passport Archives - The Race Card Project

White husband doesn’t need passport. Safe.

September 21, 2025 husband, passport, safe, white

Anonymous,
USA

One day I was looking for my passport because I wanted to make sure I had it with me when going out. As a Hispanic woman, I want to feel safe to go out of the house. That same day my husband, who is white, showed me his new hat and asked me how he looked. I responded with, “you look like someone who doesn’t need to carry his passport to leave the house.” This comment started an interesting conversation about our concerns with how “safe” we feel in our own country. I have lived in the states all my life and still feel like at any moment I may be taken away or told I don’t belong. Meanwhile my husband, doesn’t have to think twice.

They only see the Asian half.

March 12, 2024March 12, 2024 Asian, asian-american, Half, heritage, irish, italian, Japanese, Katelyn Tsukada, MA, Northampton, passport, See

Katelyn Tsukada
Northampton, MA

My mother is of Irish and Italian heritage; my father of Japanese descent. Both of my parents were born in the United States as were their parents before them. Both consider themselves to be American as documented by their passports, drivers licenses and birth certificates. My mother and father speak English has their first and only language. And the American child they created and raised together? Well she constantly gets asked where she is “really” from because New York State is never the correct answer.

I learned to identify myself as Asian-American because that is how others categorized me. My classmates assumed Asian was the reason I got good grades. Asian was the reason I liked seafood and tanned like an islander. And Asian was the reason my grandmother was made to live in an internment camp directly following the attack on Pearl Harbor. My history. Asian history. The rich Irish-Italian culture of my mother’s family never stood a chance.

“You’re white-passing, you aren’t discriminated against!”

September 12, 2022September 12, 2022 9/11, CA, Costco, disturbance, intention, Iranian, Irvine, lighter skin, passing, passport, Sanaz Chloe Homayounieh, security, TSA, white-passing

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 white!”

Traveling has always been an interesting experience for my family. Growing up, being stopped at airport security was not unusual. Whether they checked our hair, ankles, or even our bare wrists, there was always something that caused airport security to pat us down. So much for “random security checks”, right? Some trips result in quicker checks, while others lead to quite uncomfortable situations. Even now, my mother and I in particular are stopped every time we pass security. Every 9/11, I await the never-ending jokes about how Islam is the motivation behind the attack. How my people are terrorists. How every Middle Eastern was directly involved in the attack. Even years after 9/11, the comments do not stop. It also did not help that my younger brother was born on the same day, his teachers end up thinking he is trying to cause a disturbance in class when announcing his birthday. A few years ago, my family and I went to take passport photos at Costco so we could visit Iran. It was the first instance where I had to wear a hijab in public since Iranian documents required us to wear one for any legal photos. I had never been stared at so much in my entire life. My family was met with weird looks, some even glaring at us. The walk to the photo center felt like it lasted an eternity. As a child, I never expected I would experience racism in any way, shape, or form. This was America, after all: my family traveled here to start a new life. Unfortunately, racist remarks towards my people are tossed around like their words have no meaning. I will not deny the privilege that my lighter skin holds. However, I will not deny the fact that my family has been direct targets of racism and prejudiced intentions.

Today I applied for a passport

February 4, 2021February 22, 2021 black men, economics, education, fear, gun possession, housing, Larry Smith, MO, one race the human race, passport, St. Louis, Vietnam Veteran, white fear

Larry Smith (Vietnam Veteran),
Saint Louis, MO.

I look around and see white fear of black people (especially black men) on the rise as reflected in the rise of white gun possession. I also see things staying the same or getting worse for black people in terms of economics, education and housing. I would just like to live out my remaining years in an environment where I feel like a human being. 66 years of this crap is enough for me!!

Got an accent. In five languages

November 2, 2020November 2, 2020 Aberdeen, accent, African, Cameroon, country, different, immigrant, Ioana Hojda, Itlay, language, mixed, mother, passport, Romania, SD

Ioana Hojda,
Aberdeen, SD

Immigrant, white wife of an African immigrant and mother to mixed boys. We have moved to the US from Italy, our first country of immigration. When we travel abroad we have three different country passports for 5 people: Romania, Cameroon and the US.

“Generic Brown” is my passport everywhere.

July 30, 2019July 30, 2019 brown, check the box, Cherokee, Creek, cultural heritage, everywhere, Generic, Gil L. Pettigrew, ID, identify, mestizo, MS, multi, Native, passport, The Federated States of Micronesia, tribal

Gil L. Pettigrew, MS,
The Federated States of Micronesia.

I have a very strong, very proud cultural heritage; I’m a North American Mestizo, 50% Native American (Creek and Cherokee; my tribal enrollment/citizenship is with the Echota Band of the Eastern Cherokee Nation) & 50% a mashup of Scots-Latin-AfricanAmerican-Welsh-french.

I self ID as Native American, because I am, culturally, legal, socially, that’s the most marginalized part of my heritage…& at 2% of the America population we need the numbers &/or multiethnic-mixed race.

Appearance-wise, I’m taken for everything from Native Hawiian to Middle-Eastern, though usually I’m seen as puro Latino.
Rather than getting annoyed by that, as some multiethnics are, I embrace being, in Hollywood speak “generic brown”; it means I have a global-face, a phenotypic in with folks from lots of different backgrounds. Its been especially useful living in my diverse, polyglot home-city of Miami, FL, & traveling in Latin America, the Caribbean (I, for example don’t often pay “Gringo Prices”), & I’ve found it an advantage since taking a position as the natural science instructor at The College of Micronesia’s Kosrae Campus, on the island of Kosrae, in The Federated States of Micronesia…I find folks a bit more open, a bit more upfront with me than I’ve observed they are with many more obvious Westerners, since they frequently tell me they initially assumed I was from one of the neighboring islands.

Because I’m dreaded, I’m categorically placed…

November 11, 2016November 11, 2016 Black woman, categorize, define, dread, Family, GA, hair, Hippie, islander, Morrow, passport, Valaire L. Moore, weed

Valaire L. Moore,
Morrow, GA.

I am a black woman with locks. From white people I am seen as an Islander and from blacks I am seen as a weed smoker…from all I have been labeled Rastafarian, Hippie and basically everything, but ME…the image people have of me clouds the actual vision of ME…they see everything but the struggling college student, underrated overachiever, devoted mother, committed daughter who gave up her way of life for the sake of her family, or the insecure girlfriend whose so afraid of being hurt that she won’t let go…so some days my locks look rough and other days I’ve just left the salon…none of those days did I smoke weed, left the country or even obtain a passport to do so…I shouldn’t question who I am based on your assumptions of me…who am I to second guess? Who are you to assume? All you had to do was ask…I DEFINE ME…

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