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...
My name is ethnic, immediate discrimination.
LaShunda B. Smith Pike Road, AL Even though i am an educated black woman, my name often times precedes me. It makes it difficult to...
Yes!! My name means White in spanish!!
Blanca Soto, Hemet, CA. I grew up in a community that was composed of mostly white people. Every time someone would ask my name they...
I hide in my Anglo-Franco name.
Eleanor Williams Maplewood, NJ My name is white, my skin is dark. Torn between my minority & majority roots I don’t know who I am.
I get called Mexican a lot.
Alex Weitz, Lakeland, FL. It is because I play soccer (that’s also six words)
He called me “honky”. I laughed.
Debby Carter, Loomis, CA. I knew the word was meant to annoy or anger me, but it just sounded silly. His face changed from angry...
My name is Jamaal; I’m white.
Jamaal Allan, USA. Listen to Jamaal’s story on NPR’s Morning Edition What’s in a Name? The Poetry Question-Discovering the Relevance of Words As a...
Black, humbling existence to maintain dignity.
Tony Williams, Detroit, MI. Change in America is slow. I find it disheartening to witness the incarceration of African American men at this current level....
Two Arms, Two Legs, One Head.
Latoya Baerlocher-Turner, Newport News, VA. It’s fun watching people attempt to imagine my face from my name. My first name is notably of African American...
Not Mexican, stop calling me that
Carolina, Powder Springs, GA. As a Hispanic person, being called Mexican can be seen as an insult, but what is worst; the fact that I...
For tradition’s sake, we mock others.
Kyle McDonald NC A couple of weeks ago, a friend and I got in an argument about race and sensitivity that started from watching football,...
I am content being called “gringa.”
Nell Haynes, Chile. Sometimes it’s hard being the person that always stands out in a crowd, especially in an impoverished city in the middle of...
Dwayne Fries; the other white Dwayne.
Dwayne Lee Fries, Columbus, OH. My name is Dwayne, and I’m white. Hi Dwayne! I was unwittingly named Dwayne. Two weeks before my taking over...
Are you really even Greek?
Athena Scavo, Hornell, NY. I often get this question due to my name being of the Greek mythology background. Often, people assume that I am...
My name tells a great story.
Lise (rhymes with ‘please’), Austin, TX. My 6-word essay was originally “What kind of name is that?”– a question (both the polite and impolite versions)...
