negative Archives - The Race Card Project

Exotic name! where are you from

January 27, 2022January 27, 2022 American, Blacksburg, born and raised, innocent, name, negative, Race, syllables, VA, Vidhya Mallikarjunan

Vidhya Mallikarjunan,
Blacksburg, VA.

I was born and have lived in the US for my whole life. And I’ve been blessed to live in a town where my race doesn’t come up too often especially in negative ways. But still so innocently people will constantly ask “where I’m from” but I’m from Blacksburg. It’s so ostracizing, it makes me feel like I am somehow other, like just because you can’t say my name I’m somehow obviously different. And I love my name, it is mine, but so often no one takes the time to even try to say it right. They will say Tchaikovsky without a pause but cannot afford me two syllables. It gets old and it’s small, but it’s a constant reminder that people see me and don’t think of me as “us” but them.

Why steal when you’re already looking.

June 2, 2021June 2, 2021 African American, CA, Chino Hilla, look, Michael Swanegan, negative, steal, store

Michael Swanegan,
Chino Hilla, CA.

Im a 22 year old African American male who lives in California. Whenever I enter a store, gas station, or even a movie theater. I feel an unwanted vibe as if I’m on the radar by all the managers and floor workers. A negative vibe as if I’m being looked at like about to steal an item. So i wrote my 6 words “why steal when you’re already looking” describing that vibe i always feel when i walk into a store.

My skin color shouldn’t be a negative thing

March 10, 2021March 10, 2021 Alexandria, Ceira Stewart, negative, skin color, VA

Ceira Stewart,
Alexandria, VA

There have been so many issues about those who have a darker skin complexion as if there’s a disease. Nobody should be looked upon and there shouldn’t be any stereotypes put with a person all because of how they look.

Last Black Man Standing In SanFrancisco

June 7, 2020June 7, 2020 African-American life, black man, CA, city, experience, last man standing, nation, negative, progressive, Race, San Francisco, Shang-ri-la, Shangrila, Stephen Grove Malloy, wealthiest

Stephen Grove Malloy,
San Francisco, CA.

Would love to contribute my experience here in the Nation’s Wealthiest and Progressive City…one would think it were Shangrila when in fact it has been the most negative “race” based experience I’ve encountered in my 55 years of African-American Life in these United States.

Free speaking teens, changing relational space?

July 22, 2019July 22, 2019 change, children, CO, empower, Evergreen, free speech, influence, N word, n*****, negative, relational space, Tara Saltzman, teen, teenager, word

Tara Saltzman,
Evergreen, CO.

My teens arguing in favor of de-degrading(?) the word n*****, inspired by conviction that changing the influence of words (no longer receiving the word “n*****” as having negative intent or implication), changes relationships. wondering if they are empowered by the innocence of youth and lack of historic understanding AND regardless able to infuse real change through that space.

My heart will forever be grateful

April 4, 2019April 4, 2019 3rd world, heart, Long Island, negative, NY, Puerto Rican, Randy-Michael, world

Randy-Michael,
Long Island, NY.

No matter the struggles I go through as a Puerto Rican adult in this world, I will forever be grateful of what I have been granted in this life. My family, my friends, all the positives and the negatives I cherish and when I get knocked down, I learn to get back up. Nothing can stop me from being who I am.

My brown skin is beautiful okay?

April 12, 2018April 12, 2018 brown is beautiful, brown skin, CA, Corona, dark, Dora the Explorer, eyeshadow, Family, first experience, highschool, Hispanic, light skin, make-up, Mexican, Mexican-American, negative, skin, Vanessa Guzman, woman

Vanessa Guzman,
Corona, CA.

I am a Mexican women who has brown skin and all my life I was always self conscious about it because people would always point it out to me even those who were also Hispanic but they were lighter skinned. Even my family would. And I always took it as negative thing because sometimes that’s what it felt like they were conveying. And then growing up and becoming aware of that some people weren’t always so nice to hispanics, I always tried to be less Mexican as I could be. When they would ask me if I was Mexican I would say “Yes but I was born here so Im Mexican-American”. It wasn’t until I got to highschool that I started to embrace that I was dark and that it didn’t that mean I was any less beautiful. I began to realize that being Mexican was nothing to be ashamed as either, its who I am. EVERYONE IS BEAUTIFUL. But I began to make sure people I knew I was Mexican because I felt like it was important to do, to give my heritage and culture an opportunity to shine through me and began to be confident in myself. And to those who made comments about my skin color saying, “Oh you’re so dark” , “Yeah you can’t really see you’re eyeshadow because you’re so dark” , “You look like exactly like Dora!” … I made sure I would tell them, ” Yeah and? My brown skin is beautiful okay?”.

”I am white, But not racist.”

February 3, 2017February 6, 2017 1619, 7th Grade Trailblazer, Africa, america, American, Belgian, DCentric, English, fake, French, High Tech Middle Media Arts, human, Jamestown, negative, R.E.A.L. Talk, Race, Scientific and Cultural Organization, slavery, that's racist, tobacco, UNESCO, United Nations Educational, white

R.E.A.L. Talk,
High Tech Middle Media Arts,
7th Grade Trailblazer

I’ve been called racist just by talking to someone of color. As someone whose ancestors are English, American, French, and Belgian, I realize, that being called racist isn’t the worst thing someone can do to you in terms of discrimination in ethnicity and racism, but I think it is something to be aware of. Just because if I, a white person, I’m talking to a person of color, doesn’t mean I’m being racist or saying racist things to them. When two human beings talk to each other, it doesn’t have to be in a negative way. Personally, I believe that everyone should be able to talk to each other who is not their own race or ethnicity. Some issues today, especially in schools, is when people say “oh that’s racist!” When it’s nowhere near that. I think that race should be discussed positively because it is one part of what makes everyone unique. And, throwing around the phrase, “That’s racist!” makes it not have as a strong effect when someone actually is being racist. In conclusion, humans should be able to talk to other humans without them being called racist. Also, we should celebrate others differences.

Race is Fake, but Racism Isn’t.

Race is something humans have created. Slavery in America was created when the first African slaves were sent to the North American colony of Jamestown, Virginia, in 1619, to farm tobacco. Americans did this because they needed free labor. They needed these slaves from Africa to think they were less than the Americans to “keep them in place.” Slavery was never okay. How would you feel if I told you slavery is still affecting us today? These “ideas” that some people are better than others created racism. The lingering idea of this anarchy is affecting us 397 years later.
In 1950, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) released a statement saying that “all humans belong to the same species and that ‘race’ is not a biological reality but a myth, a social reality. They found this out using anthropologists, geneticists, sociologists, and psychologists”, yet racism still exists.
Early humans came from Africa. As population grew, humans migrated from Africa to new areas. These new areas where different than Africa, so the humans had to adapt. In areas like England, it was not as hot as Africa, so people didn’t need darker skin to protect them from the sun. While people in hotter climates needed their skin to be dark to keep them from sunburn and heatstroke. This, is why humans look different. But why are people today still getting shot and killed because of it? Are we listening to Martin Luther King Jr’s dream, or our own, deadly one? According to DCentric, out of all students being bullied, 54% are Asian Americans, 38% are African Americans, 34% are Hispanic, 31% are White. And people still say racist bullying doesn’t exist. Even adults are being bullied on the streets for race. Is this what we are teaching kids today? How to be racist? Lastly, we need to step up. Don’t be a bystander. Everyone is human and everyone has thoughts and emotions. We need to show future generations we are not all separate races, we are one. The human race.

I AM MEXICAN, NOT AN IMMIGRANT.

February 1, 2017February 2, 2017 7th Grade Trailblazer, actors, blacks, chill, cleaning, coomment, Donald Trump, High Tech Middle Media Arts, imagine, judge, mean, Mexican, Mexicans, muslims, negative, offended, R.E.A.L. Talk, slave labor, stereotype

R.E.A.L. Talk,
High Tech Middle Media Arts,
7th Grade Trailblazer

I have watched movies and shows where actors make fun of Mexicans. This really doesn’t bother me because I learned not to let it. Negative comments towards me used to bother me in the past where I would get to the point where I would want to hit people, but now I am chill. But still I feel like it’s not right, they need to stop because people who are watching this will get offended and get mad at this because like I said, it’s not right. When I hear the word immigrant I think of Mexicans because now that people see us like that, it make me think the same which makes me mad. I feel that when people hear the word immigrant they think of us, the Mexicans and now that Donald Trump is in they election it makes it worse because now people see us as drug dealers and criminals. I live near a lot of Mexicans and most of my friend are Mexicans also. I do say Mexican jokes too. In my old school I got in a roast session and the person I was roasting with said “Go back to cleaning something that’s what you’re good at.” So if he wants to be racist it makes me want to racist too. He was a Caucasian so I said a few things that I don’t want to say right now but let’s say it wasn’t nice. After the battle we were fine we started laughing but still we shouldn’t have done that. So the thing is about me is I really don’t care what people say about me. I think of it as a joke when people say bad things about me. So if you see me in a garden, I’m just trying to make money. If you won’t do it, I will. We’re not stealing your jobs, we are fixing and making jobs better so if you don’t like that then you go to Mexico and you go start a job there and see how it is.

Does Race Exist in This World? NO!

Race does not exist at all. If I were you I would agree because this going to get real right now. The reason this word exists is because in the 18th century when the Americans came to Africa to collect slaves, basically for slave labor, they needed to depict a way to separate White people from Black people. Ok imagine you doing what you do with your family and then these people come and take you from your family and then they make you as their slave. What would you do? Nothing! But now, we can do something about it and people can’t do anything about it. You know what I mean? If you hear a white man saying that black people suck, you can’t punch them. You can talk to them but not touch him or her. Donald Trump says mean comments about Blacks, Mexicans, and Muslims. But, we shouldn’t do anything to him. WE made race up basically just so that we can judge each other. One thing that I don’t understand is why we still depict people by the color of their skin. We don’t want this to keep going. We stopped slavery in America between blacks and whites so we can stop racism! So let’s do it!

I’m Romanian, no I’m not a Gypsy

January 10, 2017January 10, 2017 assume, borderline, Canada, Eastern Europe, gypsy, JD, Latin, lineage, Middle-Eastern, misconception, negative, Romanian, stereotype

JD,
Canada.

Being located in Eastern Europe, there is a common misconception that Romania comes from slavic lineage, when historically, and factually we are Latin people. Most Romanians have many Middle Eastern features as well and many people associate Romanians with being gypsies. Western European countries are quite negative and borderline racist when it comes to romanians specifically.

Can your name effect you negatively.

May 9, 2016May 9, 2016 CA, define, DMV, effect, interview, judge, name, negative, Ricardo Juan-Ignacio Sanchez, Ricky Sanchez, Sanger

Ricky Sanchez,
Sanger, CA.

My full name is Ricardo Juan-Ignacio Sanchez. I go by Ricky because I am afraid of people judging me for my name. When someone calls me by my full name at the DMV or somewhere else, I get a lot of weird stares and looks at me. If people look at me up and down just because my name, then how is it going to be for a job interview. Will this hurt my chances to get a good job? I feel like it is going to and this isn’t right.

THE COLOR OF MY SKIN ~PRICELESS~

May 9, 2016May 9, 2016 bi-racial, black and white, color of my skin, define, Minneapolis, MN, negative, positive, priceless, Tricia Stewart

Tricia Stewart,
Minneapolis, MN.

I am bi-racial and I’ve experienced racism from both sides(black and white). You don’t always realize in the moment whether something has an impact on you, whether it be negative or positive; eventually in some form you will feel it. Only you can determine if you’re going to allow it to shape who you are…I refuse.

“Race” is fake; I am not.

March 10, 2016March 10, 2016 atlanta, biology, classify, Construct, Dennie T, DNA, GA, human, negative, race'fake, shallow, society

Dennie T,
Atlanta, GA.

“Race” is a human-concocted, cultural construct that has nothing to do with biology and everything to do with (negative) cultural conditioning in racist societies. Human DNA produces a single species of humans – not multiple races of humans. If we are to have an honest discussion of “race,” we need to educate ourselves about its origins, intentions, and usage — and, with hope, raise consciousness so that people everywhere reject being classified and divided by racist ideology into these fake “racial” categories. When you classify yourself as a “race,” you are adopting destructive beliefs that have been maliciously calculated to make you believe that people are, somehow, inherently different (and they are not) because of (how shallow is this–>) the way that they look. “Race” is anti-intellectual – please reject “race” so that we may move forward to make the world a better place for all.

Why don’t you date your race?

March 4, 2016March 4, 2016 Alaskan, CO, Colorado Springs, date, interracial dating, Maranda, mother, Native, negative, Race, white male

Maranda,
Colorado Springs, CO.

My mother says she isn’t prejudice, yet she has negative comments towards me dating a white male. I am Native and Alaskan Native and African American.

Always check “White, Non-Hispanic origin” box

May 7, 2015 box, Bridgeport, check the box, ct, emotions, Hispanic, identity, Jay Marie Fernandez, latina, negative, origin, skin, white

Jay Marie Fernandez,
Bridgeport, CT.

With white skin, being of Hispanic origin, in a household that did not speak Spanish, in a predominantly Spanish speaking neighborhood, this sentiment taught me being Hispanic or Latina was something to be hidden. The kids hated me because I thought I was better than them, proudly pri-claiming “I’m white”…now I still struggle with these issues. My kids are all black/white, and people ask if they’re Hispanic. I still have to check my negative emotions and stereotypical responses. Recognizing and embracing your ethnicity identify and acknowledging how others self-ididentify will not hurt. I promise.

Reading actually helps quell racist thoughts.

December 1, 2014December 1, 2014 CA, destruction, Ferguson Card, hate, Jules Jeung, Michael Brown, minorities, negative, Oakland, quell, racist thoughts, reading, Union City

Jules Jeung,
Union City, CA.

At this very moment, as I write this, destruction is going on in Oakland due to the decision of the grand jury in the Michael Brown/Ferguson case. I grew-up in Oakland.

I hate having negative thoughts about another race and their experience in this country. I hate feeling like a racist. But sometimes those thoughts just crop up out of anger, frustration, and misunderstanding. Coming to this site helped me get my thinking back on track tonight. I know there are many people who feel like me—they see, hear and experience things that make them think negatively about another race, but really, truly do not want to feel that way or think that way. Let me tell you, reading really helps. There are some great sites and great blogs where you can read some brilliant and eloquent discourse about racism and the experiences of minorities in America. It really, really helps.