The Race Card Project
By Michele Norris
Michael P. Maddox,
Indianapolis, IN
I have taken and passed every test required, kept up to date professionally, showed up when expected, worked in tandem with others yet I am grossly underpaid with limited options due to non-compete clauses and threats of litigation if violated. I can think of no other reason for my situation than my Blackness.
Ryan
Indianapolis, IN
Submitted via Twitter: @Antisthanes
Donna Monroe,
Indianapolis, IN.
It was the summer of 1957. I was riding on a train with my mother when I saw another little girl who was having her hair braided. She was crying. My heart went out to her because I cried when my mom tried to comb the tangles out of my hair.
Adrienne Adams,
Indianapolis, IN
I thought it was a battle my children would never have to fight in the 21st century. I was wrong.
Angela T,
Indianapolis, IN
I am still learning. I’m thankful for the African American friends I have made who let me ask questions without judging me and answer honestly.
Renee,
Indianapolis, IN
Blaming our race only causes more tension with other races and ultimately more racism. Let’s stop blaming everything on our race and make progress towards fixing the root of our problems. Let’s take positive action in our communities and teach the world there is good in all races and cultures and to celebrate them. Let’s stop putting on a front with our attitudes that we are tough! Being hard and gang bangin of course makes people assume we are bad people. Start showing our love to the world and they will love us back.
Chappell Watkins,
Indianapolis, IN.
I’m a 47 year old black male I’ve grown up in all white neighborhoods, and over the years I’ve had multiple white friends tell me I’m not black I’m white as if it were a compliment. My question is if you think calling me white is a compliment, what do you think of being Black ?
Samuel J. Lawson,
Indianapolis, IN.
I’m always annoyed when I have to fill out a form that only includes five or six races and there is no ‘other’ option. I feel ignored when I’m lumped together with all the “white” people in the world. “White” is not a race, it’s just a color.
Franklin Oliver,
Indianapolis, IN.
Sally Childs-Helton,
Indianapolis, IN.
I was raised (white) in the pre-segregated south and grew up with separate bathrooms, water fountains, and schools. My parents ran a general store and many of our customers were black and I knew them and their families as members of our rural community. There was a black family I knew through the family business who lived adjacent to my own white, segregated school. Every day when I arrived at school, I would see the children from that family waiting in front of my school to be picked up and bused across town. Many of us asked out parents and teachers why those children couldn’t just come to our school and we rarely got answers beyond “it’s the law.” Most of the children in my school recognized the inherent unfairness and stupidity in busing children across town just because they were black, yet we felt helpless to do anything about it other than ask “why.” Watching black children I knew standing in front of my school waiting to be bused helped me decide that when I got old enough and could do something about it, I would. I have been active in diversity education for most of my life, and the image of these children waiting in front of my school reminds me why my commitment is important. These children are in their 60s now, and the school is long gone, but this powerful image remains.
Warren Miller,
Indianapolis, IN.
I have been profoundly deaf since early childhood but raised in a hearing family and attended an oral school. I was not exposed to Deaf culture and American Sign Language until college. Hearing people do not see me as deaf because I “talk good” (even though I heavily rely on a hearing aid and lip reading and sometimes an ASL interpreter). Deaf people, on the other hand, consider me “think-hearing” because I speak well and rely on my hearing aid and lip reading skills more than ASL. Like my painting illustrates, I am between two worlds.
John Stinchcomb,
Indianapolis, IN.
It would be awfully boring if we all looked alike. Like music & art the broader the spectrum the better.
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.
Jan Ramer,
Indianapolis, IN.
I lived in Rwanda for 2.5 years, and got a small taste of what it is like to be in the racial minority. The larger lesson for me was that we humans can define “other” in many ways, not simply the color of our skin, and even more importantly, we CAN recover from horrible hate inspired tragedy through forgiveness and unbelievable strength of character.
Carrington Anderson,
Indianapolis, IN.
Never sure why I get “You’re so well spoken” so often. Not sure why people look at me and expect me not to be. Being well spoken isn’t “talking white.” English is my native language. Don’t act so shocked when I speak it well.
Bryan Maloney,
Indianapolis, IN.
A dirty little secret of institutionalized racism in the USA is that racism is a great way to distract the working class.
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