A Cajun Girl in her Kilt
Michelle Blanchard Ardillo, Rockville, MD. A Cajun girl in her kilt, that’s me. My dad was born and raised in southeast Louisiana, as was I,...
Si Senor! I am US citizen
Heidy Avila Murillo, Baltimore, MD. My marriage is biracial, I am Hispanic and my husband is a Caucasian born in Maryland. This year after obtaining...
Daughters of Muslim father are American.
Suzie Husami, San Diego, CA. My mother and father met in college in upstate New York – he, a Lebanese -Muslim-Republican named Muhammad and she,...
You don’t look like your race
Daniel Atoui, Mission Viejo, CA a lot of the times I mention anything to do with privilege or my upbringing people always just tell me...
Always wondered why we moved so much.
Marcia Lee, Savannah, GA When we were growing up we moved a lot, never really met very many relatives on dad’s side. Our widowed granny,...
Brown girl rejected with red blood
Anonymous, USA. Grew up as the only little brown girl in class, always having to explain why my hair grew up to the skies when...
The Art and Racket of Passing
Raven Cincinnati, OH In parts of Eastern North Carolina the lines between black, bi-racial and Native American is blurry and sometimes nonexistent. I went to...
“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...
“You’re white-passing, you aren’t discriminated against!”
Sanaz Chloe Homayounieh, Irvine, CA It’s a common joke among Iranians: “They used to classify us as Caucasian, but once 9/11 happened, now we aren’t...
Forcing diversity is what causes neo-segregation.
Ted Willis, Jr. Cary, NC As a teacher, I have seen how, with each passing generation, race is becoming less of an issue with my...
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...
Kids’ mother tongue isn’t their mother’s
Elise DuBord, Cedar Falls, IA. Growing up in the Midwest, I started studying Spanish as a second language in high school, fascinated with learning about...
I bet you darken in sun.
Olivia Devereux, Silver Spring, MD I’m white. Light skinned white. Black people think I’m passing. I was raised by a Black woman and come across...
I know that I’m white passing.
Anonymous, Burleson, TX My mom is white and my father is Hispanic, so I am mixed. I am told that I’m White-passing a lot and...
So many racists look like me
Robert Goffeney, Pittsburgh, PA At first, I thought it would be difficult to come up with six words to encapsulate my experience of race as...
Never Been Asked: “What Are You?”
Ella Harris, Columbia, MD I always felt disconnected from my African American identity. With my blonde hair, light green eyes, and fair skin, the world...
White but not proud of privilege
Harley Guyton, Waleska, GA Being a white passing Arab has its benefits. To others, I am seen as privileged. That is something I am not...
White, but Arab at the airport.
Michael Habib. I am half Italian and half Arab (Lebanese & Syrian), and am very white-passing. I grew up in a conservative, white homogeneous suburb...
