught by my parents that racism was wrong and I have always believed that. I knew that there were still some racist people here and there because there were some at my school, but I did not realize the extent of this problem. Over the past two years, I have learned how racism is causing so many problems in society, and want to help bring about change any way that I can!
Debra Rosenberg,
Phoenix, AZ.
I am the person I am meant to be, and proud to be a Jew even though growing up I knew what it was like to be “Black”. I had to overcome many obstacles of prejudices.
Autumn Rainey,
Indianapolis, IN.
I remember growing up in a mostly Caucasian area, and I was told this often. What was likely meant as a compliment to me, became quite an insult as I got older. I wish more people could give a compliment, without qualifying it.
Javiera,
San Diego, CA.
My husband often jokes that I’m not “brown” because my light skin makes me look like an average white person. But growing up in rural Missouri, I never felt like a “white” person because I was teased for my hispanic features. I’m not mixed race and was born in a Latinx country, yet somehow feel like I have a foot in both worlds since I lived in the US my whole life. I feel like white people and hispanics want me to choose a team, but being hispanic is more complicated than that; I’m technically both. Despite being percieved as white by some, I have felt discrimination and rejection for being hispanic.
I feel even more conflicted when I think about the children I will eventually have with my white husband. I feel guilty that I’m glad his/her features will most likely be white enough that he/she will not experience discrimination. I’m also sad that because my child will look white he/she won’t feel the connection to a hispanic heritage, and he/she may even feel like an outsider when around other hispanics.
Robert Hernandez,
Riverside, CA.
I do not speak Spanish because my father did not want me to be scrutinized growing up.
Growing up in a biracial family, the concept of race has always been confusing to me. As I grew older and began to learn more about my own identity I decided to stop identifying as biracial and began to only call myself black. When people ask me what I am and I tell them that I’m black, they sometimes respond with, “Really? You don’t sound black. You talk like a white person.” It infuriates me that people often forget that there can be diversity of speech, language, and culture within one specific race.
Sierra McGeoghegan,
Weymouth, MA.
Growing up and even now I am always denied my Mexican heritage by lots of people of all races. I am Irish + Mexican and a few other races. My family treated my Hispanic blood as a taboo, the Latinos I knew as a child rejected me once I shared I was half white. I am 17 now and my plans are to travel to Texas + Mexico to learn from Mexicans their culture, how they want it to be experienced. To be completely honest I am scared of rejection- that I will be hated on and unwanted, but this is an life experience that I cannot leave undiscovered. Wish me the best for that experience. I’m thinking that I will write about it and put it online for others to witness. Thank you for doing what you do Ms. Michele Norris, your helping us minorities to feel important and that is a long needed thing. – Sincerely,
Sierra McGeoghegan
Candayshia Loyd,
Flint, MI.
Growing up I was taught to be a quiet and polite black woman. I had to take persecution from men and I had to do what they said. I’m not someones servant, im not a maid. I’m going to be your Black Women President one day.
Erica Watts,
Arlington, TX.
Growing up, I believed that I was all African American. My mother was African American and so was my brother and that is all I needed to know, to know that I was African American. However, as i got older, people began to question my ethnicity. Some claiming that I looked nothing like my mother (who people assumed was from Africa due to her skin color). I started to look at my family and began to think if I even belonged there. I was the only one on my moms side with my color. Everyone on my mothers side, such as cousins, aunts, grandmas, made it seem like I was an outcast. I recently go in touch with my dad and his side of the family and was only then to realize I am not fully African American. I gained knowledge and learned that I have as much as 7 different ethnicities within me, in my DNA. I’ve grown to love myself and all the different genes my DNA makes up. Now when I see that “Check race/ethnicity box” I dont just check “African American” I check what I am. Even if that means checking every box on that form. I will not be categorized or subjected to check only “one or two”. I will check all that applies to me! If you can not accept that, then you are not accepting me and I will not be there to let you tell me otherwise. I know who I am. I am not just African American. I am Erica. With all my different ethnicities and self worth.
Subscription to our newsletter open soon.
Indulge in timeless elegance with our hand-curated collection of luxury vintage men’s fashion. From classic suits to iconic accessories, our online store offers a premium shopping experience for the modern gentleman who appreciates quality and style. Shop now and elevate your wardrobe with our carefully selected pieces that celebrate the art of craftsmanship and heritage fashion.
