not black enough Archives - The Race Card Project

I don’t fit in your boxes.

October 3, 2023October 3, 2023 check the box, Dave Lawrence, look white, Mechanicsville, not black enough, not Chinese enough, not white enough, opt out, VA

Dave Lawrence,
Mechanicsville, VA

For most of my life, when I was asked my race, I was forced to choose just one — and I chose the race I mostly closely resembled: white. Back then, I had to choose carefully. My mom and I had been threatened with death in the early 1960’s for not being white enough. What I didn’t know for most of those years, the state of Louisiana had chosen a different race for me, and, if it had taken sufficient interest in me, could have forced me to identify as that race. In this century I’ve faced discrimination from every community I should be a part of: not white enough to be white, not Chinese enough to be Chinese; not Black enough to be Black. So now, every time I’m forced to pick just one, I just opt out.

You don’t really look that Black.

January 2, 2022January 2, 2022 anonymous, not black enough, NY, Syracuse, you don't really look

Anonymous,
Syracuse, NY.

Don’t judge me by my color

September 18, 2017September 18, 2017 area, black black, Color, different, impact, judge, life, Melanie Best, not black enough, Princeton, skin color, WV

Melanie Best,
Princeton, WV.

Everyday the color of my skin seems to negatively impact my life. I live in a very racist area, and while I’m not “black black” I’m still different and that’s bad enough.

Not White, but not quite Black

February 18, 2015February 18, 2015 Annette Maldonado, Hispanic, Invisible, not black enough, NY, Rochester, white

Annette Maldonado,
Rochester, NY.

Hispanics are invisible a lot of the times. We are seen as not really white, but not quite Black either.

People say I’m not black enough

February 2, 2015February 3, 2015 articulate, black enough, CA, not black enough, Oakland, sounding black, stereotype, Yodassa Williams, you sound like

Yodassa Williams,
Oakland, CA.

Whenever I speak freely around strangers, I am reacted to as if I am an alien for being black but not “sounding black”. “You speak so well” they say, leaving out the ending, “for a black girl.” I’m irritated and saddened by the insult that a black person’s use of proper English grammar and pronunciation is strange.