Don’t speak to me in Arabic.
Christine Abraham
Santa Monica, CA
My mom is ashamed to speak Arabic in public in this post-9/11 world.
Yes there are Christians in Egypt
Christine Abraham
Santa Monica, CA
Ask me where I’m from – born and raised in Santa Monica. My ethnicity? Egyptian…but I feel the need to identify as Christian. Coptic Orthodox Christian. Especially in this post-9/11 world. Sad…
Latina I am I am me
Carmen Angelica Zapata,
Santa Monica, CA.
I lived in Spain for a year after growing up in the United States and for the first time I was not other. No one yelled “speak English!” no one asked if I was legal, or if I was going to be deported. It was the first time in my life where I looked and spoke like everyone else, I was freed from my identity and was for the first time allowed to just see me.
“Usually white babies aren’t so cute”
Melinda Quintero,
Santa Monica, CA.
Said to me and my 5 month old daughter while in line at a store. Woman was in her twenties.
Armenian, Tagalog, Ilocano, no. Wolof, yes.
Anoosh Jorjorian,
Santa Monica, CA.
My paternal grandmother came to the U.S. to escape the Armenian Genocide. My maternal grandfather jumped aboard a U.S. submarine during World War II because the Japanese Army put a price on his head. When they raised my parents, they wanted more than anything for their children to assimilate into America and so did not teach their children their first languages. I grew up a racial mystery, looking neither Armenian nor Filipina, but certainly not “American” either. In 2000, I moved to Senegal in West Africa. Whereas in the U.S. I am a woman of color, in Senegal I became a “white” woman. I understand the complexities and the arbitrary construction of race because I live it in my body every day. I blog more about this as Araña Mama.
Lakota(1), White(2). Freedom of Religion Act 1978
Kyle McGaa
Santa Monica, CA
Father’s Lakota Sioux (from Pine Ridge Indian Reservation) and mother’s blond-hair blue-eyed WASP. My father fought for so much in this country (Korea, Vietnam, American Indian Movement, Freedom of Religion Act 1978) and I’m astonished every single day how little people know about American Indians and the land they now call their home (very impolite refugees if you don’t inquire with the hosts). You may be a US citizen, but your ethnicity is not American. You can have your own identity, as long as that identity does not rob others of theirs (democracy like many similar thoughts are often from the Iroquois- not the “founding” fathers). Too many parts of US history glossed over the American Indian chapters to list here, and while I’m happy to see efforts like this help with diversity, I’m still incredibly put off by diversity projects (especially based in the Americas) that even at the least fail to pay lip service to even mention Native Americans (let alone doing something concrete). There is no other Mother land- this is it for us, so if you speak on diversity, American Indians should be among the first you mention (or make sure you don’t fail to mention).
We are not a nation of immigrants. Native Americans are still here. Try reading one American Indian author if you haven’t yet. I think it’s important to see how diverse people and institutions fare by their treatment of the minority minority- otherwise it feels like they just wannabe be “white” and exclude other minorities “behind them” (too many comparisons with white people, not enough comparisons with Indians- yes, Indians say Indians- get over it and don’t be distracted). Indians are special because this land is theirs, and most people are still unbelievably ignorant of so much. Happy for the strides so far, but still a long ways to go. Did you know there is a Bureau of Indian Affairs with a non-Indian appointed by congress that still regulates affairs with Indians in the Department of Interior (which manages livestock for example)? Did you know American Indian lands would be the 4th largest state, and 36th in population if federally recognized tribes were subtracted from the states (yet they do not have representatives or senator-like powers within the nation where they have the high military enlistment ratio of any race)?
Did you know that congress still has de facto control of American Indian Reservations with the ability to permit oil and mineral rights to industry which it often does at an alarming rate (one of many major issues Indians live with)? The original practicing people of democracy (lookup the original meaning of the Iroquois word “Caucus” for example) still do not have equal property and legal protections as others, and it is a sham to call this place a democracy. I hope you see that and begin treating the minority minority like you wish to be treated, because in the end, the US government still regulates affairs with Indians despite treaties (which have the same federal law of land de jure, but as we all know is simply not the case as every treaty has been broken). If you don’t look behind you after you climb aboard the enfranchised train, then you’re just a blue man no matter what your race is.
Can’t forget; brownness makes me different.
Ananya Kepper
Santa Monica, CA
I walk around feeling like myself, not like an Indian woman in a sea of white people. It still catches me off guard when people ask “Where are you from?” “Santa Monica,” I reply, every time. “I was born in St. John’s Hospital on Santa Monica Blvd.”
I make them clarify what they mean every time.
Bi-Racial: I’m not “Mexican” enough?
Monica
Santa Monica, CA
I grew up in Texas in a small town where the population is roughly half Mexican and half white (German, Polish, Irish, etc.). I myself am half Mexican and half Irish. Funny enough, a lot of my friends are also bi-racial. When I moved away from Texas, I was shocked by how many people thought I was white and never even considered that I was Mexican. I am curvy, dark brown thick hair, dark eyes but very light skinned.
So when I would correct people, they would usually reply with “You don’t act Latino.. You act white.” This puzzled me because I never knew you could act a certain race. Aren’t we all different? I am not the stereotype of a Latina girl who gets pregnant early, has an accent, has a lot of sass (although I have to admit, I am a bit sassy), and wears overly tacky clothing. But funny.. I know a lot of Latino girls who aren’t like that easier. I find it completely rude and ignorant because what people are REALLY saying is that you sound educated. It’s the same for someone is told they aren’t “black” enough. To say that only white people can sound articulate is unfair.
Another thing I always get is that I am not Mexican enough because I don’t speak Spanish very well. Yes, I am ashamed to say that my Spanish has never been good. My mother never spoke to me in Spanish and none of my family speaks Spanish to each other on a regular basis… It has only been now in my 20s that I have made more of an effort to learn Spanish so that I can practice with my grandmother. The funny thing people don’t seem to know is that just because you are Mexican, doesn’t mean that you’re family just crossed the border a generation ago. My family was actually living in what is now known as Texas for generations (4 generations that I can count including my Native American grandmother). So sadly, as generations go on, some things are lost. My hope is that I can learn Spanish and hopefully pass it down to my children so it’s not completely forgotten. But also important is letting people know that just because you may not fit a stereotype, doesn’t mean you aren’t who you are. I can never change the fact that I am Mexican and Irish and I never would. I act how I act because I am who I am. Would you ever chastise a person who was say for example German-American but doesn’t speak German? No, most people wouldn’t. Their excuse is that their family came to America generations ago.. so why is it not the same for minorities? America is a melting pot.. and it’s wonderful to see people of all combinations come together!
I want to know how other people see this “acting your race” idea? Agree, disagree.. what has your experience been?
