Indian dad, European mom, identified Latina.
Nisha Balaram, Oakland, CA. My dad would joke around, saying that my mom couldn’t help but fall in love with him when she first saw...
I ask again, am I racist?
Karla Torres, Oakland, CA Am I racist? This is something I’ve been asking myself recently as I’ve encountered new neighbors living on my street. This...
No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs
Benjamin Christy, Laguna Niguel, CA. This is the title of John Lydon’s autobiography, which refers to his upbringing as an Irishman in London. He was...
You’re beautiful for a black woman.
Akaya Windwood Oakland, CA Hated hearing that. I must have heard that 100 times when I was young.
White Bones Ache For Black Moves
Mike Tracy, Oakland, CA. When I was 3 or 4 I asked my parents to put brown sugar on my oatmeal so I could grow...
I will never really ‘get it’.
Celia Beasley, Seattle, WA. Being an upper-middle class white woman, I know I will never truly understand what it feels like to be a person...
“Good Morning!” But there’s no response.
Clyde Jasper Oakland, CA I’m a tall black man with dreadlocks. I’m a husband and a father. I’m a property owner, and a taxpayer. I’m...
White Black Arab Mexican Jesus matter’s
Derek Ziebarth, Oakland, CA We can unite to change the narratives pushed by puppets of Satan aka college schools and TV. Wake up and realize...
Black-white man; white black man
Kirl T. Lawson, Oakland, CA. I have so many tales to share about my experience with my color (or lack of “definitive color recognition”). growing...
Lizzie’s Journey from Plantation to Farm
Michelle Hill, Oakland, CA. Our family is so fortunate that my great, great, great grandparents were not separated from each other and their children during...
Guessing my race isn’t a game
Sheila Islam, Oakland, CA. You do not win a prize if you get it right. People hardly ever guess it right and thats not exactly...
Wow, you speak English really well!
Sharmila Guha, Oakland, CA. It was my first summer job after high school. A man in the lunch room one day tried to ask shy...
Love everyone, trust few, hurt nobody.
Fess Makame Justice, Oakland, CA. This is a quote by Shakespeare who helped organize the Bible.
I’ll experience this, hopefully they don’t.
Takiyah L., Oakland, CA. If all it takes for me is to take on the burdens of intersectionality, just so my brother and sister, and...
It’s who we are on Earth
Ruth A Kees, Oakland, CA We are a mixture of the changes in a very changing world. Tribes helped us survive and tribes have split...
Love my DST HowardU Blackity Blackness
Regina Stroud, Oakland, CA The words of Ijeoma Oluo resonate with me when she says, when you have a nation that was founded upon the...
Biker gangs have love for me
Richard Haynie, Oakland, CA. I walked into a roadside tavern near Allentown PA that had several motorcycles parked outside. Loving bikes, I thought nothing of...
Black boys once cost fifty dollars
Ayanna Bennett, Oakland, CA I work in equity so I think and talk about racism a lot. It’s easy to get discouraged when I don’t...
