You’re not Mexican, You’re Mexican-American
Vanessa Ayala, Fountain Valley, CA. I was 17 when I first realized how important it was for others for me to be politically correct about...
One sixteenth Irish, are you serious?
Roberto Contreras. Mexico. I’m a redheaded Mexican-american. I self identify as Mexican, having grown up in Mexico, but whenever I say my heritage is Mexican...
Mexicans are like European gypsies, right?
Violet, Houston, TX p>As an Eastern European I am asked this question quite frequently.
Being Mexican doesn’t mean I’m illegal
Karla Zambrano, Los Banos, CA Many people assume that if you’re Mexican, then you’re most likely illegal. “Go back to where you came from” is...
Cold Stares Warm Smiles Evens Out
Eric Flores, Lubbock, TX. I am a Mexican-American or simply put American. I was born and raised in a conservative town. I was too Mexican...
No, you are Mexican not Hispanic.
Alyssa Herrera, Dallas, TX So my birth certificate says my race is white or Caucasian,and my ethnicity is Hispanic/Latino. Yet when some people meet me...
What do you mean “white washed”?
Perla Villegas, Wichita, KS Growing up going back and forth with parents was confusing especially being as young as I was. I was moving from...
“Beauty Inside Shines through the Outside”
Matthew Powers, Riverside, CA. “Growing up Irish and being raised by a single mom in the 50’s and 60’s in Omaha I saw racial tension...
You’re Mexican, but not really
Cecilia Torres, Sparta, NC I am a full Mexican, but I was not born in Mexico. I grew up in a Mexican household following my...
You’re Mexican with a Black Name?
Nikkishah, Manchester, NH A am half Mexican and half Puerto Rican. Throughout my life others have commented on my name referring to it as “black”...
Don’t speak Spanish, still Mexican
Anonymous, USA I was raised as a part of a mixed family, both of my parents were half-Mexican, and so am I. But no one...
I’m not white in my family
Lisa Craig Washington, DC It’s a bit complicated. My father’s family consists of Scottish, Swedish, French, German, English, Mexican, and two different Native American tribes....
Half Japanese Half Irish Hapa? Whateva
Lois Ann Knezek, Sanger, TX. I was born and raised in Hawai’i to a Hawai’i born Japanese woman and an Irish Bostonian. Luckily, in Hawai’i,...
Mexican Born achieving my American dream
Jesus Castro Menifee, CA California Baptist University CBU HIS311 I was born in Mexico and am the first person in my family to have a...
I was American, now just white
Charles, San Francisco, CA, New Rochelle, NY, Worldwide Essayist Richard Rodriguez, said it best back in 1997, what can be the American inability to not...
