Recovering Southern Privileged White Girl
Tiffany, Indianapolis, IN. I was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. But I grew up in the middle class suburbs. My schools were overwhelmingly white....
In a hole. Can’t climb out.
Malaika, Suitland, MD. In 2014 I decided to move “down South” because I wanted to escape the higher cost of living (and the crazy, global-warming-induced...
Relief, family pride, and then hope
Joy Los Angeles, CA Looking into my family history, at first I found relief at finding no record of slave ownership, even among ancestors in...
My Aunt won’t talk to me…
Rachel, MD. …because a past boyfriend of mine was of a different race then mine. I was lucky to grow up in such a diverse...
“Black” enough for slavery, still “White”
James Cannon, Sacramento, CA. I’m forbidden from appreciating my African English grandmothers experiences and how they contributed to my outlook on life, or sharing this...
White skinned but not white brained
Karen Charlotte, Montpelier, VA. I’m a native Mid-Westerner who has lived in the South about 90% of my life. I try my best to learn...
I won’t apologize for my ancestors
Anonymous, IL. Life is hard enough for everybody without guilting everybody for transgressions they had nothing to do with. My ancestors fought for the South,...
The Civil War Was About Slavery
Tim Fall, Davis, CA. There are still people – in the North and the South – who will tell you the Civil War was fought...
White Southerner Does Not Equate Racist
Shelly Spivey, Taylors, SC. My northern friends assume that because I was born and raised in the south that I am a racist. I’m not....
Northern Mother Southern Father meet middle
Sandra Hart, Brookeland, TX. This is an amazing thing to do. Growing up in the South in a white household with a black cleaning lady...
I don’t hear any banjo music here.
Kim Conner, Rutherfordton, NC. I always have to defend myself when people learn I am from the South. I’m a 42 year old white woman,...
Self-image shattered living in South.
Carol Salami-Goswick Eugene, OR I’m a white woman who was born, raised, and lived in CA until I was 54. I was in college during...
Racial divisions are America’s Achilles heel.
Shirley Hicks, Birmingham, AL. When I came to the United States four years ago, one of the first things I noticed was the racial divides....
I never understood why. Do you?
Kristen, Two Rivers, AK. Grew up in the 60s in south Georgia. As a child, I didn’t know there were differences. I didn’t know to...
Read Kingsblood Royal by Sinclair Lewis
Marsha Surkin, White Bear Lake, MN. I am a white woman, 72 yrs old. When I was 11 I disobeyed my mom and read Kingsblood...
Blacks Are Their Own Worst Enemies!
Anonymous, ND. I grew up in a small mountain town in Northwest Georgia after my mother ended her military career and took me back to...
Dad’s stories of south; I’m outraged.
Dianne Goodwin Brant, Cambria, CA. My Dad used to travel to South Carolina in the late 50s-early 60s. He told me of the segregated bathrooms,...
Color should not hurt but enhance
Sarah Barnes, USA. I grew up in the south-color was a defining characteristic. So much happened or didn’t happen because of color and sometimes that...
