The Race Card Project
By Michele Norris
Marisa Boessneck,
Moreno Valley, CA.
Yes my mom is white so what? Just because I have dark brown hair and a tan skin color doesn’t mean I am not mixed. It really bothers me when I go to the grocery store with my mom who is blonde hair blue eyes and I get asked if she is my “step mom” and if she is, we have a good relationship. Just because we look different doesn’t mean we are related. I love being mixed and how that has shaped me into the person I am today.
CBU HIS311
Deja,
Moreno Valley, CA.
This statement literally kills me . “Pretty for a black girl” I didn’t know “pretty” depended on your skill color . Goes to show how some look at “black girls” like their not good enough to be pretty.
Leah Wilson,
Moreno Valley, CA
I’ve lived too long to have personal issues with another person’s race. Went thru trying to identify my mixed racial ancestry. I just look at the person that presents their identity to me in their word and actions.
Nathan Krasniak,
Moreno Valley, CA.
As a young child, my parents instilled a solid work ethic and introduced me to setting goals. 18 years later I am so very thankful! Initially I wasn’t very receptive. I didn’t understand why my friends didn’t have chores and I had quite a bit of them. My parents would always tell me, “I know this isn’t fun, but it’s necessary.” I would always just laugh and continue on working.
Many years later, as I began my freshmen year in high school, I felt prepared. I knew that I would have to work hard and prioritize my time to get my various assignments completed on time. During one of my English classes we were assigned to do a lengthy project over the course of a few months. It came time to present and address the class with what we had completed for the assignment. The order of presentations was a random selection of the teacher. I was assigned to finish up the first day of presentations. I gave my presentation and after class I had another student ask, “Who are you trying to impress?” At first I was confused and asked him what he meant. He continued on to say, “Your White, you don’t have to do so much” I then asked, “What does that have to do with anything?” He responded quickly saying, “You could have just done a simple project like everyone else.” So i asked, “What does me being white have to do with it, though?” He proceeded to mention that because I was white that I would already be favored by the teacher. This shocked me. Before high school I was sheltered at a private school.
This was the first time, Race and Ethnicity actually presented itself in my life, and it was in a brute fashion. After this initial experience I began to hear this phrase more often and in a wide range of settings. Very little details about me or the way that I do things has attracted the attention of various people groups, and their attitude hasn’t always been so “kind” towards me because “Im white”.
Marcus Rocio,
Moreno Valley, CA.
I’m a black man that doesn’t have a criminal record and loves everyone. I love fried chicken and watermelon but who doesn’t
Gianni Johnson,
Moreno Valley, CA.
A lot of times when the topic of race or ethnicity comes up people are not sure where exactly to place me. People who I’ve just meet, and even people whom I have known for a while will say, “I didn’t know you are black” or they might say “I always wondered what you were mixed with”. It always confuses them even more when they see that the rest of my family is mixed as well.
CBU HIS311
Jessica Paxcle,
Moreno Valley, CA
As for bilingualism it helped me become the person who I am now. However, I think there’s one downside of experiencing bilingualism in school, I realized that when you speak your native language in public and someone does not understands it results in assumptions. This is despite the fact, that I introduce myself as my parents’ named me, while never leaving a piece out of who I am.
As if it was not enough pressure speaking two languages as a child, I’ve struggled to find a connection with my name. Growing up, I never thought that my name reflected the culture I was born into. Through, the years I have learned to love my name, I think it has made me more accepting of new experiences. In fact, it is my last name that stands with me when I interact in mixed places. In some ways, both my first name and last name have saved me from uncomfortable situations. The reason, people usually assume that I am Asian based on my last name. Moreover, I find it interesting how names can create, open, and or destroy visions, goals, and experiences.
“Shout out to CBU HIS311”
Bryan Quevedo
Moreno Valley, CA
California Baptist University
It was not until taking CBU HIS311 class that I have learned a lot about race and how some people are completely ignorant to what has happened in American history. The other day I walked into a grocery store to hear a cashier argue with a black male about who knows what and he stated, “its because I’m black”. I kept walking because I really did not care much for the conversation but it did make me think a little. One of the most upsetting things is to think that an individual (parse a black individual), thinks that they were the only one that was treated badly in history.
After taking this class in Cal Baptist University, I have learned that most minorities have suffered a lot at one point or another. Many races like the Irish, Jews, Japanese, Chinese, Indians and other kinds of races have suffered in America at one point or another. People who shout things like that give me the notion that they are ignorant to culture and history. America was built by immigrants and could not be done without them because they made this country what it is today. If people were blind they would not be able to tell what races are. In addition to that, most races are now mixed with other races. There will be some type of decent that is in their blood line that carries other descents that that they may not know about.
The skin color or features on an individual does not define who they are. There are diverse cultures that have mixed; providing another individual with separate beliefs. We should all get along with each other because we are all children under God; we are all brothers and sisters. Matthew 12:48-50 ESV states, “But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.””
Courtney Martin,
Moreno Valley, CA.
My grandfather was pure Hispanic. He passed away before my first birthday. I moved to Hawaii when I was 6 months old. When I was 26 I moved to California with my husband and our 2 kids. I have never been called Hispanic or even been thought to have been associated with being Hispanic. When I tell people all the time that I am from Hawaii they always say.. Your not Hispanic… Yes I am Hispanic but I never got to know my Hispanic heritage. What is Hispanic supposed to look like? I am also Japanese and French but no one picks up on that.. I guess I just “look” Hispanic… Shout out to CBU-HIS311 online!!!
Maria (Victoria) Lopez,
Moreno Valley, CA.
I am a student at Cal Baptist University and am in the class History of Minorities. My professor had us look into this web site for an assignment but to talk about our own race card. My race topic is, “No, sorry I don’t speak Spanish” This has been my answer to the question, “Do you speak Spanish?” I have been asked this question from the time I was a little girl from distant family members, friends, strangers, and colleagues. Usually after this question, I get, “Aren’t you Mexican?” I am not what is stereotyped of a Mexican, Latino, Hispanic, Chicano person. My family has been mixed and churned from many races and ethnicities but with my name, everyone assumes I should speak Spanish. A part of me would love to speak Spanish while the rebellious side does not want to only because everyone assumes I should.
My parents are both Hispanic and Caucasian. My father grew up in a Hispanic culture home that only spoke Spanish. He learned English when he started school in Kindergarten. My mother did not learn Spanish and grew up in an American culture home. My paternal grandmother is the only grandparent that I have who came from Mexico, even though she is half Mexican, a quarter Austrian, and a quarter Italian (as I said, I come from a mixture of race). My other grandparents and their families have been in the United States for generations. I have three grandparents that their first language was Spanish and English became their second, while I only have one grandparent one who speaks English.
Growing up I was asked, “What are you?” Is there a need to put a title on a person? I soon learned to name all my ethnicities to answer the question. This would get a strange stare. In the end, I learned to say, “I am a mutt.” I taught my daughters, who are a bigger mix of ethnicities from my husband’s side, to say it as well. However, with my daughters, when asked if they are Mexican and if they speak Spanish, they are told many times, “Then you’re not Mexican, if you don’t speak Spanish.” How can people be so mean? My children love to hear of their family background, especially from my father who tells stories of his paternal side who have lived in New Mexico for generations. They go to see their great-great grandmother and their family members who talk about their Hispanic ancestors. So how is it fair to say that we are not “Mexican” or even “Hispanic” just because we do not speak Spanish?
Heather Sams,
Moreno Valley, CA.
My daughter is a beautiful, intelligent, biracial young lady. I am white and her father is a light skinned black man. I say those race terms that way because that is honestly how people in society view others, by color. My daughter is as pale skinned as I am. When I became pregnant my father was not very happy. He did not want me to have a bi-racial child. He said that we would encounter people that would hate us and that he did not want for me to take on that burden when this world was hard enough as it is. I did not listen of course. My daughter, Modesty, came into this world 18 years ago. She has blue eyes and blond hair. She is tall and her smile can light up a room. When she is with only me people see her as “white” and when she is with her father the response is normally, “Oh yes, I can see the black in her now”. She has endured being called albino and half breed. Up until now as she is in college, she has had a hard time being accepted by both sides of her ethnicity. She found comfort among the Mexican kids at her school and accepted for who she was, a loving and kind friend. Now that she is at college, she is starting to hang out with the black crowd. However with in one month of being there, she was verbally attacked on the bus by a black man calling her and her friend “yellow babies” and that their mothers had “jungle fever”. He told them that they weren’t white and they weren’t black, they were yellow and do not fit in and are no better than anyone. My daughter has always been raised to embrace who she is and to know her history of both sides of her family. At the end of the day, she knows she was created from love and it is that love that she shows people, not her race. I love my yellow baby and wouldn’t have it any other way.
I have to give a shout out to CBU HIS311 -thank you for opening the eyes of people and their hearts to subjects such as this.
Raenette White,
Moreno Valley, CA.
Shout out to California Baptist University.
Delia
Moreno Valley, CA
I am so tired of others expecting me to know every bit of Spanish, simply because I am Mexican. It is assumed that just because one is of the Mexican heritage they should know the Spanish language fluently. I do know a little bit of Spanish to kind of get me by, but my father never taught the language to me. My grandma, who speaks very little English, always tells me I should know Spanish. I would have loved to learn the language of my culture, but was only spoken to in English growing up. It’s not right for someone to say I should know the Spanish language because I am Mexican, especially when they do not know anything about my life.
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.
