OR Archives - The Race Card Project

Brian Chapman Portland, OR I discovered, in my 40s, that my ethnicity and my ancestry were not what I had been led to believe. For mysterious reasons (anti-Semitism) my father concocted a fictional back story that became how my brothers and I viewed ourselves. Now, with knowledge of a different cultural identity but absolutely no […]

Let’s abolish this concept now, please!

Jaime Phelps, Philomath, OR. This is a great idea. Thanks for your efforts.

Serena, like the “black” tennis player.

Serena Serrano, Eugene, OR. I grew up in a hispanic house hold and I remember whenever someone would ask me what my name was and I would reply. But when I would tell them my name they would stare for a second at me then my mom and say “oh like the tennis player,” …no […]

Sorry for sins of my ancestors

Katie, Salem, OR I struggle with feeling heavy and saddened by the history of the United States. I want to do my best to protect and support all of those that suffer from racism as it is absolutely not ok.

Mixed and I love my perspective

Shava, Lake Oswego, OR. At times it can be confusing. I have wondered where I fit in. But in the end…I’m so glad to have the depth of experience that being multicultural has given me. I’m black, white and I’m Jewish. It’s amazing!

I’m Asian, not invisible, not disgusting.

Chuck, Portland, OR. It’s that look. The look I’ve seen all my life. Like you just found a gross bug in your house that you don’t want to deal with. I don’t think that the look is intentional but it’s the first thing I see when you see me, and I immediately know that you’ve […]

Beautiful, brown, and Hawaiian every day

Kehaulani H. Minzghor, Portland, OR.

I am not your curiosity game.

Victoria, Salem, OR. As a biracial person, people often ask me, “what ethnicity are you?” – aka what race can I define you as? People who first meet me will ask me this question without ever asking for my name. They seem to only care about what I am not who I am. However, I […]

Your children really look like Americans

Renu Gehring Portland, OR I am an ethnically Indian woman married to a white man. Our two kids are a happy blend of brown and white. We live in a community that has a large number of recent Indian immigrants. I am surprised by their reaction when they see me with my children. When they […]

Whiteness Can Make or Break Change

Cole, Corvallis, OR

Clearly, racism is in the details.

Elizabeth, Salem, OR.

Yo, dumbass white honky mother f*****

Rudy Owens, Portland, OR. So, you want six words? Here are six I heard so many times I can’t even count them. They came in various themes on being a “honky” or “f*****” or “dumba**.” They weren’t intended to provoke, to share hatred, and to demonstrate power. They were repetitively used by many people, my […]

Where did you get them from?

Alli Minch, Veneta, OR. When we still lived in California and my biracial twins were very young, a woman stopped me in the store to comment on how cute they were, and asked me where I got them from, since she was interested in adopting. They’re my children, not a designer handbag you can order […]

“It’s different, shopping with mom”

Chas. Sundling, Tillamook, OR These words were spoken by one of my two sons. They were spoken a few years back, and led to quite the conversation about race, about people’s first perception based upon appearance, about acceptance, about prejudice, about self-identity, about belonging, about privileges, perceived or otherwise, about entitlement and self-entitlement, about rights, […]

“You can pass.” Lifetime identity struggle.

Erica Jameson, Ashland, OR. My parents adopted five muti-racial children, something unheard of in the rural mountain town we lived in. Between being confused about being different, to occasional thoughtless racism, the line “You can pass [for white]” still makes me uneasy. Does this mean that I should want to? I still don’t know.

“He’s not your son? Oh good!”

Amber Halverson, Eugene, OR. “Oh good! He doesn’t look like he has any white in him at all!” My first real encounter with my own race that I can remember was when I was in middle school. My white godparents had just adopted a black baby. They “kept his black name”, DiMario, as his middle […]

Tight Black curls line the tub

Jan Landis, Portland, OR Our family raised a Black boy, along with our own 5 children. It always amused me when I cleaned the tub to see tiny black curls alongside all of our straight hairs:) We had a wonderful time getting to know him.

Proud to be “Something Else”

Justus Chebon Eaglesmith, Salem, OR

We must teach children real history.

Jacquie Pancoast, Gresham, OR We are one race inhabiting this planet with other species. Oppression is about power and control. As a species we appear to be the slowest to learn we are driving to our extinction.

I’m only Jewish when it’s safe

Dan Tappan, Portland, OR

(We) had trouble with another white teacher.

Diana Imhoff, Brookings, OR p>I was raised in a white community, so I had never really seen racism. I taught school in a minority elementary school. Then a parent of one of my students who constantly disrupted class unleashed this on me. I didn’t care what color her daughter was, but it was clear that […]

Hillbilly – the wrong kind of white.

TR Kelley, Swisshome, OR “White trash” is a hip cultural joke. “N*****” is “hate speech”. Why?

Being Christian and racist is an oxymoron.

Grace Dinges, Portland, OR

Embedded fear of most black males

Jeffrey Todd, Portland, OR I don’t consider myself to be prejudiced but I sometimes experience a feeling of uneasiness when I encounter certain individuals – both black and white. You can’t look at somebody and know whether they’re just going about their business or if they mean you harm. How do I undo this feeling? […]

Blue eyes, Latina soul, Challenge preconceptions.

Mariel Joana Alvarado, Portland, OR.

Ni De Aquí, Ni De Allá

Irvania López Toledo, Eugene, OR Growing up as a first-generation American in a white city was difficult for me, growing up. As early as four years old, I began feeling the pressure to assimilate. I refused to speak Spanish, I idolized straight blonde hair and blue eyes, and I desperately wanted to change my name. […]

I am protected by my whiteness.

Ines Marco, Salem, OR

Who knew knees could be deadly?

Keelin Rice, Salem, OR

If he just wouldn’t have resisted

Sophie Cleland, Eugene, OR

Find yourself a nice husband, sweetie.

Sophie Cleland, Salem, OR

Transracial adoptee in a white home

Riley, Salem, OR Being Chinese and the only POC in an entirely white family has been incredibly harmful to my self-worth and cultural and ethnic identity. In no way am I saying I am not grateful for what opportunities I have been given. However, in their efforts to make sure I never felt “different,” my […]

I’m not your typical Chinese adoptee

Claire, Salem, OR Ever since I was a child I’ve always felt conflicted. As a Chinese adoptee with a white father and a Cuban mother, I’ve never felt myself to be much of anything. It’s like I’ve existed in this weird blob in between races and neither my Asian side nor my culturally white side […]

Not Your Model Minority

Alexandria Le, Hillsboro, OR Sitting at home alone I watch as hate crimes against the Asian community spread like wildfire. It was about 4:00 PM on March 19 2021 when I received a text from a friend about the shooting in Atlanta. I read the text but had a hard time processing it…. I just […]

Oh, I expected a Black woman.

Jamila Wolters, Portland, OR I am a White-passing, Mexican woman with an Arabic name and have heard this statement from people of all races. The difference is the looks on the faces of the people who say this to me, their own race always and prejudice is always written right there. I am a proud […]

How white of me to participate.

Ben Guyton, Eugene, OR This is mostly a dig at me– for the impulse to submit a phrase as if it meant I was helping to reduce/fight/calm/change racism. It was much more meaningful, for me, to read through what others said. I had more than one “I never considered that” moment going through them. Thank […]

I wouldn’t ride my bike naked!

Tricia Tillman, Portland, OR. I have a funny story about how race and gentrification interact. My son walked out the front door of our house which is in a neighborhood that is gentrifying and yelled back in “Mom, I just saw 2 naked people riding down the street!” When I walked outside, we heard an […]

Unimportant until I was taught otherwise

Harrison Bartels, Sandy, OR Growing up I thought that racism was something that was largely in the past, except for a couple of outliers. This changed when I found out how much people of color still have to deal with, both from other people and systemically.

Yes, that is my real name.

Hyosim Nancy Collins, Beaverton, OR. My middle name is Nancy. I was born in South Korea and arrived in the United States when I was 4 years old with my Korean family. Soon after we arrived in California, my father decided we should all have “American” names. When I became a Naturalized Citizen at the […]

Shoshana must be a black name

Shoshana Snyder, Eugene, OR.

A missplaced comma, in fluid sentences.

Anil Oommen Eugene, OR University of Oregon I am brown, a Malayalee, a person of Indian descent in a primarily white setting. This is often awkward. It is not unusual for me to feel like a misplaced comma, in the fluid sentences of white experience. Only when I limit what I say and refrain from […]

I grieve for my lost identity.

Janel Ruehl, Bend, OR I’m a white American, but that doesn’t mean much to me. It doesn’t feel like a fully fleshed-out identity I can inhabit. “White” doesn’t connect me to any songs, or celebration. It doesn’t taste like any certain food. It doesn’t offer me any tradition for how to come of age, or […]

To us, there was no boundary to love.

Elysia, Portland, OR. We are expecting our first child in December 2015.

Discriminated parent hid Native American ancestry

Anonymous Bandon, OR

Resisting arrest matters more than race.

Jack Carson, Portland, OR Black Lives Matter cherry-picks bad arrests and pretends that exceptions outweigh rules. It also trivializes high black crime rates, which draw police attention. Their narrative is dishonest and harmful to the police, and especially poor (decent) people who need protection from thugs.

White. Privileged. Outraged by systemic racism!

Alex H, Portland, OR

Grandma said I looked too haole.

Carol Silva Portland, OR My step-grandma danced, taught, and had her own hula group who performed during the week on Oahu. Once when she and my grandpa were visiting us on the Mainland, my grandpa suggested that when I got older I could come to Hawaii and dance in the show. This was unlikely to […]

Topic: slavery. All eyes on Brooke

6 Comments

Daniel Portland, OR I grew up in a working-class and ever-so-slightly diverse part of a very white city, but I the bus across town with two dozen others to school K-12. As I grow older I sometimes recall classroom memories that make my current self uncomfortable. In 7th grade social studies we discussed slavery, and […]

Mother’s warnings at four, instilled racism.

Carmen Davis Portland, OR I was a very young child from the Midwest traveling with my mother by train to Detroit in the 1940’s. There was an African American couple on the train with a wonderfully packed picnic basket. As a very gregarious child I was eager to explore the car. My mother told me […]

Why am I always Monopoly Banker?

Sasha Feoktistov, Eugene, OR Jews as a minority group are put in a particularly awkward place. Because we enjoy most if not all of the privileges of being in the white majority, it makes dealing with subtle cases of bias and discrimination particularly delicate. I’m not about to make a stink about always being told […]

Blacks won’t let me be friendly

Randa New, Hillsboro, OR. While passing blacks walking on the sidewalk black adult looks away while their child will smile back at me. How can I connect with them when they look away?

Korean-Argentine Orphan. What is heritage?

Jacky Grey, Eugene, OR Having no connection to my heritage thorough my parents makes me feel like an imposter when I meet “real” people do color.

I WILL try, but can’t understand

Luke Brockman, Oregon State University, Blachly, OR My six words are an attempt to underline my privilege in this country. I’m white, but have never understood the attitudes of an overwhelming amount of other white people, and am unable to understand the attitudes of the so many beautiful people of color… but I will never […]

Well…there’s so many minorities now…

Tony Reyes, Portland, OR. I’m half Latino. My mother is a white, evangelical, conservative. I came home the night Obama was re-elected and asked if she had heard the results. The above statement was how she very bitterly responded. Apparently people of color aren’t intellectually capable of choosing a president on the basis of anything […]

Black kids, white moms, strong family.

Jennifer Meyer Eugene, OR

Never been scared of the police.

Kayla D, OR

Equality is not better for everyone

Audrey Clow, Corvallis, OR Equality is not better for everyone because the people that have taken advantage must give up what they have taken from the disadvantaged. We must remember our past!

Equality starts with you, spread kindness

Delaney Van Andel, TROUTDALE, OR

You have to actively fight racism

Megan Baker, Oregon State University, Klamath Falls, OR Passivity favors the side of the oppressor, always.

Put it back in the deck

Joni Godwin, Albany, OR

I’m Hispanic, but not a PoC.

Noa L-C, Salem, OR My heritage is not always clear by the color of my skin, but it is no less real just because you can’t tell.

White supremacy relies on white silence.

Laura Kelly, Salem, OR White people who do not speak up about racism are cogs in the machinery of white supremacy, quietly furthering it. If other cogs are turning, that is enough to turn you as well unless you actively fight back. Resisting white supremacy necessitates action, especially from white people. We need to start […]

The rumors are true, I’m half.

Serena M., Salem, OR

No I’m not an immigrant.

Ashley Medina, Salem, OR

It really be like that sometimes

Zuri Sizemore, Salem, OR

Why Do I need to apologize

Joshue Javier Fuentes Ventura, Salem, OR

I understand English with normal speed

Saki Watanabe, Salem, OR I’m an international student and studying abroad now. When I talk with native English speakers, many of them speak English slowly to me. It might be unconscious, but I actually feel uncomfortable, and it is frustrating. I always think that I can understand English with normal speed.

Out of sight, out of mind

Makayla lynn Prentice, Salem, OR.

Not all of us are Ninja

Kazuto, Salem, OR

I wonder what he’s doing there?

Edward Hershey, Portland, OR. My mom, a Stevenson Democrat, and I were walking home from the subway in Brooklyn ca. 1955 when she spotted a man of color outside the apartment house adjacent to ours.

Race? Culture? Do we know which?

David Brady, Portland, OR. Travel to see new cultures and experiences? I do. But, we can experience the richness of culture here if we look past appearance. Listen, let others’ stories speak.

Actually, I speak English very well.

Guadalupe Mitchell, Damascus, OR. Growing up, most people just saw a little brown Mexican girl. I remember when entered the second grade and my family had a moved to a predominantly white neighborhood, I was placed in an ESL classroom. My classmates made fun of me because my Spanish was not very good. After struggling […]

Cultures touching make new shared experiences

Shannon Harris, Ashland, OR. We need to open up the idea of what it means to be “American.” American is all of us and all of the different ways that we experience this country.

Very white city. Emergency Shelter: Technicolor

Annie Rosen Portland, OR Manager for Women’s Winter Shelter (Transition Project)

My skin color tells you nothing.

Lisa Gardner, Portland, OR.

Salad topped with melted American nightmare

Hyung Nam Portland, OR Melting pot was for the construction of whiteness

Dirty drunk Indians, but not you.

Doey Cushman, Portland, OR. So I am of mixed race Chinook Indian and northern European. Many times white people forget and will talk about natives catch themselves and then say they don’t mean me. This has happened many times over the years even coming from my own relatives. My own children and grandchildren are very […]

Often Ashamed of Being White Male

Anthony Whittum, Portland, OR. As I get older (56) racism seems more prevalent or at least more “advertised” by those that hold racist beliefs. Or perhaps as my childhood, young manhood and middle age fade into the rearview mirror my awareness of all things grows. It seems that racists are most often categorized as “white […]

Let my struggles refine me.

Garrett, Beaverton, OR. Most people label me as a “rich white boy”. That’s the complete opposite. I grew up in poverty. My Mom made less than $10,000 a year when I was a kid. She raised me all by herself. She had zero assistance from the government and now I’m going to be a college […]

Privileged. No choice in the matter.

Kole Myrick, Portland, OR. As a trans man I often feel very marginalized, but when you look at it based solely on race, I have an incredible amount of privilege. Because of these intersections it is up to me, and other white trans folks, to help bring up trans people of color. We are all […]

“But my best friend is black.”

Danielle, Portland, OR.

Never judge a book by cover…

Robert Whitsell, Coos Bay, OR I am very white with a little Native, but I have never allowed that to define me. I ask before I assume. In my experience, it is cultures that create conflict, not race. People fear what they do not understand. I have dear friends in every race and most cultures […]

At least I’m not a whiteboy

Julia Rivers, Milwaukie, OR. As a high school student dependent on scholarships in order to attend college and reach my goals of a much higher level of education, every day I am consumed by the thought of how I can make myself stand out. What will make the people in charge want to give me […]

Greek American, cheeseburger cheeseburger not funny

N. Blandis, Portland, OR. I am a second generation American born of Greek parents. My father’s birth certificate in Los Angeles California in 1921 listed his race as GREEK. His place of birth was listed as Stork NEST , meaning at home. I have never classified myself as WHITE. I have ethnic features and the […]

MLK’s promissory note sent back….again.

Steffen Estrada Portland, OR I was 13 years old when I heard Dr. King’s August 1963 speech and it hit me like a brick. From then on I saw the world (and the world of my black friends) through a different lens. Thank you so much Michele for your wonderful reporting and this opportunity for […]

White isn’t normal – it’s made up.

David, Salem, OR

Conversations and connections change perspective

Mary Jo Nash, Oakland, CA The one connection we all have is that we are human. I am lucky because when I was pretty young I was put in a group where I was the minority and I think in a small way that changed my perspective in life. I grew up in Portland, Oregon […]

A Rhetorical Lie, A Realistic Truth

Grant Starr, Gladstone, OR

Dismantle racism with your white privilege

Erika Ortiz Alvarez, Woodburn, OR

Grandma didn’t let dad speak Spanish

Allen Nunez Wickham, Molalla, OR. I remember being asked by my mom at 5 years old if I wanted to learn Spanish., and replying that I didn’t want to. Only later did I realize later that people actually grew up speaking Spanish and English, and my dad’s inability to speak Spanish has greatly impacted my […]

Denmark: married my niece: beloved family

Nancy Clark Wilsonville, OR Denmark is black, he has been married to my niece for 24 years and I love him more than I can express. He has always been part of my heart, I can ‘t image life with out him there.

United we stand, divided we fall.

Chad Beauvais, Bend, OR. You are exactly right for sharing your real story. Many people feel the same way as you do and have similar experiences. I was told that there was no financial aid for me because I was predominantly white (even though I had the grades and financial need to qualify), so I […]

HammersteinII: You’ve Got to be Taught.

Luc Charwin Salem, OR It may be trite and unoriginal to use someone else’s words. However, the lyrics of that song brought this topic into focus for me. In grade school a friend’s father did not allow David and I to share the experience of a week-long school camping trip. David was one of several […]

White privleged woman, giving back occasionally

Andrea Sigetich, Bend, OR. I know much about privilege, having done diversity work in major high technology corporations. The important word in my essay is “occasionally.” I give back, I do my share, I work for the betterment of life’s circumstances for those less privileged than me. However, I can go home to my nice […]

Black or white everyone uses tools

Ted Mittelstaedt, Portland, OR. I was born in 1966 and by age 13 I knew how to solder and by age 15 I was building electronic devices from schematics. By age 20 I had taken apart and put back together several different kinds of computers and written code in assembly language. I also have a […]

Sometimes I cry when making pasta.

Meredith Taggart, Portland, OR. I’m Italian and Scottish and otherwise a European mutt. I’m generally considered “white,” and look ambiguously ethnic. For me, the idea of race is all about a longing for a greater connection to my heritage. I never feel more connected than when making pasta. Learning the language, visiting Italy, making/eating Italian […]

Think Grace, Act Grace, Teach Grace

Kelsey Connolly, Wilsonville, OR. “Think Grace, Act Grace, Teach Grace” I have always been a learner at heart, but not necessarily an excellent student. In school, I learned best by looking at examples and modifying the results with my own knowledge, and that worked out very well for me… up until I left my little […]

Neither This or That, but Also

Rena Joy Dunbar, Eugene, OR. Our Black and White bi-racial identity was questioned even before we emerged from the womb. What ‘race’ would we turn out to be? Which ‘race’ would we choose? These questions and the dual nature of our identities continue to challenge perceptions.

Life in the borderlands is painful.

Kaller, Portland, OR. Native American grandfather, Quaker grandmother, their child was my mother. Black stepfather, biracial brother, adopted Latina child, all Chinese grade school, segregation, race riots, the battle for Civil Rights…who are “my people?”

Racist beliefs given up for love

Rebecca Hammons, Eugene, OR.

Bland white girl seeks racial identity.

Pamela Russell Bejerano, Portland, OR. As a white girl growing up, I always felt I had no culture. As an adult, I realized that what I was seeking was a racial identity. But I am discovering daily that this racial identity is not just Scottish and Norwegian, but part of a society that unfairly awards […]

We are all disabled superhumans.

I am white, I am privileged.

Carly Mayer, Portland, OR. Often I hear white people say that they are not privileged because they aren’t wealthy, or because they aren’t straight, etc. But white people have a privilege that most of us are unaware of. We don’t get pulled aside at airports or pulled over by police officers or verbally assaulted solely […]

I am walking inbetween multiple worlds.

Isabella Garcia, Portland, OR.

Open to conversations, recognize my privilege

Claire Olson, Portland, OR.

Never be ashamed of your skin

Amber A., Clatskanie, OR. No more words are needed.

Only light can drive out hate.

Karisa Boyce, Corvallis, OR.

Using my privilege to help others

Shasta Prunk, Albany, OR.

I feel red. But maybe not.

Ann Lee Adams, Corvallis, OR. My father was part Cherokee. But we were raised white. So I don’t know what to feel…or be.

White. Wait, no! Turns out Cherokee.

3 Comments

Stephanie McCleery, Portland, OR. Adopted at birth, assumed white, found out 1/4 Cherokee at age 40 when found by birth mother.

Racism exists because no one’s evil

Jim Solomita, Portland, OR. Enslavement is one of the most evil things a human can do to another. However, no one likes to think of themselves as evil. Therefore, the slave owners needed a way to justify what they were doing. Their solution was to consider Africans as less-than humans – tantamount to animals. Then […]

Struggling to overcome my fear.

3 Comments

Lucy Jones, Portland, OR. I am 32 years old and white. I have had social anxiety all of my life. As a child, I was around black people often and I was comfortable, but quiet because of my anxiety disorder. This changed in college. I grew up in Ohio and went to school in southern […]

I’m white and not ashamed.

Matt, Portland, OR. Lately I’ve seen people of all races attack and belittle white people. Everyone complains about how whites are so racist, but where I come from everyone except white people are treated equally. We constantly get ridiculed for something our generation has no part of. We get made out to be the bad […]

Indian mother Mexican father Chicana tattoo

Anne Bressler, Redmond, OR.

How many tribes are there really?

Madison, Philomath, OR. Heard this question during a fellow Native student’s thesis defense about her work with increasing Native student retention in k-12 programs.

Open racism is our new reality.

Rhonda Carr, Tigard, OR. Thank you for encouraging dialogue on the difficult subject of race.

“You can pass for white”

Mary Thompson Happy Valley, OR I heard this from first and second grade teachers. White women. I was proud to be Native American, but in their “kindness” they let me know I was not okay. Was the 1960’s.

I am conflicted, relieved, embarrassed…woke.

Nicole Last, Oregon City, OR.

What can I do about it?

Erika Peterson, Eugene, OR. Systemic racism and socialization feel so deeply seeded in our society that it makes me feel like there is nothing we can do as individuals, or even as a group, to ever overcome it.

Change must come from within you

Anonymous, Portland, OR. Honestly, the change had to come from within. I grew up in a very white area and my parents were raised in a way that was unacceptable and I had to change myself and their views. So I say, it comes from within because if you truly believe things should change, it’s […]

Race is a misunderstanding of Biology

Coco Smith Salem, OR A phenotype is not a race. There is only one human race. What people are calling race, is actually ethnicity. That is a cultural binding construct. It is that diversity that makes the world an interesting place. Without it, none of us would be here.

My red hair does not = ME

Annabelle Peoples, Eugene, OR.

Relax, it is just a flag

Brock Townsend, Eugene, OR.

Wrong race to love NA child

Susan, Portland, OR. DNA vs love. DNA wins.

Defined by my character, not race.

Kim Hollins, Portland, OR. It’s all about who you are and not what you look like in my book. A person’s character can greatly affect one’s perception of an individual as well as racial groups they may be a part of. What you say and do contributes to racial stereotypes and adversity way beyond the […]

Black is the most beautiful skin

Jean-Luc LaCosse, Corvallis, OR.

I am a Irish white male

Elijah Hannigan, Eugene, OR. My family was one the first clans in Ireland the O’Hannegans

Was born on the wrong planet.

Sonoki Laursen Eugene, OR The University of Oregon

My race card is my racecar

Finn Hurtado, Eugene, OR. I am biracial, half Mexican and half white. I don’t have a racial group I identify with or feel proud to be a part of. However I do feel a sense of community with the local car scene. I own my dream car, it is my prize possession. Thus these six […]

Socially constructed term to hurt others

Jazzmyn Kanoelani Baisa, Tigard, OR.

I cannot be neutral anymore.

Trenton Bradshaw, Central Point, OR.

Narcissism allows for privilege in all

Liam Flynn, Corvallis, OR.

Hiding behind my white skin color

Marlee Chamberlain, Eugene, OR.

Black, he fixed it and me.

Winslow Parker Portland, OR Back story: She was from upstate New York, I from San Diego; both of us from snow-white neighborhoods. It was 1971. Grey-brown smoke on the the northern horizon still lingered in my mind; Watts burning. We moved into the thin white line on the eastern edge of the Grand Concourse young, […]

Race should not define me, right?

Ivy, Salem, OR. It’s sad, because I thought for the longest time that race doesn’t matter. At least in my household it doesn’t. I was brought up by white parents who taught me that our skin colors didn’t define us. Our family was a family no matter our racial differences. Yet, when I stepped outside […]

Not brown? Pass Go. Collect $200.

Sue Ann Higgens, Portland, OR. For me, White Privilege operates as unearned advantage, kind of like in the Monopoly game, where you get paid simply for showing up. I was pulled over by a police officer for the first time ever for speeding (which I do daily) the day after I turned 50. And I […]

I’m the majority, I am forgotten

Kevin Grumbles, Springfield, OR. I am a 30 year old white male, no one cares if I succeed or fail because there are thousands more just like me. My struggles are forgotten, no one cares about my demographic.

I apologize for being born black.

Alicia Nichols, Salem, OR.

Painfully White and Working On It

4 Comments

Maddie Cleaver, Salem, OR. Trying to undo some damage!

Silence doesn’t mean it isn’t there

Derek Lund, Salem, OR.

Miss Lillian’s casserole. Five years late.

Ellison Weist Portland, OR I grew up in the Deep South, the white child of parents who championed Civil Rights in the 1960s. Yet it’s this story from my elderly Portland, OR neighbor that speaks volumes to me about race and forgiveness.

Her parents never gave up hope!

Brianna Kintz Eugene, OR

Wish race conversations were more nuanced.

Krista Chronister Eugene, OR

How I look on the outside.

Jonathan Bach Eugene, OR

Base your Judgment on the inside.

Colby Finch, Eugene, OR. Im Colby Finch, 16 yrs old. I grew up in foster care, and in the system, I met a lot of people who were colored. I made a connection with another youth. His name was Devonte, and my foster parents at the time were uneasy about people of color. I brought […]

You: What’s your name? Me: Anxiety

Lorenzo, Salem, OR.

Actively unlearning racism – a lifelong pursuit

Calli, Portland, OR.

You’re not like a real Mexican.

Aaron Duran, Portland, OR. I’m of mixed heritage, being Mexican and Italian. However, I more closely identify with my Mexican heritage due to closeness of family and family history. Still, growing up in a small, farm and ranching based town, I found myself often downplaying my Mexican side. Even going so far, as a kid, […]

The grief cycle of being white.

Theresa Martinez, Ontario, OR. In my journey to understand who I am and what I stand for, I have gone through the entire cycle of anger, jealousy, embarrassment, and now I can say that I am confident in who I am and have found peace.

White male dominance prevents true democracy.

Arlo James, Corvallis, OR.

I am sorry for my ancestors

Krystal, Tillamook, OR. Half of my family is from Europe, the other half is from America–as in, Native Americans. When my great-grandfather passed away, they went through his possessions and found a KKK hood, and I bear that shame to this day. I am sorry for my ancestors and what they did to people based […]

Why is your name Pablo?

Pablo Chauvin, Portland, OR. My name is Pablo and I’M WHITE. I grew up in a small town in Southern Oregon on a 40 acre commune. My parents are college educated and my Dad was a philosophy major with a never ending thurst for knowledge. So why the name Pablo? Growing up in a small […]

But what about your blue eyes?

Dilyn Grasp, Boring, OR. I am a white woman from a small town in Oregon (look it up, it’s a real place). My boyfriend is a first generation American. His parents are from China and Taiwan. When we started dating two years ago (when I was 20 and old enough to make my own decisions), […]

Not white enough, not Asian enough

Athena Moag, Salem, OR.

I’m not Iranian, I’m Puerto Rican

6 Comments

Darilis, Portland, OR. I moved from Puerto Rico to Michigan and people never knew what I was. Some thought I was Black, many thought I was mixed Black/White, and others thought I was Samoan. I recall one day I was at a store and a gentleman asked me if I was from Iran. I smiled […]

My son racially ambiguous, fate unknown

Katherine McDowell Portland, OR

Am more comfortable with my own

Anonymous Portland, OR

Many white’s believe in King’s dream.

Donald Roddy, Garibaldi, OR.

Create Equal Opportunity To End Inequality

Sean Mailey, Portland, OR.

It all comes down to respect.

Haley Sprecher, Portland, OR. I have grown up in a diverse community and have been raised to respect everyone for who they are. Every single one of us has had different experiences which makes us individuals. Something has to change, the behavior of some people is unacceptable. A little bit of respect goes a long […]

Everything and nothing is about race

Philip, Portland, OR.

Belief Gap Not An Achievement Gap

Kelly Cutler, Portland, OR. Our beliefs play a powerful role in the discussion of race, especially in the world of education. In my view, the system of education suffers from a “believe gap” related to students of color, rather than students of coloring having an “achievement gap”. When are we going to unpack our believes […]

Me: a reflection of a reflection

TK Landázuri Eugene, OR

Three boys, three girls, my kids.

Diana Short, Bend, OR.

My privilege: not guilt, but Responsibility

Anonymous, Portland, OR. I use the Race Card project framework to update my racial autobiography occasionally, so it changes over time. Right now, I am struck by the urgency to unpack my White privilege and not waste time or energy on guilt. I didn’t make systemic racism but I know it exists to engineer some […]

Self-image shattered living in South.

Carol Salami-Goswick Eugene, OR I’m a white woman who was born, raised, and lived in CA until I was 54. I was in college during the 60’s and was sympathetic to the black folks struggling for equality in the South. In my 30’s I had a serious relationship with a black man. I worked in […]

We could learn much from ourselves.

Ellery Sills Portland, OR

White person, in a white place.

Connor York, Portland, OR. Experiencing life as a middle class white male in a largely white area can make it difficult to understand the complex issue of race and what it means in our society, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try.

Accurate racial history must be taught.

Heathyr, Klamath Falls, OR. If we really want to confront racism and eradicate it, we need to be taught an accurate history of this country’s racist practices. Racism wasn’t just the genocide of the Natives, slavery, or Jim Crow. It was redlining and eugenics and the discoveries of pseudo-science.

I choose to love all people

Jeana, Sweet Home, OR.

We are not all the same

Satoshi Kanazawa Portland, OR

Racism is real. Face it. Heal.

Julia Pichler, Salem, OR. Picture Source: http://turnlol.com/images/2012/10/touhou-flandre-scarlet-bad-apple-fresh-hd-wallpaper-400×250.jpg

Where will we wash colored clothes?

LaLana Martin Gold Beach, OR When I was 9 years old, our mixed-race family (Asian/Pacific Islander and German/French) was on vacation in the southeast. With six of us there was a lot of laundry. We stopped at a laundry mat and I hopped out of our camper to help Mom with the wash. A sign […]

Are we not all just Americans

Nate Handlin, Portland, OR. We need to end the labels, this only breeds division to us all. Instead of us vs. them, would it be nice to say this is our country, these are our issues we need to deal with, not theirs, not my people. but Americans. Was this not the reason we became […]

I used to hate being light-skinned

Jason Gist, Beaverton, OR. I grew up in public housing where it seemed like I was the lightest kid around. From an early age I knew that blacks had a color complex amongst themselves. Ideal beauty for a male ment being dark, female light. The further down you went in opposition to that ideal was […]

Witnessing people confusing anecdote with fact

Deborah Robinson, Los Angeles, CA. I grew up in profoundly white Eugene, Oregon, where I’d laugh at banners emblazoned, CELEBRATE DIVERSITY. “What, as long as it’s not here?” I’d wonder. Yet the whiteness of my hometown did not mean it was a racially hostile one. I nurtured no ill will for folks from different walks […]

In Hawaii, you’re haole or not.

Madge Walls, Wilsonville, OR. After a lifetime in Hawaii, I now live on Oregon. As much as I love Hawaii, I enjoy the novelty of being in the racial majority for the first time in my life.

I cannot fix this race problem

Wayne Larson, Lafayette, OR.

Something that means nothing and everything.

Jim Little, Florence, OR. Too corny?

My wife calls me ethnically flexible.

Paul, Portland, OR. I could talk about this all day. Race, ethnicity, and ancestry fascinate me. The question of who I am has been with me since I can remember. When I was little, we lived near the reservation in South Dakota, and everyone thought I was Native. My sister who is pale, blue eyed […]

Racial dispute, four white officers respond.

Laura Moog Portland, OR I witnessed two 11 or 12 year old boys, one white, one black, hurling racial epithets at each other in the park this week. Then their Moms got involved and things got physical. All of the police officers who responded to the scene were white and male. I have always held […]

White is not all I am

John Koch Gresham, OR

I struggle with appreciation and appropriation.

Alec Marchant Ashland, OR As a white male who finds much inspiration, pleasure and interest in cultures other than my own, I sometimes worry if I muddy the lines between appreciation and appropriation. Through my studying and relationships with these other cultures, I know I have been guilty of appropriation on at least one occasion. […]

Can a white male ever understand?

Tim Collins OR

Whites not allowed to discuss race

Anonymous Portland, OR

“I am chocolate Mama is ice-cream”

Naghmeh Moshtael Portland, OR These are my daughter’s words. We live in a world of different race, culture and heritage. My husband in African American, born in Seattle and raised in Compton, CA. I am originally from Iran, raised in Cameroon (Central Africa) and now living in the US. My daughter is adopted from Ethiopia. […]

The whitest brown girl I know.

Catherine Marden El Cerrito, CA My mother is from El Salvador. My father is from Kentucky. I grew up in rural Oregon. I didn’t know I was half-hispanic until I realized checking the hispanic box on college applications might help me get accepted. To this day I struggle with my Salvadoran ancestry. I am white. […]

We Are Diverse, But Very Similar

Tiffany Gresham, OR

We preached integration. We got segregation.

Ammiel W. Portland, OR

Integration ended my neighborhood’s block party.

Shoshana Hoose Portland, OR I grew up in an all-white neighborhood in Newington, Ct. My mother’s best friend, a Quaker, and her husband sold their home to an African-American family in 1966 as part of an organized effort to integrate the Hartford suburbs. My Dad, a lawyer and state legislator, handled the legal work. When […]

No, I don’t need a translator.

Kelly Eugene, OR Since we are in the states, why not assume first that I speak English?

Ambiguously different from everyone else. Stereotypes.

Jessica Winfrey Portland, OR I am biracial and bicultural and was educated for the first 6 years in a very diverse school on an air force base in North Dakota. After my parents divorced, my mom and I moved into the neighboring town, which was predominately white. I recall being warned ahead of time that […]

Let’s forget race; train and educate.

Magda Schay Camp Sherman, OR I am an immigrant to USA and because my parents were educated and saw to it that their children are educated we were able to be part of the whole society.

European American instead of “white” please.

Laura Lentz Lake Oswego, OR

Why are Americans obsessed with race?

Roger Ludeman Eugene, OR

Raised mixed, married mixed, had mixed.