The Race Card Project
By Michele Norris
Carrington Anderson,
Indianapolis, IN.
Never sure why I get “You’re so well spoken” so often. Not sure why people look at me and expect me not to be. Being well spoken isn’t “talking white.” English is my native language. Don’t act so shocked when I speak it well.
Lashanda Burns Carter,
Scranton, PA.
I was raised by a white family from the age 4 until 13. There were some great things and some really horrible things. But I am who I am because of the environment. Open-minded nonjudgmental, well spoken, humorous, and very shy African American. Who loves Motley Crue and hates cornbread. Black people have said u act too white or even that I want to be white. White people say I am not like other black people. This is nit a compliment. Or that I am the coolest black person ever. My own people judge me more than any other people. I don’tget it. But I don’t get a lot of things. **shrugs shoulders**”
Angie Cruz,
Los Angeles, CA.
The fact that I am a Latina should not make you assume I am not intelligent. I am college educated, I am well-spoken, and I have undergone experiences that have created a foundation for my intellect and my ability to communicate. Don’t be surprised because I can use “big words”.
KiKi Riddle
Lee’s Summit, MO
I’m black and have lived in the mid-west all of my life. My parents were college educated with my father having earned his degree with a 4.0 in math and science. That same passion for education, as well as the importance of proper enunciation of the English language, was instilled in me. What amazes (and offends) me is to hear someone (usually a white person) express their pleasant surprise that a certain black person ‘is so well spoken’. This can be in relation to anyone from a black college kid, to a young black businessman, and even in relation to the President of the United States when he was running for election. Saying, “He/She/You’re so well spoken’ is NOT a compliment. It’s an insult, especially considering that same sentiment is rarely used when a Caucasian adult is being discussed. It’s as if it’s an anomaly to hear a black person enunciate their words or express an opinion in a more concise manner than the Sterotypical crime witness, reporters love to find on the local news. As one who has had this ridiculous sentiment directed at me, it is all I can do to remind myself that the individual who is speaking, is utterly clueless and more likely as not doesn’t even realize how ignorant he/she sounds.
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