We can always change the channel.
Audrey Lee Cho, USA. My parents immigrated to America in 1973, with my older brother Lee Wan Young and my sister, Lee Shin. I was...
Why does my name perplex you?
Rohini Harvey, Amherst, MA I get so many questions about my last name- wondering how someone who looks like me came to have the last...
You Don’t Look Like Your Name
Jessica Davila, Rowlett, TX I am a tanned skin, brown hair, brown eyes, Mexican American woman. My married name was Jessica Phillips. I worked at...
“Basic white girl, you’ll never understand.”
Rebecca Robrahn, Holland, MI. No matter how much I try to learn and read and participate in conversations, I’m told I can’t understand, will never...
How do you pronounce your name?
G, Mission Viejo, CA My whole life has been slightly more challenging due to the fact that I am a first-generation American whose name is...
Proud Celt: Neither White Nor Asian
Marian L. Ireland I’m Irish with an Asian-sounding surname; suffice to say people are always surprised to see me turn up when they’re expecting someone...
Carlos, you really don’t speak Spanish?
Carlos Hernandez, Seagoville, TX I am a Hispanic of Mexican descent with an extremely stereotypical name. My first and last names are both common Latino...
Wish I had changed my name!
Jamika Richardson, Wilmington, DE My name is often used to judge me! ”Where are you from?” ”what does your name mean?”
I don’t know Inez’s last name.
Rosemary Brinson Siipola, Kalama, WA. Reflecting on growing up in Duplin County, North Carolina, my Grandma Cora was the matriarch of a large family. Inez...
Don’t call White men “White Boys”
Dave Perry, Tampa, FL. This is a derogatory term which belittles and demeans grown white men. I’ve heard this racial slur repeated far too often...
Please Just Say My Name Correctly!
Alieu Atuahene Barrie, Palmdale, CA. The hardest part about being African American (other than obvious hates crimes) is the fact that people never pronounce my...
We’ll call you “Susan White Girl”.
Susan Riker, Washginton, DC. Freshman year on the 4th floor of the International dorm at Mt Holyoke College.
Some Dogs Just Don’t Have Names
Glenn Richardson Wilmington, NC Every spring we would travel from Washington DC to Oktoc Mississippi to help my Dad work the cows. He had about...
“Your name doesn’t match your face”
Kimberly Jackson, New York City, NY, Most people do not associate the name “Kimberly Arlene Jackson” with a half-Vietnamese, half-White American person. The surprise is...
Because I married a white man
Patricia Osborn Grand Rapids, MI People are always surprised when they see me. My last name doesn’t. “match” how I look. Although my parents are...
