penny Archives - The Race Card Project

Don’t glance at coins on sidewalks.

April 11, 2023April 11, 2023 Ann Arbor, classmate, coins, Jew, Jill Epstein, MI, penny, stereotype, Understanding Race Project, University of Michigan

Jill Epstein
Ann Arbor, MI
Understanding Race Project- University of Michigan

At a family gathering years ago, a relative of mine inspired me. He told me that each time he came across a penny on the sidewalk that was heads-down, he would flip it over to bring the next pedestrian good luck. The next week on a school field trip, I bent down to do the same, and was met with a snide comment from a classmate insinuating that my Jewish ethnicity prompted me to reach for the penny. To this day, I avoid coins that I see on the sidewalk.

Jew Test: Pick Up That Penny

January 24, 2022January 24, 2022 Jew, Jewish, penny, stereotypes, USA, Victoria

Victoria
USA

I don’t know if this fits on the site, (which I love by the way), because Judaism is a religion and not a race. But I am sick and tired of being judged by my Jewishness and comments like “you don’t have a Jewish nose” or “kinky Jew-fro” and “if someone picks up the penny I dropped, it’s a Jew”. We all need to learn to stop these disgusting stereotypes and be more tolerant of one another.

Ashamed of being mostly white. Sadly.

August 26, 2019August 26, 2019 African, applications, category, DE, descent, Everytown, ghetto, hear, impure, irish, Jew, MO, other, penny, People, rainbow, survey

De,
Everytown, MO.

I chose a picture of a rainbow because I think it fits the subject of my card. I am mostly of Caucasisan (Irish) descent. I am also of Jew, African, and Native American descent. I look white. Recently I have been made to feel ashamed of my white heritage, and even been afraid to speak out about racism or any type of comparison. When I informed people who ganged up on me that I was not just white, I was called a liar because I “look too white”. Doesn’t that go back to the “I’ll decide if I’m black enough” comment? I have experienced so much hatred from people of other races just because I look white. I know what it feels like to be hated for the color of your skin. I know what it feels like to be rejected because you are descendant from a race that other white people consider to be “impure” too. I hear about this white privilege but I grew up in the ghetto’s with all the other mixed race kids, poor as heck, and I don’t know no white privilege. I had to struggle and work my butt off for every penny that I made and I’m STILL struggling. I don’t put white on the race portion of the job applications and surveys. I put “other” cause there is no category for me. I have very few friends and am not widely accepted no matter what race I attempt to relate to. It is so frustrating. WHEN are we going to just drop the race crap and just decide to be PEOPLE? Is there no place for us mixed people?? I’m human too.

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