What exactly did my parents expect?
Jillian Mosley, Berkeley, CA I am bi-racial, born in ’71. Are seriously wonder if they had any expectations about what my life would be like...
“Don’t act your color”? We’re radiant!
Avis Danette Matthews, Glenarden, MD “Don’t act your color.” I recall hearing that phrase a lot while growing up in the ’60s in Prince George’s...
“Talaga! I thought you were Pilipino!”
JSRL Padre, Glendale, CA. I am Filipino. Born in Quezon. Imported to East LA. Learned to walk and talk in Los Feliz. Never heard Tagalog...
You don’t live with your parents?
Courissa, Bath, NY I get a lot of questions when people hear I live with my aunt and uncle, because I call them “mom” and...
White female, eager learner, poor listener
Terry Tringali Killoran, Sterling Heights, MI I had black friends growing up. I thought I did. We played together at school and after school at...
Ashamed by parent’s accents. I’m American!
Caroline Correia, Edina, MN Growing up 60 miles away from New York City in the 70s and 80s may as well have been 600 miles....
Not Chinese. Don’t really fit anywhere.
Brandon Milardo, Somerville, MA. Me with my parents at graduation in 2012.
Confucius say study hard respect parents
Alex Liu, Columbia, MD. Culture, inmigration patterns, history – it’s all very nuanced. Confucius did boil down the success formula though…what do ya’ll think?
No my parents don’t pay school
Cayleigh Malone, Durham, NH Often times people think that because I am a middle class white woman, my parents are paying for my education. While...
Thankful for parents who hated racism
Stephen Still, Birmingham, MI I’m from a small town in the state of Washington, didn’t see a black person until I was 10 years old,...
Seasonal confusion; your problem not mine
Courters, Bay Area, CA. I grew up in a latin home, of a first generation born parent. By DNA–I am native-american sicilian. I was raised...
We are all in this together
Christopher Davies, Bridgewater, MA. For the hogwash between people with different skin types to lessen it is up to parents to teach their children that...
Did I come from another planet?
Selamawit Hurisa, Richmond, VA In my child’s school, the majority of parents are white. I am a black immigrant and I am confronted with many...
Too brown for the fancy restaurant.
Jane Medina Orange, CA My daughter Annie had just turned 21. So she, my husband, my son, and I put on our cocktail party clothes...
My parents think you are white.
Jennie, Los Angeles, CA. I am 4th generation Chicana. My mother is Mexican-American and my father is White. One of the saddest things is to...
