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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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 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,...
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...
