Mom’s people owned slaves. Dad’s were.
Andrew Dunn,
Meridian, ID.
My 4x great grandfather was born a slave in Virginia. My 3x great grandfather owned slaves in Missouri.
My African Curls, Scottish White Skin
William (Bill) Roderick Wilson,
United Kingdom
Where did I get my curls ?
Growing up in Scotland in the 1950’s I was one of 5 kids in a happy rural home in Perthshire. My father was Dr William Wilson, a hospital Consultant in Perth, my mother a nurse. His father John had been a Minister in the Church of Scotland, a complete shift from what was socially expected as all previous generations had been coal miners. This was only possible because his mother, the formidable Euphemia McCulloch, determined that none of her 7 sons would go down the pits. She put them all through university with her sewing machine. My grandfather said he never went to sleep other than to the sound of his mother’s sewing machine.
We would sometimes speculate where the curls that were scattered through our family might have come from. My father’s curls were even tighter than mine. At school I was called Willy the Wog which embarrassed me as I didn’t know what a Wog was.
I had no interest in my family history, and it was only when my cousin (another John) began researching it that he came up with the fact that one ancestor, James Wilson had emigrated to the US in 1766, fought against the British in the War of Independence and signed the Declaration of Independence, becoming one of the founding fathers of the US.
John’s research also gave him an interesting idea. He was able to trace the mining Wilson’s all the way back to 1489 (several called William) because until 1833 miners in Scotland were the property of the mine owners. That made them valuable serfs or slaves, so good records were kept. If a mine owner did not own enough miners he would sometimes import slaves from Africa – so John asked ‘might this have been where our family curls came from?’
I took a DNA test and was astonished and delighted to find that my ethnicity estimate included 3.4% African (2.4% North Africa and 1.1% Nigerian). Both these are slave areas and this would be consistent with ancestors being brought across in the early 1700s.
Suddenly as a proud Scot I have even more to be proud of and if I am honest I am still trying to get my head around all that it means. However, I am glad to have the chance to give my story to The Race Card Project.
Bill Wilson June 2021
Perth, Scotland
White People Tears Are My Lipton’s
Alex Miller,
New York, NY.
White people. Some of you, not all… please notice that I said SOME…some of you have been wondering, for a while, “Why am I always called a racist?” “Why do blacks blame me for slavery? My family never owned slaves!” And that sort of gives me pause because: What, did you think you were special? Everyone in America gets it! Do you think you have it worse than anybody else who gets called names or epithets? Cuz I got news for ya Bub… nuh uh.
So, maybe your family didn’t bring Native Americans Small Pox blankets mixed with a side of Christianity. Your ancestors may not have owned slaves, castrated, and lynched them. Or maybe you don’t know anyone who made the Chinese pan for gold or dig trenches until they died on the spot. You probably don’t know anyone who turned away Jewish refugees escaping the Holocaust…or anyone who flooded society with leaflets of caricatures accusing them of being Nazi spies. You may not have even been alive when Reefer Madness instilled in the minds of millions an image of a raving mad Mexican “wetback”. I don’t think you ever interned any Japanese Americans during WWII because “they might be working for the enemy” in barely functioning shacks, while their businesses went into disrepair and got looted. You may, or may not, have made crazy ass Apu from the Simpsons-inspired jokes, with an Apu-inspired voice, to trash and degrade Indians, Sri Lankans, or Bengalis. And I pray to everything you never were a member of the current group of Islamaphobes obsessed with how “terrible every Muslim is” and physically attacked Arabs (who may not have actually been Muslim) just because of how they look and your preconceived notions of how much of a threat they might be.
Relax, my friends, dry your eyes. The Irish, the Italians, Poles, Hungarians, Croatians, Germans, Scandinavians, even Brits, have all been victims of hate and bias in this nation. I think a major difference, in this country, is that those people of European origin, eventually get fully indoctrinated into society purely off the basis of how closely they resemble the “purebred American, the All-American.” But this is how it works.
You may not have done anything, been involved with any racist faction on the planet, hurt a single soul. You may have had immigrant ancestors from European nations who got treated like utter dog shi*; but each time I get online and get called “cotton picker” “n*****” any variation of primate, or get told I’m a part of the “13%” (despite the fact I’ve never committed a crime in my life, let alone a violent one), by a different person, I don’t feel sorry for myself. It just tells me there’s plenty more where that came from. Race is as important now as it’s ever been. And if all you can do is point fingers at others for not making America a better place, if you’re not actively getting out there and helping to change America, then it’s problematic to expect people with less of a resemblance to those who caused so many problems to minority communities, to do more. Stop crying. Start changing.
So white, you would never guess.
Francis,
Livingston, MT
If the civil war had gone differently I could have been born a slave. The children of slaves are almost always slaves. My great great grandmother was native and many thousands of natives were captured and sold into slavery.
To be young, gifted, and black.
Maynard Hearns,
Santa Cruz, CA.
The black story in america is very simple: we were slaves, and then we weren’t. We were never given freedom, or equality. When we begged for it, we were lied to. When we Marched on Washington and pleaded our case, we were shot in the back of the head. When we sang for it, we were passed over it for those who could sing it whiter. When we wrote about it, we were left out of the american canon. When we exhibited moral character and “married up” we were called rapists. When we created shows that displayed to our intelligence without compromising our reality, we were sneered out in editorials.
When we cultivate our own beauty, we are ignored, or worse: “exoticized.”
When we dare to like ourselves and not be subservient out of reflex, we are shot in the walmarts, in the streets, and our killers are rewarded with a paid vacation.
Success for blacks in america comes with punishment. Nothing is more dangerous than to be unapologetically self-loving, yet able to go toe-to-toe with your white peers. They have magazines telling them they’re beautiful, stories saying they’re courageous, and smart, and funny, and thoughtful. They have a culture that tells them that they are, in a word, perfectible. To be black in america is to be faced with the notion that you are naturally imperfect.
And to succeed while black in america is to succeed in spite of your society, in spite of your nation–not because of it.
Pale faced; I must be guilty
Katherine
Atlanta, GA
I am not responsible for the actions of people one hundred and fifty years ago who enslaved an entire race. The institution of slavery is a horrific part of American History, and it was a heinous crime against African Americans. Because of that institution, there is racism alive and around still and it makes me absolutely furious. But it is not my fault. When broad statements like “white people are all racists” are made, I get a bit frustrated because it’s just not true. I do not contribute to the problem [of racism] and believe that I am a good enough person to stand up if I were to witness a hate crime against any race in front of me. Just because I am white does not mean that I am prejudiced or racist. I want to help in any way I am able; I want to change people’s minds about their prejudices towards people who are different from them.
When will we see the light
Jeannie Coicou
New York City, NY
Brooklyn
The story behind my six words is that in this world there are forces that benefit by keeping the masses asleep. Realizing that we’re all a human family. Separation and devision is merely a tactic and as long as we don’t see each other as brothers and sisters. We’re all slaves.
I raised my children color blind
Annette,
Houston, TX, .
I am white and I am weary of being included in a white subset of American original sin. The only original sin I have is biblical. I do not expect to be patted on the back for raising my children to be color blind. My children are 16 and 18. They truly do not see differences in the color of one’s skin. Racism is taught. They have not learned it our diverse city.
Lastly, my ancestors were Irish indentured servants. We did not own slaves. Many of us had not immigrate. Racism is multi level.
WASP, Northener, no slaves, guilty?
Barbara Kuether,
Dallas, TX.
Discussions of race seem to extrapolate the South to the entire country. History is more complicated.
My Ancestors NEVER owned any slaves.
Anthony Turoczy, Manassas, VA. My Great-grandparents came to America in 1904 from Hungary. They worked in the mines during the day and went to school at night to learn how to speak, read and write English. Don’t blame others for your bad choices; work hard and make something of yourself.
This sideboard was built by slaves
Peter Seay,
St. Louis, MO.
After my grandparents past away, we inherited a sideboard which promptly found its home in our dining room. As it came into our home, it was shared with me that the piece was built in the early 19th century by slaves in Mississippi. The sideboard was my first real knowledge that my ancestors were slave owners. Despite its ornate woodwork and beautiful craftsmanship, it stood as a gravestone in my childhood home, constantly reminding me of my grandparents death, the lives my ancestors came from, and the deep pains caused by my last name. It is to be left to me next. I do not look forward to this day nor the circumstances that will bring it again into my home.
We were people, before the chains!
Gwen Montgomery,
Dallas, TX.
This country took a race of people and turned them into second class citizen. Many of our problems are a result of the oppression we went thru for hundreds of years. I’m afraid that the results of those actions may never be changed. We have been fighting every since we got here. Even a Black President can’t get respect.
I unpack my white privilege daily.
Sarah Walton
Nashville, TN
I descend directly from southern slave-owners and, more recently, racists. My family’s wealth is built on the backs of over a thousand slaves.
It is my karmic duty to be a social-justice & race-relations activist; to call for reparations; to march; to force as many friends & family to look through “Without Sanctuary” as possible; to feel happier inside whenever a black person is hostile or self-protective in my company instead of acting deferential – “yes! yes! BE ANGRY towards me!”, i think; to call for FEDERAL funding of public education; to own my own inevitable bias & prejudice; to speak about the elephant in the room… I struggle with my own intense hatred towards white people and white culture… and i am almost always alone in all of this, even among my most progressive, “enlightened” white friends.
I wish our country could learn from South Africa and begin a process of Truth & Reconciliation… we will be choked and paralyzed by (very appropriate) white guilt until such occurs.
Thank you, Michele.
Blacks are more racist than whites
Anonymous,
Jackson, MS.
Dissatisfied with black racism. But we never want to talk about it, and when blacks are tyrannically racist against white people, we just act like it’s no big deal. Black people today were not slaves, and no one I repeat NO ONE is stopping them from succeeding except themselves…but they want to talk it out on white people and claim that we’re all racist. I can find thousands of white folks near my house who are not racist at all, but I have NEVER meat a black person who did not harbor racial hate for white people. Get real, America. Blacks are the problem.
Race conversation is hard; do it
R.E.A.L. Talk,
High Tech Middle Media Arts,
7th Grade Trailblazer
Growing up I never encountered racism. I use to think everyone had the privilege to do anything they like such as going to the same restaurant or going to the movies. What I know now is that is wasn’t like that. Our history has shown that we have segregated people based their color of skin. Yes, it has gotten better but we can still improve. We can do this by if you see someone being racist or being mean tell them stop and tell why it is so bad to be racist.
Many people have died through racism in our world.
Race is a fake thing. It is not real. People just made you think that is is real. There is one race and it is human. According to the Gilder Lehram Institute of American History, “10.5 million slaves die in the world. From about 1526 to 1867, 12.5 million slaves had been shipped from Africa, and 10.7 million had arrived in American. The decade 1821 to 1830 still saw over 80,000 people a year leaving Africa in slave ships.The average cost of a slave in America in 1850 was about $400,about $12,000 in today’s money. Although slavery is no longer legal anywhere in the world, human trafficking remains an international problem and an estimated 25-40 million people are living in illegal slavery today.” Race was a man-made idea to separate blacks and whites and throughout history, so many people have died through racism in our world. Race is a fake thing that is not real.
Black Is Just An Insecure Label
R.E.A.L. Talk,
High Tech Middle Media Arts,
7th Grade Trailblazer
To me race is just a made up way to put people in groups, based on the way they look. When did that start to matter? Stereotypes, Racism, Segregation, Slaves, and Wars. Stereotypes are a big part of race and racism. The following are the most common stereotypes for Black people. Blacks` are know to not know how to swim. Blacks are from the ghetto. Blacks all have afros or not done hair. All Black Women are sassy, angry, and loud. Black dudes are super violent by nature. Black people need White people to save them.
It really hurts to think people don’t know the truth about who I really am. Stereotypes really hurt people, I have experience with it many times, I get very hurt thinking that’s what people think about me. Just look at the Doll test. I think that people never really learned the truth about race. In class we busted the myth of race. RACE IS FAKE.
Race is Nothing to Change our Nation
Race is not real. Race is the classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, ancestry, genetics and lifestyle. Well that’s what people used to think. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) “All humans belong to the same species and that ‘race’ is not a biological reality but a myth.” When the European settlers/explorers came to america they saw people who didn’t look like the others. I bet you’re thinking well race came first. The settlers decided they were more superior which created racism and then race afterward. Think of it as if you were looking at an ants and you naturally squish the ants most people do. There is no way to tell a person’s “race”, not by skin color hair color or eye color. Race is not Real. Still don’t think so do some research, look it up. Many people would agree with me.
I am not white, or caucasian!
Heather Sanchez,
Upper Lake, CA.
As the world gets more politically correct, I have turned to study my own roots, as a ‘white’ person. What I have found has debunked many of the world’s stereotypes for white or caucasian people. This makes me proud. Is that wrong? I find great pride in the troubles and suffering of my own people, and in their triumphs. No slave owners. No royal blood. Just hard working immigrants who hit the east, and continued west to the Pacific. Mechanics, soldiers, servants, pioneers, cooks. Humble origins. Not Nazi’s either. My German grandfather left prior to WWII to go to Argentina. Ordinary, right? And I’m not Caucasian. Not at all. English, German, Danish yes. Go back further, and you find the European tribes.
The Danes conquered the Brits, the Saxons conquered the Danes, and the Germanic tribes? Who can remember it all.
All I know is to say I am white is no more fair than to say a Native American is Indian. It takes away our rich history as people. It takes away our culture. All white is not the same. Is French language and culture the same as Swedish? Far from it. Yet they are all considered ‘white’. White is a color, not a race. To my children I give the gift of knowing really, truly, who they are. From their Mexican ancestors, to their European ones.
White Privilege makes me very bitter
Jessica McMurtry,
Collins, GA.
I am white, yes, but it makes me very bitter when other white people refuse to see how being another “race” could affect their life. Empathy is not the same as not being prideful of your heritage. My ancestors were Irish, Scottish, and Native American- and I am supremely proud of that… but I am quite aware my blue eyes and pale skin can be advantageous in certain situations and places, especially here in the Deep South. The racism makes me cringe. Sitting in history class at GSU, listening to the Professor talk about slavery with such a flippant attitude made me want to dig a hole and hide under my seat. What slaves endured makes my blood boil.
I would like to see “race” eradicated one day. My daughter is my hope, my anchor. Her innocence and complete lack of ‘seeing’ color makes my heart swell. Racism is taught- end of story.
