Octavia, Dallas, TX. I have been to over forty six job interviews since I moved to Dallas. There is a look that white people give you when they realize that the person that they thought so highly of over the phone is a black woman. I have had people tell me all the reasons why […]
Adrienne Kern, Keller, TX. My daughter was two weeks from turning one on September 11, 2001. She is one of them. An Arab (pronounced with a Texas drawl: A-Rab). A camel jockey. A rag head. She is Turkish and Saudi and Egyptian. She is not white like me, her mother, who is also mixed race. […]
Veronica Herrera Nacogdoches, TX My daughter currently only 2 months was conceived through a donor who is African American. My wife is Caucasian and I am Mexican/Cuban American. When my wife and I spoke about having kids she wanted to carry the child first because she is older than me. We wanted our child to […]
Christopher A Hernández, Corpus Christi, TX. Growing up on the Gulf Coast of Texas, you can always smell the sea; after all: it’s practically in your backyard. But there’s also something else that is constantly in the air that one may not be able to smell, but it’s just as pungent: Stereotypes. I come from […]
Dania Abreu-Torres San Antonio, TX My husband and I are Puerto Ricans. I am more “white” than he is -He usually was mistaken as a muslim-. We have a blonde, blue eyed girl. In Florida, he use to take her to the supermarket. He was followed by a lady and asked if the baby was […]
Erica Flores, Dallas, TX. I am often mistaken for something I am not. Most times I am unable to offer clarity on my behalf and am left with the, often wrong, label I was given. My ethnicity, race, education and social status are most often incorrectly judged by others; usually not in my favor.
R. Flowers Rivera, McKinney, TX. The most aware I’ve ever been of race was when my family moved from Gulfport, Mississippi, to New Fairfield, Connecticut, during the 1980s. At that time, New Fairfield was a town with a population of about 10,000 in which there were three Black children, all of whom were in my […]
Tricia Elliott, Plano, TX. One of my favorite authors is Grace Halsell who wrote In Their Shoes. I think it’s a humanizing experience to be a minority at least once in your life.
Tracie Combs-Cantu Austin, TX I was born and raised in Kentucky from an Appalachian family. The stereotypes and the realities of being poor and from Appalachian decent always make you self-conscious of your speech, look and skills. Even when you don’t need to worry about any of it.
Ngoc Ma Sugar Land, TX I hear it more often than I should – ‘I love Asian women.’ That’s great, I love southern cooking. Or ‘I’ve never been with an Asian woman before.’ And you’re streak will continue. I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do with information like that. I have found that men […]
Gabriella Grange, Plano, TX. Before coming to college, I always thought of myself as a black person. But when I got to college a few years ago, I heard people use the term “people of color” and it boggled me. Even though the term is used to foster solidarity, the term can be used to […]
Treylieus Curry, Denton, TX. Everyone has a story and their road my not be pretty or easy to navigate but the destination is freeingly beautiful.
Rolando R. Gutierrez, Allen, TX. I am not a racist. I am a humanist. We all have the same faults including the minority defense of the racist card. The majority does not call it racist. It is called law and order. We all exercise it when in the majority. Here is another six words: Reason, […]
Mathew Rayne, Houston, TX. Once in awhile you go for a drive and see the people around you enjoying what there doing. Everyone is their own person! Sometimes your expected to do something that… you just rather not do? It’s my family line? In my blood? Just because I’m Hispanic doesn’t mean i wanted to […]
Lisa Jasinsk, Trinity University In 2007, I spent a year working at The Apollo Theater in Harlem, NY. One day on my way into the office, I slipped on an icy sidewalk on 125th Street, and in a comic prat fall, landed on my bottom in a filthy puddle. A group of guys gathered outside […]
James Michael Rogers Houston, TX I was at my neighborhood park one morning jogging, and I saw three white women walking abreast in one direction, and a black woman coming towards them in the opposite direction. The white women ignored the black woman and no one stepped back to let the black lady pass, and […]
Kelly O’Brien Pruitt, Houston, TX. I love living in a multicultural City. I love seeing different sizes and shapes and colors, different combinations of ethnic groups. To me this is what America looks like. I want to tell every white person who thinks that America belongs to them is that we came from Europe and […]
Ernest Henson, Longview, TX. African first question Black man’s last
Jackson Bates, White Oak, TX.
Sadia Rodriguez, Round Rock, TX. If I had to limit myself to a single identity, I’d say that I’m a mother of twins above all else. Sure, I’m also a business analyst, a blogger, a divorcee, a permanent resident of the US, a holder of British and Bangladeshi passports and a former US Army wife. […]
Tim Turner, College Station, TX.
Jared M Snyder, Rochester, WA. My GG grandfather is R.J. Young. The author of this advertisement. Saulsbury survived the Civil War, moved to Austin, Texas, married and had a son, but then the trail goes cold .
Barbara Kuether, Dallas, TX. Discussions of race seem to extrapolate the South to the entire country. History is more complicated.
Adela Ludeke, Austin, TX. I know that whites are traditionally “privileged”, but I find it so cringeworthy when I hear other whites checking their privilege. It’s as if they have so much guilt because of what their ancestors did. And it’s more embarrassing when your parents check their privileges. Sure, racism is shameful, but too […]
Patricia Valdez-Harrison, El Paso, TX. El Paso Texas for the fourth year in a row as been reported to be the safest city in the country even though it shares borders with one of the deadliest cities in Mexico. I chose to end my sentence with lose not only for the lose of so many […]
June Blanton, Magnolia, TX. I was raised between two family’s. One black and one white, please stop telling me that i’m one or the other. Why should I deny half of me to make YOU happy.
Collette M. Bloom, Houston, TX. It is a wondrous and wonderful experience to see the “AHA” moment appear on White students faces when they finally understand about tragedy and waste of chattel slavery. Many were quite distressed about the willingness of so many to collude in developing the Black Codes of the South. Statutory inhumanity […]
Phyllis W. Allen, Fort Worth, TX. I am a sixty year old woman who has lived through segregation, integration, Colored, Negro,, Black, African American, segregation, marches, integration, Pan Africanism, opulent consumption, financial catastrophe and now I’m just me.
Ryan Matthew Hunter, Leander, TX.
Armando Reyes, TX. I was born in Texas. 5 generations of my family were born in Texas. Before Texas was part of the US. I can’t go back to where “we” came from. I’m already here.
Kathryn Terry, Katy, TX. I hate the term “race card” because when I hear it, it tells me that the person using it doesn’t have any desire to listen to or understand anything about the experiences of racism that people of color face. If you think there’s a “race card”, who do you think put […]
Megan Medrano, Houston, TX. Growing up Latina in south Texas, I have always been surrounded with rich culture. My home was filled with both the English and Spanish language and I was encouraged to live both my Mexican and U.S. Latina identities. I did not realize how important an ethnic identity was until I came […]
Rhonda Gilbert, Crowley, TX. I’m black and grew up in the rural south. My experience was very much small town, and I interacted primarily with other blacks until college. Although a large part of my perspective is influenced by my country upbringing, I don’t feel welcome in that “country” space.
Christine Faris Lufkin, TX Actually, no. Yes, I was blessed to come from a middle class family. And yes, I’ve been blessed to travel the world. Wanna know how? I worked my ass off. Blew out a knee, graduated high school early, started college at 16, took summer school, worked multiple jobs, all so I could […]
Katy Wilkerson, Houston, TX. In the deep South, in my experience, racism is pervasive, especially when you talk about poorer and poorer white people (not just men). There truly does still exist a level of social acceptability that is just not OK. I’ve always been extremely disgusted by it, despite being white and having these […]
Naomi, Grand Rapids, MI. I am an American, of Mexican decent… No, I don’t speak Spanish, no I don’t know where my family is from in Mexico… My Grandparents and Great-Grandparents were born in Texas… I grew up in Gary, IN around mostly Black people… people don’t know what box to put me in. How […]
Jeremy J., Denton, TX. I hate when people are talking crap about a race or group of people and they feel like they have to mention “there are good ones out there.” Who do you think you are.
Tony Diaz Houston, TX Submitted via Twitter: @AztecMuse
David Thomas, Austin, TX Submitted via Twitter: @DavidRT A Note from Michele: David said his submission was “difficult to write”.
Andrea M, Houston, TX. Discrimination due to race is as powerful as the splitting of the Red Sea; splitting a society into many parts, when we were only meant to love as one.
Elyzabeth Inez Smith, Granbury, TX. No matter what history has come to discover. No matter what the future has to uncover. No matter what excuses people can come up with in order to justify the racial lines man has created. In the end we ALL are the same race. The only race. The ever colorful […]
Sarah, Dallas, TX.
Jaime Almandoz, Dallas, TX.
Natalie Mariam Pattillo Alpine, TX It always seems that my ethnic background becomes a guessing game at dinner parties. Even strangers will come up to me and ask me “what are you..wait, let me guess…egyptian, hispanic, black.,? Usually, I want to say “I’m a human” but I allow the guessing game to continue until they’ve […]
Randy, Richmond, TX. Dividing ourselves is counter productive. It will not be easy, not everyone will be on board. Love, respect, communication, and unity has to be the formula for change.
Charlotte, Houston, TX. I grew up close to African Americans. They were guests in our home and people on the bus with us. I never noticed how taboo touching was between us until I was 30 and a neighbor girl came over to play with my kids. She skinned her knee and as I hugged […]
Lauren C, TX I wish for my half white, half Mexican children to grow up knowing that perceived differences should be an opportunity to learn about another person or people, and how much they may truly have in common. An opportunity to embrace someone or their culture and traditions, and maybe learn something new about […]
Christina Cobos, Amarillo, TX. It is your soul, your heart, your empathy, and the way you choose to handle every moment of life that makes you who you are. You choose your impact. The odds were against me from the start. I had every excuse to surrender to failure. I broke the cycle, I rose […]
Dave Parnell, Carrollton, TX. Our kindergarten daughter wanted to go to her friend’s Halloween party. I saw that the address and the protective father in me did not feel safe letting her go. But I called and the black man I spoke to certainly heard the fearful white father on the other end of the […]
Diane Graves, San Antonio, TX. My husband and I (both Anglo) were driving our adopted daughter (born in El Salvador, adopted as an infant, a U.S. citizen since she was 11 months old) to a guest ranch in Colorado. It was 2004; our daughter was 11 years old. Late on Sunday morning, we stopped to […]
Dr. J., Irving, TX. It’s true, everyone tries to find similarities between babies and their parents. But the search ends when people see my son’s curly golden hair, blue eyes, and light complexion. Someone once asked me, “are you sure you want to name him Diego?” (when he was 9 months old). I’ll admit it, […]
Anne Rapp Austin, TX
Davy Finnegan, Austin, TX.
KM, Austin, TX. I am current in college at one of the largest public universities. Not a week goes by where I don’t see a group of students sitting at a table and asking passerby’s to join their organization. One of the most numerous types would be the such&such Students’ Association. I am of mixed […]
Signe Wendt, Austin, TX. Jewish by heritage when I began to worship Jesus I was told I was no longer Jewish and I had to pick one.Now I try to connect Christians to their faith as a yoga teacher and I am not sure who is more uncomfortable with that. Yogis (at least in Austin) […]
Charles Hoquist, McKinney, TX.
Lou Bates, TX. Controversial? Sure. Racist? To many, sure. However, we are all hypocrites when it comes to race, and sadly many of us are misinformed. I am a history teacher in an inner city. I have sat through training, after training to get me to be more culturally adept and I am probably one […]
John H McKinney, TX King’s speech referred to the time when a man (actually he referred to his children) would be judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I think there are many, many who,lack character and use the color of their skin as an excuse. There […]
Judith Hickey Austin, TX Since I became disabled and had to live with and among blacks, I have become very prejudice. I am fed up with their whining and always using their race for every darn excuse. All of our ancestors were slaves when they first came to America. My kin, the Osage Indians, were […]
Chuy Benitez, Houston, TX. When you grow up at the collision of two countries, of two cultures, of two identities, you learn very quickly the different nuances between the two cultures and you adapt to appease whichever culture you have to encounter. It makes you more observant, but of course it doesn’t occur without making […]
Ahtum, San Antonio, TX. I often get asked what are you but when I had a baby with red hair, the question became how did you get a baby with red hair. I always start off with, “well, my mom IS white” then lead into “but my husbands grandmother had red hair” I often want […]
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 […]
Debra Heiberg, San Antonio, TX. I want to see a world where there is not so much judgement
Samantha Salas, Mission, TX.
Brandon Watkins, Clarksville, TX. I am an African American from North Texas. I have lived here all my life. I have never been one to see color nor have I ever been one to judge or stereotype anyone. I love all, and raise my children to love all. Some of the things I see in […]
JC Ousley Houston, TX In 1998 I bought a new red corvette despite my mother’s plea, she said the car was trouble for a black man. On the day the car was delivered, I was driving to my parent’s home to show off my new vette when I was pulled over by three Chicago police […]
John Willis, Austin, TX.
Maritza Aviles de Garcia, Dallas, TX. My entire life has been spent walking between two worlds, the predominantly white world outside of my home, and the watered-down Puerto Rican culture of my home. Growing in Central Texas, there were three Puerto Rican families. We were one of them. I translated for my parents whether they […]
Tamie Odom Sherman, TX I was only five at the time. Me and my 2 sisters were going to an all black school in Newburg, NY. The race riots were happening and lots of tension was in the city. Black kids hated me because I was white. I had no idea what I had done […]
Tomas Sanchez, Forth Worth, TX. It’s so easy to choose any single part of you to define your identity. When you have more than one, they all become just details.
Joye Beard, Corpus Christi, TX. In the 23 years that my husband and I have been married I’ve noticed some disconcerting things about being in a mixed race marriage. First, I’m not comfortable around other white people at all. If they’re open minded it’s not so bad. But most are not, and once they learn […]
Richard Young, Dallas, TX.
Mady Turner, Wylie, TX.
Annabel Knight, Austin, TX. We were talking about SS Disability, and he said “No, it’s not hard at all to get on disability–all you have to do is be a fat Mexican.” So wrong, I just couldn’t be silent. My husband backed me up, most of the rest of the table squirmed uncomfortably. Why is […]
Lois Ann Knezek, Sanger, TX. I was born and raised in Hawai’i to a Hawai’i born Japanese woman and an Irish Bostonian. Luckily, in Hawai’i, everyone is mixed so I didn’t feel any different. Then I married a haole from Texas and moved to a culture where people didn’t know what I was. I wasn’t […]
Stefanie Bernosky, Houston, TX. I was raised as an All-American girl to an All-American family in an All-American town. I even looked “All-American”, proudly featuring my braces and American Flag sweater in this dated family photo (circa 1994). We can trace my family (both sides) to the United States prior to the United States Revolution. […]
Catherine Moses, Port Arthur, TX. Let it be known for posterity’s sake that I am white, but I want equality, too. We’re on the same side. Why don’t we use that instead of talking about how I can’t possibly understand? You’re right, I can’t understand. I’m sorry. Let’s move beyond that and work together for […]
Eric Flores, Lubbock, TX. I am a Mexican-American or simply put American. I was born and raised in a conservative town. I was too Mexican for the Whites and too White for the Mexicans. I was stuck in the middle. I always wanted to be white but now I am glad that I am Mexican. […]
Sophia Carroll, San Antonio, TX.
Dhani Slater, Houston, TX. Great expression idea (the Race Card). I believe our differences should draw us together out of a healthy curiosity, and a thirst for learning about the diversities of humanity & nature that make things special.
Yesenia Chavez, Houston, TX. I’m a first generation Mexican- American, born and raised in Houston, Texas. Sometimes it feels like I’m too in between both identities to really feel like I’m either. My Spanish isn’t perfect and sometimes I forget words in English.
Geoff Cormier, Amarillo, TX.
Anonymous, San Antonio, TX. Look, I’ll keep it real simple. My family is from Texas. Now we’ve had a French Texas, a Spanish Texas, a Mexican Texas, a Republic of Texas, a Confederate Texas, and finally Texas, USA. Am I Mexican? Hell no. I’m from Texas, and this is the United States of America. My […]
Tay Zaman, Grapevine, TX.
Emily Mixon, Austin, TX. Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/walkingsf/5560474714/ Eric Fischer Data from Census 2010. Base map © OpenStreetMap, CC-BY-SA
Anonymous, Trinity University, San Antonio, TX.
Lise (rhymes with ‘please’), Austin, TX. My 6-word essay was originally “What kind of name is that?”– a question (both the polite and impolite versions) I’m regularly asked. My answer is something like this: “Well, my last name is Indian (yes, like from India)–sort of. My father’s family is from India, but the name changed […]
Sam Smith, Stafford, TX. Ya I figured that would catch people off guard. I’ve been a salesperson now for about 10 years in Houston. Love the city and the culture, made a pretty good career out of it too. I’ve sold cars and motorcycles for a living. One thing I will readily acknowledge is I’m […]
Brett Maisel Nacogdoches, TX As a young, naive police officer I mistakenly thought most people would appreciate my sincere desire to help and protect the citizens of my community. I was shocked to find out that some people (who didn’t even know my name, background or what was in my heart) hated the very sight […]
Sofia Camarena, Austin, TX. Being born in Oaxaca, and still having people question how “Mexican I am” is frustrating.
Nabeste, Chicago, IL. I’m a Mexican-American. I hate white people. I have grown to hate them. They came to America to steal the land and kill the Native American Indians. They brought the slaves here. They brought with them diseases that are here now. They went and took Texas and all the states that belonged […]
John Howard Faultersack, San Antonio, TX. Everyone is prejudiced, but racists do it on purpose, and I’ve never understood why.
Cecil Beare, San Antonio, TX. Thank you for broaching a subject some don’t want to address
S. G. Brown, San Antonio, TX. Said to me, a black man, by a white female friend commiserating with me about ignorant whites.
Fallon Howells, San Antonio, TX. Race should not be something that divides us. We are all of one race, the human race ❤️
Tory Robinson, Omaha, NE. I refuse to be fearful growing up in Texas, I learned fear is an obstacle. I now live in Nebraska a state that hides its racism but I won’t be broken because of the strength in my pedigree.
Chelsea L. Harris, Fort Worth, TX. I’m a gamer, and I don’t mean the occasional “Angry-Flappy Bird” app gamer, or “Just Dance” gamer. I’m a “Own Every Console, Collect Every Series Title, No-Life” gamer. My two brothers and I have been gamers since the days of NES, before I even quit wearing Pull-Ups. Gaming was […]
Laura Robinson, Jefferson, TX.
Jamie, Wylie, TX. I live in a society that I am afraid of the world that my kids will have to be adults in. We are going backwards instead of forwards. We are losing our view of everyone is the same, no matter how different we might look. I am having to have HARD conversations […]
Melanie Moctezuma, Dallas, TX. There is a difference between racism and classism. Being racist is hating a race, you already know what the definition is. Being classist on the other hand, is being discriminatory towards a specific economic class. You may think that you’re racist because, though I hate to admit it, as a person […]
