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 […]
Chenille, El Paso, TX Not being Mexican enough, and not being American enough is the realm that haunts me and many of us Mexican Americans. We are constantly scrutinized from both sides for just being us. My family has been here for many generations and it’s just saddening to hear that your white washed or […]
Victoria A Murga, El Paso, TX From EPCC in my sociology class, I have learned more about race and ethinicity.
Ivette Somers, El Paso, TX Am exceptionally blessed with the race I was given yet sadden and annoyed on how others perceive me for my color of my skin. I just move on encouraging my race and fell joyful everyday. El Paso Community College
Cory, Ft. Worth, TX.
Anonymous, Austin, TX. With the onslaught of social media, people feel that that they can judge and pressure any and everyone into being afraid to say anything that might be considered different or something that someone may disagree with. Like the old saying, “Sticks and stones can break my bones but words will never hurt […]
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 […]
Cory Skyye De La Riva, El Paso, TX I chose these words because even as a Latino living in a predominantly Latino/Mexican city, yet I still don’t speak Spanish. I never was taught as a kid, nor did I pay attention in Spanish class. Looking back, I should have done something, so I could’ve spoken […]
Taylor Timms, Houston, TX
Francesca Taylor, Houston, TX Lonestar college Sociology class
Stephen Adair, Spring, TX
Linda Escamilla, Houston, TX
Gabriella Martinez, Houston, TX As a mixed Latina many people assumed that I would be raised to cook and clean for a future as a stay at home mother or wife. Yet I didn’t want to be held to this older standard and was decent at studying and wanted to continue with my education.
Dillon Harris, Dallas, TX
Ella, Dallas, TX My family comes from the Seminole tribe, but no one believes me because I look white.
Sidney, Katy, TX My name is Sidney and my last name is Rodriguez, based on my last name you can assume I am Hispanic. My whole life I have had people who say “Wow your name is so White, but your last name is so Hispanic” and even said, “You need to marry a man […]
Anonymous, Lubbock,TX Growing up with a full-blooded Hispanic heritage it was difficult to understand why people thought I wasn’t who I know I am.
Felipe F. Waco, TX People are racist without even knowing it. Most of the time it’s unintentional. The most common one I tend to see is when people don’t like to date outside of their race. Not that theirs anything wrong with that but when I ask the question, people usually say it’s because of […]
Anonymous, Dallas, TX
Ka’Lynn Nickerson, Lubbock, TX
Abigail Jimenez, El Paso, TX
Marjan, Houston, TX I believe in interconnectedness of humanity, encouraging unity and compassion across racial divides. I study in LoneStar college-University Park.
Gabriela Arce, El Paso, TX
Keila Ochoa, Houston, TX p>My name is Keila, and I am a 1st generation Mexican American. Growing up, I typically spoke Spanish fluently, but I spoke more English because of school. I was always embarrassed when surrounded by other Hispanic kids who spoke better Spanish because my Spanish was not as good. So people always […]
Jewels Solis, Magnolia, TX I am a Mexican American who gets commonly mistaken for speaking fluent Spanish due to the color of my skin, culture, and slight accent.
Isaiah Keo, Houston, TX My name is Isaiah, and I attend UT Austin. Growing up mixed in has led to many awkward moments of trying to decide who I am every single time someone asks what I am. I don’t fit your image of who I tell you I am, but I am still me.
Jordan Jones, Houston, TX
Daniela Garibay, Houston, TX Hello, my name is Daniela and I am a College student attending Lone Star College. After having been assigned this as an assignment I began to look into this project and became intrigued. I read through a good amount and was appalled about all the post people had made. 🙂
Paulina Abigail Contreras, Terrell, TX Ethnicity or cultural background does not determine the level of American identity where I belong. school Terrell high school
Angie Trotter, Austin, TX
Dalissia Ostorga, El paso, TX
Isaac Percastegui, TX
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) […]
Mya Garcia, Lubbock, TX When I am asked if I am Mexican, I truly don’t know how to answer. No, none of my family is from Mexico, my great grandparents lived on Native American reservations. Yes, my family knows Spanish, but I was never taught. No, I have never been to Mexico, nor has any […]
Anonymous, Houston, TX I’m Palestinian and Muslim, but I was born and raised in the United States. I’ve bumped into a few people who’d make terrorist jokes towards me but I learned to laugh at the hate.
Kamesha Coleman, Dallas, TX
Joseph Chapman, Forney, TX
Yasmine Derbal, Athens, TX One of my teammates last year told me that I was not French because I have curly hair and and I am tan. People believe that being French means that you are white with long straight hair. However, I have the French nationality even if it doesn’t seem like I have […]
Faride Yamin, Houston, TX A single race, the human race. Jacqueline Novogratz writes in her book The Blue Sweater:”John W Gardner believed humans thrive in relationship to each other, and that communities to which each individual feels a sense of belonging.” I’ve always been different. I sometimes upset people (because they think I’m ) trying […]
Colin Morrill, Cypress, TX I’m Mexican, but nobody believes me. I grew up in a Mexican culture, and my mom is Mexican. I eat Mexican food, listen to Mexican music, and have Mexican family.
Meghan Holloran, TX
Joshua Dillon, Cypress, TX We are all the same. I have eyes. You have eyes. I have hair. You have hair. I breathe. You breathe. We should be helping each other Not hurting each other because we have more in common than the naked eye can see. We are all the same.
Patrick Tan, Houston, TX Although I wouldn’t argue that the stereotypes associated with being Asian are as bad/worse than stereotypes associated with other races, I feel that positive stereotypes can also become extremely harmful. Positive stereotypes, like Asians being intelligent or hardworking, can place unneeded pressure and expectations on ones who are on the receiving […]
Cristina Garcia, Cypress, TX People never guess that I’m Mexican, they say I look white a.k.a American. It’s shocking whenever I speak Spanish fluently as they had no idea I could speak it.
Geovanni Herrera, Dallas, TX p>I chose these six words after being extremely inspired by a Ted talk called “The dangers of a single story” years ago. Where Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, an African American born in Eastern Nigeria faced countless amounts of misinterpretations in her home town before realizing the truth about Americans and their norms. […]
Eric D., Houston, TX. While my son was in elementary school, I asked what race dose he tells his schoolmates he was. He quickly responded, “White”. When I asked why, he said that his skin color wasn’t brown or black. As he grew older he learned about both his Spanish and African American heritage. Now […]
Lucia Casares, San Antonio, TX I’m glad someone is doing this and Michele Norris is perfectly suited. I’ve been a long time fan of hers and NPR. Thank you.
Melissa Orea, Houston, TX I always get asked if I am Indian. I am not sure why .
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.
Heather Nardone, Athens, TX I have been the mother to many children over the years. It is hard to walk through the zoo and hear people say mean things about me being a white woman thinking I am better then everyone else, showing of with children of other races. I do not see color in […]
Marilyn Anne Kay Wimberley, TX The year was 1968. We were gathered in the formal dining hall of the sorority house, lit only by candles, for our sorority initiation. All white females dressed in matching white gowns. One of my sorority sisters commented, ‘we look just like the Klan.’ This was at the University of […]
Charles Dibe, Lincoln, TX That was the me of my youth. (I’m now 81.) Almost totally oblivious. I read the news, but I didn’t understand, didn’t connect emotionally to the issue of racism. I now feel a sense of responsibility for the current state of affairs and for being part of a solution. I try […]
Anonymous, Lubbock, TX
Quoc Du, Houston, TX Being Asian American, there are certain expectations placed upon me. I’m expected to be smart, I’m expected to have good grades and excel in all my classes, I’m expected to acquire a career as a doctor or a dentist. I’m expected to do this and that, all because I am Asian. […]
“Anon Swagapino”, Spring, TX In the Philippines, it is not uncommon to hear your neighbors planning to go abroad. Persuaded by the stories of their fellow compatriots having better lives overseas or higher pay, it is difficult, especially when leaving family and friends behind. But success isn’t always the story; some will get exploited or […]
Mary Catherine Schmitz, Houston, TX I acknowledge that many white people tend to prevaricate over the issue of racism in our society. Some might even try to downplay or avoid talking about it in social settings. I realize that these kinds of behaviors might appear indicative of racist beliefs. However, most of the time, these […]
Jordan Huff, Athens, TX p>I am white, but I speak Spanish almost fluently. I love Mexican food, and entertainment primarily produced for Latinos, being that I understand it. But when I decided to name my pet turtles after ingredients commonly used in Latino cooking I got called racist, and told I was trying to become […]
Dougherty, Outside USA. I was adopted. My Dad is Irish, raised in Texas and then California. Mom is a retired nurse. I was raised around Protestants, Catholics, Mormons, and Jews. My friends in elementary school were white. Race was never an issue. Or if it was, I have long since forgot about it. I even […]
Sarah, Dallas, TX.
Susan Lanford, San Antonio, TX p>I grew up in southern Louisiana where racial slurs were normal yet one of my friends in High school lived in N bend and that was normal too. I’m fascinated with how African Americans out smarted the plantation owners using quilts via the Underground Railroad and so my quilt journey […]
Cecile Nguyen Austin, TX Alternative title could also be “I hate the Asian Guessing Game.” I really don’t mind people being curious about my ethnicity. What I do mind is how people go about finding out my ethnicity. “Are you Chinese? Japanese? Korean?…[list goes on]” Believe me, they’ll keep going until I stop them. And […]
Meredith Christensen Katy, TX
Anonymous, TX. Said a well travelled Black American female veteran to her biracial, trilingual, and dual citizen son. Behind her, in full agreement, stood her Eastern European Jewish husband. As madly in love as was at first sight, their relationship was taboo, condemned by family and friends alike. Now years later they faced their resultant […]
Sarah Michael, Houston, TX As an Indian woman in America, I always felt like I never had the privileges of a caucasian person, nor the oppression of an African American. I always felt like people around me were either white or black, no in between. Growing up, I felt like I didn’t belong anywhere.
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 […]
Lynette M. Silva, Dallas, TX. My ethnicity apparently changes depending on the immediate environment. I get followed in stores here in Texas, and asked questions like, “Where are your people from?” But when I go to work–I’m a Ph.D.–I am told, “You’re Hispanic? I just don’t see it.”
Jerheme Urban, Trinity University I am very proud of the fact that I was born in south Texas, a location steeped with history and tradition. It is also an area that is a melting pot of race, culture, and economic diversity- with a heavy blue collar, agrarian influence. After traveling/working across the country, I have […]
Elsa Alonzo, San Antonio, TX.
Leslya Chavez, Houston, TX Born and raised on the East coast of Virginia, though was raised in a Hispanic household. Grew up only Spanish till I was placed in Kindergarten and had to teach myself English. Coming from a Hispanic background where Spanish is your main language at home and then your second language is […]
Aaron, Spring, TX In many occasions I am asked, where I am from. This question could be asked in many ways, either with good intent or bad intent. It usually goes this way, “Hey you look like you’re from the middle east, are you?” I usually respond with, “no, I am actually from Mexico.” Then […]
Aixa Rojas, El Paso, TX I am told by a blonde girl from the opposite team while we leave the locker room at the State competition. I was only 16 and it was my second year in the United States; I was still so ignorant of the prejudices held against me and my culture. I […]
April Barney Pouncy, Richardson, TX I am Jewish my husband is black and over the last few years I sincerely felt like we might be in danger. I worry for our adult and teenage children. We have both subconsciously begun to view the American Flag as a symbol to put us on high alert. Now […]
Ilbersalle Fallon, Austin, TX
Ike, Midland, TX. If people are going to call me a cracker, which by the way doesn’t bother be at all, at least let me be a Ritz cracker or better yet a cheese cracker.
Sabrina Tilley, Hutchins, TX Student at Dallas County Community College District, Eastfield College
Yasmin Agudelo, The Colony, TX. I love this project. I’ve seen so many thoughts and statements that reflected my own experiences growing up as a child of immigrants.
Cole Chandler Waco, TX It is difficult to stand in solidarity with one another and overcome our fears of one another when we continue to segregate ourselves in our supposedly integrated society. We are not even diverse, much less reconciled. What a tragedy.
Leilany Lechuga, El Paso, TX I was born in the United States and my ethnicity is Hispanic I find it weird that some people think that their ethnicity is superior to ours. It’s not our fault that we were born to different places and from other ethnicities, we are all humans. Sometimes when I go […]
Pettida Ratthasamut, Sugar Land, TX
Wilson Sunny, Sunnyvale, TX I was born September 11th, 1991. Ten years later, a great national tragedy happened within the United States that shook the nation to the core. It was the first time, I believe, the term “terrorist” became a mainstream word. Not when Timothy McVeigh decided to blow up a building in Oklahoma […]
Rebecca Williams, Dallas, TX If we could take the time think through the process of treating others as we wish to be treated it would make a tremendous difference in our world. A little empathy goes a long way and is a gift to ourselves and others.
Jakevion Buckley, Shelbyville, TX Tired of being judged by skin color.
Cecily B, Rusk, TX
Paula Lin, Houston, TX
Christopher Sandate, El Paso, TX
Berenice Folks, El Paso, TX It’s too weird how people who seem to be the same race as you (Mexican) behave in an aggressive way. I have gone to a same gas station a couple of times where a lady who looks Mexican and speaks Spanish works, she attends people with a bad face but […]
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 […]
Barry Watkins, Santa Rosa, CA. My mother took me back when she told me that. She was loving & guileless. She drove off the road when I told her I had Black roommates in SF, though I grew up in Beaumont, TX. I never thought of my roommates as “Black”, they were individuals – Ron […]
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 […]
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 […]
Deshawn Tiliaia, Fort Worth, TX
Brianna Acosta, Leander, TX. All the U.S. is talking about is black and white, but what about the Mexican Americans? Discrimination against us has risen 50% in the last ten years while discrimination against most other races in the U.S. has gone down.
Ricardo Quintanilla Jr., Mission, TX. For what I have seen the world to be, skin color makes for a subject of preference or a form of documentation. Skin color shouldn’t define or explain, it should simply be what it is, a skin color.
Jackson Bates, White Oak, TX.
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 […]
Marcellus Hendricks, San Antonio, TX. My friend in high school said “you talk proper” I said “and?” He said “you’re black” So that told me, that what? I’m supposed to talk Ingorant because I’m mixed with black? No, excuse me for having an open vocabulary.
Oyinloluwa Akande, Northlake, TX People need to know that eloquence is not a white trait. It is a product of education and education is for everyone.
Julia Guerra, Austin, TX. My brothers are very important figures in my life. They were born to a white mom and a white dad. They are blonde and red-haired, with blue and green eyes. When they were little babies, my white mom married my Mexican dad and he adopted both of them as his own. […]
Sherry Chaudhry, San Antonio, TX. Imagine a World without a Mirror Without a reflection to see ourself. There would be no glassy reflection sitting upon the shelf. Without knowing our own image it would be difficult to judge another. For the image we have of ourselves, determines how we see our brothers by Sherry Chaudhry
Alimot Tinubu, Houston, TX I know that typically I would just be looked ta as another black girl, but I have deeper roots than that I am actually from Nigeria and so are my parents. It is hard to see the transparency through people when they look the same and you just assume things about […]
Vicki Hohner, Olympia, WA While I am a white midwesterner by origin, I spent most of my formative years as a minority. First as part of the only white family in several Alaska Native villages, where my parents were elementary school teachers for many years; and in my high school years, as part of a […]
Tram Ho, Houston, TX Just because I’m Asian, doesn’t mean that I am naturally smart. It is not something I am born with, it is something I have to work hard for. I spend 40+ hours as an HCC student to keep up with my coursework. Even with my hard work, I sometimes fall behind. […]
Marsha, TX My name is Marsha, a student at HCC in the US. I am 100 percent Filipino, but there are times when I do not feel full. I was born in the US and my parents were always worried that their children had a proper education. They were scared for us to not be […]
Vivian Nguyen, Houston, TX
Elianna Goldman, Houston, TX Being Jewish in America nowadays can be very scary. There is so much anti-Semitism to the point that when a jew goes to certain places they have to change their appearance so they don’t look Jewish.
Mary Jo Latham-Martin, Houston, TX After being diagnosed with Essential Tremor, and being told it was hereditary, I started on a quest to learn about the father I never knew. My mom would never talk about him. I did genealogy and DNA testing and found he was a white boy from Kentucky, who was a […]
Lakeesha Graves, Richmond, TX Black and White yet too black for white people and too white for some black people. Where do I belong? Why can’t I be black? Why do I have to be white? Why can’t I be white? Why do I have to be black? Why is my contradictory thinking considered “white […]
Robert Fang Plano, TX I am a Chinese. I came to US in 1977 when I was 27, full grown. My children were all born in US and raised in Texas. When my first son was 5 years old, I asked him casually, in Chinese, “Are you a little Chinese or a little American.? (你是小中國人還是小美國人?” […]
Luis David Garcia Huntsville, TX I am Mexican, my wife is Pacific Islander and our girls were born in Virginia and Texas. My girls are the minority among minorities and yet are lumped together with the largest population in the planet (Asian/Pacific Islander). Now try to tell my Chamorro wife that she is Chinese and […]
Kayle Dallas, TX Our breakup happened for many reason, but the main one is because his parents would never feel 100% comfortable with their son for being with me. I’m black and he’s white. Such simple labels that belie a myriad of different experiences. I would think that any parent would be thrilled their son […]
Anne Rapp Austin, TX
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 […]
Patricia Merten, Atascocita, TX I am white and walk around oblivious to these issues. I live with a black man. I am frustrated with how far I thought we had come and how racist we are. Women’s rights follow race rights. What is my role? What is my part? And how do I help others […]
Larry Taylor Webster, TX Six words which could have saved a young man’s life.
Marquez Jones, Houston, TX I chose “Black 365 Days of the Year” because in my heart and in the manner that I live my life, I live unapologetically as myself. The identity that I most identify with is my race and although I know that I experience prejudice, racism, and biases, I am proud of […]
Phyll, Fort Worth, TX. At 62 years old, I am a child of thw Civil Rights struggles. When my son was born in 1971, I was committed to raising him without the excess baggage of race. It didn’t take but one sleepover for his Pee Wee Football team that the White boys weren’t allow to […]
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 […]
Evelyn Espinal, Houston, TX Hello! I’m Evelyn and I’m a Latina studying at Houston Community College to become a dental hygienist.
Darryl Sumpter, Houston, TX
Anonymous, Burleson, TX My mom is white and my father is Hispanic, so I am mixed. I am told that I’m White-passing a lot and it irks me for some reason. I know that I live in a society where White people have privilege, so I should be glad that I am Wiite-passing. However, when […]
Keisha, Spring, TX.
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. […]
Julie Newell, Lubbock, TX.
Melanie Cowart, Fair Oaks Ranch, TX. My parents were married in 1934 when miscegenation was illegal in most states. Until I was older, I didn’t realize how much courage it took for them to be together. My mother, who was white, raised her two daughters, now 80 and 62, to be proud African-American women. I’m […]
Simran Jeet Singh, New York, NY. Trinity University My visible Sikh and South Asian identity have shaped my experiences with racial and cultural identities. Upon seeing me, people mark me as different and make various assumptions about me. Associations assume (but are not limited to): foreign, violent, conservative, uneducated, terrorist, victim, uncivilized, and dogmatic.
Laura Speegle Waco, TX I teach elementary school in Waco, Texas. I can’t remember why this little bitty girl, maybe 4 or 5 years old, was sitting in my lap crying… but suddenly she reached out and stroked my pale white are and looked up at me in surprise. After making this observation she snuggled […]
Maurice Kemp, San Antonio, TX. I did not choose my race. No one did. I was born into a world with preconceived notions about my race and others. We all were. I entered a world with plenty of recorded and unrecorded history. We all did. I cannot account for any of the history that predates […]
Elizabeth James Sugar Land, TX I wasn’t really aware of this till I became older, yea my mom looked different than I and pretty much everyone mostly on my moms side of the family but I never put much thought into it. I got this a lot in middle school and high school actually “Well […]
I. Lulu, San Antonio, TX. I was 52 when I confirmed what I had long dodged: I was adopted — more like appropriated — at birth. Back then and in my part of the world (Texas), those things happened. My adoptive parents are on my birth certificate as the birth parents. Whatya gonna do, right? […]
SOFIA KHAN, Allen, TX People assume because I am a brown-skinned woman, I can’t afford luxury items or regular-priced items! I have heard so many putdowns and have been bossed around by strangers (even youngsters half my age) and passers by even when I am minding my own business. Usually I can extract that the […]
Amanda Cook Lubbock, TX I’m an international business student at Texas Tech University, living in the second most conservative city in the United States. My views on non traditional gender roles and preferred marital status are ridiculed daily. Clearly I don’t have “southern” values. Texas Tech Student. 2013 OTC Symposium.
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. […]
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. […]
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.
Larry Bowditch, Carrollton, TX Time after time in meetings and discussions with white people my input on a topic goes without acknowledgment until another person, usually white, brings up the identical idea, which then is acknowledged as a great idea. I’m sitting there thinking, “Didn’t I just say that?” I used to rationalize it away […]
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, […]
Terri Kimmel, Corpus Christi, TX My dad had jet black hair and tawny olive skin. His mother was Sicilian and his father had an English surname, but family lore says there is Native American ancestry. My mother is fair-haired with light skin. My parents divorce when I was in elementary school and dad maintained custody […]
Emily, Houston, TX. Many people complain about discrimination, stereotypes, and prejudices relating to race; and I am under no illusion that what they experience is real and happens every day. After experiencing such treatment, I would hope that those people would be more sensitive to the subject and try not to stereotype people. Unfortunately, I […]
Monae Dasher, El Paso, TX I was the white girl that embraced integration in school, first to befriend the one or two Black children my age in elementary. In middle school, large integration happened and physical fights broke out and my heart ached to see my friends on both sides beating each other up. I […]
Alondra Rivera, Wilmer, TX I remember hearing this as a child constantly, especially with my grandmother. I felt ashamed speaking Spanish that I completely didn’t want to speak it. Mother reminded me that our language is beautiful and so is our culture and not to take it out on us for someone else’s ignorance. As […]
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 […]
Candace Davis, Houston, TX Courts provided ways for us to meet, exercise, and also solve community issues. Kids could sell candy, adults met the love of their lives and violence was never the answer. We allowed media to portray courts as places of violence. Stop taking away our right to be together.
Alexander Hileman Commerce City, CO People are afraid in parts of the USA to be seen with white people. I was down in Texas, and a couple of black kids asked us if we wanted to play some basketball. We said yes and we played for about an hour and a half until they said […]
Eb, Rowlett, TX. I am a black woman and I am already missing the summertime. I love to go to a local swimming pool (and yes I will get my hair wet!) in the middle of a Texas summer. I have a naturally kinky, curly and thick afro and there is nothing relaxing on a […]
Delaney, Amarillo, TX Since I am a white woman, the world doesn’t see me as a threat or danger. I have the privilege of walking around knowing that the police (who are supposed to protect everyone and don’t) will protect me if I ever find myself in a bad situation. That’s something that our Black […]
Ryann Williams, Trinity University In a lot of ways, having two parents of different racial/ethnic backgrounds allows a unique insight into both cultures. It can be extremely enlightening to see how both sides can be so different and yet so similar at the exact same time. However, there is always this feeling as if I […]
Ting Goodfriend, Austin, TX Willamette University Growing up in a white household and being told to be proud of my identity from a white narrative has made the journey of my personal identification extremely hard. I’m too white to feel comfortable with my Chinese identity, but too Chinese to feel at home in white society.
Richard Bacon Chicago, IL Mid 1970s living in perfectly nice middle class neighborhood in NE Dallas Texas. The desecration, by busing, of the neighborhood school (which was mediocre anyway) caused about half the families with school age children to move out in one summer. My best friend moved. Those of us who stayed were dispersed […]
Melissa Flowers, Trinity University My mother is caucasian and my father is black. I have immense privilege in my life, and I feel that being a biracial woman gives me a sense of pride which leads to strength and confidence. But this comes at a cost. I am often referred to as “acting white” by […]
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 […]
Carmen Garcia, College Station, TX
Mia Woodard, Dallas, TX Because of my skin color, when I’m out in public I am looked at with disgust and spoken to rudely. Because of my skin color, I am not always afforded the same opportunities as the next. Because of my skin color, the Asian cashier in the beauty store follows and watches […]
Lisa Pearce, La Marque, TX Being mixed race has brought on everything from “oh, you look like you speak Spanish” to “don’t be so white”. Wanting to hold on to a culture but feeling like a fraud because I’m only “half” has been a challenge throughout my life. It has taken years to realize that […]
Codi Fillmore, Houston, TX You do not have to be mixed to have curly hair. Black people’s hair isn’t “nappy”. We several different skin tones and several different textures of hair. Still black. Dillard University
Melissa Renner, McAllen, TX.
John Smith, Las Vegas, TX. Races are diffrent, not only by color of skin, but by brain and how our body is built, its sad but true some races are capable to do better things then others, when the white man whas building rome the Africans where still living in mud houses, and most of […]
Violet, Houston, TX p>As an Eastern European I am asked this question quite frequently.
Ronnie Widner, Mineral Wells, TX
Austin Wagner, Lubbock, TX Love should come before anything. Nobody deserves to be treated any less and feel that they aren’t good enough or different for something they have no control over and has no actual impact on the quality of the person.
Charles, Houston, TX Change your perceptions, You change your thinking, You change your thinking, You change your actions, You change your action, You change future..😉
Michelle Gentry, Abernathy, TX
Anonymous, Lubbock, TX
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 […]
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 […]
David Williams, Dallas, TX p>As An African American in this country, I face several problems throughout my life just because of the color of my skin. As a person of African American decent, in the United States, I am faced with several challenges within my life due to the color of my skin alone. As […]
Jane Cavazos, San Antonio, TX I have been reading the stories of African Americans for several years–their struggles, triumphs, setbacks and progress…I feel badly about the immense suffering they have endured over centuries of injustice. I will make reparations by volunteering my service in a public library in the African American community.
Malley Morales, Dallas, TX. Nowhere in the Bible does it say, “and then Jesus whipped his slaves, who were inadequate because of their skin color.” We are all brothers and sisters in Christ, we are all equal.
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 […]
Ernest Henson, Longview, TX. African first question Black man’s last.
Creytisha Gray, Lubbock, TX After centuries my ancestors being stripped from my Homeland, I have no idea where I, nor my ancestors are from. The only clues I get are through DNA ancestry (which does not tell me where exactly my ancestors settled). No traditions, values, religion, or even language is known to me about […]
Jennifer Sanchez, Garland, TX
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. […]
Alyssa Herrera, Dallas, TX So my birth certificate says my race is white or Caucasian,and my ethnicity is Hispanic/Latino. Yet when some people meet me they automatically assume I’m Mexican because in their minds they believe,” they all look alike.” Or, her last name is Herrera she can be our translator. I can not count […]
Ashlyn Rachelle Sharp, Azle, TX. I hate the term “typical white girl”. Why does a girl whose taste buds enjoy pumpkin spice lattes have to be categorized automatically in some stupid stereotype? I may be “white”, but my heritage is so much more than just a typical white girl. My veins are flowing with the […]
Kelsey Bamburg, Quinlan, TX I’m not a POC. I will never understand their struggles. I benefit from white privilege. I get called a white girl all the time, and I am one… But living in a small southern town, don’t let the others hear you call me that. To them, I am an outsider. Ostracized […]
Mady Turner, Wylie, TX.
Michael Goldberg, Dallas, TX. Race conversations should always be happening no matter your background or skin color. Stop the finger pointing on both sides and start talking to solve the problems.
Matt Neal, San Antonio, TX.
Jessica Davila, Rowlett, TX I am a tanned skin, brown hair, brown eyes, Mexican American woman. My married name was Jessica Phillips. I worked at a doctor’s office on the “rich” part of town while getting my degree in biology. On multiple occasions, during phone conversations with patients, I would get the compliment on how […]
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 […]
Amy Hartman, San Antonio, TX These are the words of Lucretia Mott, suffragist, who was sick and tired of women not having the right to vote. I need to proceed with next right action steps, in the footsteps of people who model this for us.
Rachel Varney, Keller, TX I try daily to understand what my husband lives and what my 3 boys see and experience. I am very aware of the privilege I have that they do not.
Elmer R Hemingway, Pearland, TX Tired of the black community’s victim mentality, entitlement (reparations), massive racism based on skin color…. a glorified level of bullying. Really tired of hearing people who have never had any contact with police saying how racist they are. Pretty sure responses to this will bear out my feelings. Black Community […]
Christian Diego Cintron, El Paso, TX. Culture and race should be celebrated. Growing up in a border town taught me people are different and we should all be understanding. I am Hispanic and I love my culture and the way it blends with all the other cultures.
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.
Lesley Thomas George Frisco, TX My perfect little world was broken up into different races post 9/11. As an Indian-American, I escaped much of the profiling that many African Americans face. After 9/11 much of that changed.
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 […]
James, Lubbock, TX
Alyssa Williams, Richmond, TX People typically see the color of my skin before they actually see me. They judge my character before they get to know me.
Aiden, Dallas, TX Since I was a kid, I always avoided going too far or saying the wrong thing, and it is a constant mental drain to keep myself from blurting out something insensitive or politically incorrect.
Valentin Miranda, Dallas, TX I just find it funny when someone tells me this when I speak Spanish with my mom somewhere public because the US doesn’t have an official language.
Kathleen Murphy, Lubbock, TX
Anonymous, Lubbock, TX
Hannah Strength, Lubbock, TX
Kristi Boehm, Spring, TX. Every year on my birthday I give thanks to the woman who loved me enough to give me up for adoption. I couldn’t have asked for a better mother and father, and my family life was nothing but ordinary. As an aging adult, with no idea of whether I’m Swedish, German, […]
Kelly White, Frisco, TX I am a white woman who people mistake as conservative. A simple way for me to think about the race issues in the US today (and, I know, things are not simple) relate to “we” or “me” thinking. “We” thinkers know we are all connected, and that the strength is to […]
Ana Martinez, Baytown, TX I’ve been told that my language is offensive to people when people need Spanish speakers when getting hired but yet its “offensive “
Diana Castillo, Garland, TX Stop calling my brothers and sisters illegal. We come in peace for a better life.
Carlos Hernandez, Seagoville, TX I am a Hispanic of Mexican descent with an extremely stereotypical name. My first and last names are both common Latino names. So, when people figure out I can’t speak Spanish well, they don’t believe me and my fellow Latinos mock me for it. I can’t help that I wasn’t taught […]
Andrea Canchola, San Antonio, TX. As a young, Latina, woman I feel that I have to be better than everyone just to be equal. I’m tiny, short and I will boss you around. Just because I’m a young Latina woman doesn’t mean that I’m not as good as you. I’m probably better because I had […]
