Proudly hispanic, only viewed as Caucasian
Rohyn Contreras-Schofield,
Fitzwilliam, NH
I grew up in rural NH surrounded by a white community which didn’t allow me to embrace my hispanic/latino side, I grew to resent my white side but as I am getting older I am learning to be proud and embrace both parts of myself.
I don’t fit in your boxes.
Dave Lawrence,
Mechanicsville, VA
For most of my life, when I was asked my race, I was forced to choose just one — and I chose the race I mostly closely resembled: white. Back then, I had to choose carefully. My mom and I had been threatened with death in the early 1960’s for not being white enough. What I didn’t know for most of those years, the state of Louisiana had chosen a different race for me, and, if it had taken sufficient interest in me, could have forced me to identify as that race. In this century I’ve faced discrimination from every community I should be a part of: not white enough to be white, not Chinese enough to be Chinese; not Black enough to be Black. So now, every time I’m forced to pick just one, I just opt out.
Never Been Asked: “What Are You?”
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.
You look White, but I’m Black
Laureen Crooks,
Canada
Just another example of a child who learns the social construction of race. At six years old, I recall asking, “Why can’t I be both?”
You do not look white
Evan Arce,
Orlando, FL
My father was ginger with blue/green eyes. My mother was milk-white with black hair. My kids have brown and dirty blonde hair. DNA tests say I best match people of Italian and southern Greek descent. Some people seem to think otherwise? They always have since I was a kid. I think our race and ethnicity categories need an overhaul. The options are narrow and can often be misleading for people. What do you think I look like?
I look white & I’m not racist.
Lynn,
Great Falls, SC.
I tend to look white; especially when not in the sun. I’m actually a mix of: European (German, Irish, & British), Native American (Seminole, Cherokee, & Muskogee Creek), Black (African -sub-sahara regions- and Melanesian), and Middle Eastern (Syrian, Turkish, Indian (India) & Iranian)…….Somehow I ended up looking more European instead……I hate being called racist, bigot, and white supremacist…I’m not. Just because my genetics chose to appear more of European than my other ethnicity doesn’t mean I’m against anyone of any race, creed, sexuality, or religion. I’m a human being. I would love if we could have HUMAN to choose as a box for race instead of all the other stuff…..It’s hard to check one box because I’m so mixed…..But I have to go with what I physically look like.
I am not one for boxes.
Denise Duvernay,
Cupertino, CA.
People are always trying to figure out exactly, what I am. But does learning my nationality, ethnicity, religion, sexual background, or any other particular thing tell you anything about WHO I AM? So often, I feel like people are just looking for any excuse to dismiss you, or box you into their own narrow view of what they want you to be, so I live my life challenging everyone’s basic biases. I work at Trader Joe’s, but that doesn’t mean I’m uneducated; I actually hold a Juris Doctorate. And just because you think I look white, don’t make me deny my father’s heritage. And I wear my freckles proudly, I am sorry if you think I may be prettier if I bleached them or covered them up with makeup. I embrace all the differences that make me an unconventional beauty, weighing more than you might expect. I am smart, funny, caring, and generous. I love food and traveling. And I will do anything for my family. Knowing which boxes I check off on my census paperwork will never truly reveal all of the wonderful intricacies that make me, so ME!
But, you don’t look white.
Anonymous,
USA
Growing up I received comments on my olive skin tone. I grew up within a white family and culture. Many curious people often ask where are you from? I reply Florida to only receive “yeah but like where is your family from?” Having previous knowledge and the help of a DNA test I’m 15% Filipino and a bunch of mix-matched DNA my highest percent being 35% Irish. Many don’t believe my Asian Ancestry due to my lack of actually “looking” Asian.
During the Summer I receive more comments as my skin darkens. I have often been mistaken or Spanish or Latina and I have experienced racism from my peers.
I often have trouble with my identity. I don’t “look white enough” but I also don’t “look” Asian.
Not as white as I appear.
Susi Matthews,
Kansas City, MO.
I am 1/4 Navajo plus Cherokee and Mohawk. I am also English, Irish, Scots and German. I LOOK white; my full sister looks Native. I experienced the reactions she got when we were kids on vacation. A small restaurant in Colorado thought she was Native America and refused to serve her…until my parents came in and they realized their mistake. Dad gave them a piece of his mind and we left. I never forgot that.
We all judge by first impressions and make mistaken assumptions. We all need to check our assumptions and see lovely human beings in all variety, shapes, colors and potentials.
If I’m Filipino, Am I Asian?
Danicka Sailer,
Honolulu, HI
I am 25% Filipino. My Father was 50%, and my grandmother was full. Although I look white and most of my ethnic background is “white” I am still Filipino. I have always considered myself technically Asian. Whenever I try to explain this to people they tell me that I am not Asian and I never will be but I am! The Philipines are in South Asia so I am Asian! I may not look it but I am it. Even though I do not look Filipino at all I still feel it. I often brag about being Filipino and I am very proud of it. I like being diverse and not just one race.
Not everyone who looks white (is white)
Sandra Miller,
USA
There is only one race – human. I am proud of my Semitic heritage, and I check other.
I look white. I’m half Indian.
Heather Nath,
Buffalo, NY.
My father is from India. My mother is Irish/British.
I’ve had the “privilege” of looking 100% white woman my entire life. Non white haters call me stupid white bi***. My brother looks Middle Eastern. He ignorantly gets called a terrorist Muslim because he has a beard. My sister goes to Puerto Rican neighborhoods and has people begin speaking Spanish to her. We share the same parents. Mother nature has had a fun time with us!
You’re Mexican? But you look white
Sofia Camarena,
Austin, TX.
Being born in Oaxaca, and still having people question how “Mexican I am” is frustrating.
I look white but I’m hispanic
Kassandra Lynn Pasquale,
Bonner Springs, KS.
I never really liked how people automatically assume that I’m white just because I always really pale. Just because Hispanics usually have a tan complexity doesn’t mean that you can’t be pale. Whenever I told people I’m actually hispanic they got really surprised and didn’t believe me so they always asked for me to say something in Spanish. They always asked me and I just got to the point where I would say no because I got tired of people not believing me and I always had to prove that I was. Not only was I made fun of because of pale complexity and being hispanic by people in my school, I was made fun of in my family. They would always compare me to my cousins and talk about how i was white compared to them, it made me feel bad because I wasn’t like me. I grew up not liking that I was so pale but to this day I’m not over it what I was told when I was younger because I’m still told this everyday.
I don’t know if I’m white.
Lincoln Ozawa,
Renton, WA.
I asked my parents if they think I’m white and they couldn’t answer.
Father is of Japanese & Hawaiian descent, mother is of Norwegian descent. I have my mother’s skin, my brother has our father’s skin.
My kids DON’T have “fractured” identities!
Kelly C,
Los Angeles, CA.
My husband is Japanese and I look “white” though I don’t really know what I “am” because my father was adopted. Our kids are wonderful, beautiful, happy pre-teens. Growing up in a diverse and inclusive place, they have friends from a variety of ethnicities, religions, and social classes. But in school programs and museum shows–and pretty much everywhere there’s any adult-led discussion of race and ethnicity–they are constantly told that they have “fractured” identities, that they don’t fit, that they will suffer from an identify crisis when they are older. It makes me want to smack the adults in the face! I’m truly sorry if these adults face an identity crisis, but they shouldn’t be manufacturing one for kids who just aren’t feeling it!
No, I’m not Hispanic. I’m Arab.
Ian M.,
Orange County, CA.
My mom is an immigrant from the Middle East, my dad was born in Texas, yet my brother and I look as white as you can get. Every time I’ve filled out college apps for state or private schools, the US census, standardized tests like AP, SAT, and GRE, race is always relegated to a choice between two answers: I am Hispanic/Latino or I am not Hispanic/Latino. The ethnicity section, if there is one, then allows us to elaborate on if we are White or Asian or Black. I’ve always had a problem with this. Yes my skin is white and my first language English, but what would it take to get formal support of not being lumped into one category? There are so many different kinds of Black, White, and Asian, but often these are ignored. I’ve grown up my whole life listening to and studying Arabic, and I know/have more family in and from the Middle East than I do here. This is a small nuance within the race card project, but I just wanted to share it. The only time I was ever able to elaborate on the ethnicity section to say I’m white but specifically (half-)Arab was the application to UCLA, years ago. At Berkeley when I checked a few years ago, Asian student statistics were split between country of origin, while whites and blacks, and hispanics/latinos were one percentage each. Why do we focus on separation?
