Hapa: but always the wrong half.
Elissa Yukiko Weichbrodt, Chattanooga, TN. I’m half Japanese and half white. In Hawaii, where I grew up, mixed race people like me are called “hapa”...
I am bi racial and confused.
Najm, Burlington, IA As early as I can remember I have been flooded with questions “are you mixed?” “what are you mixed with?” ” is...
I’m the future, can’t you see?
Lauren Lola Newark, CA Why are people always so curious about what my racial makeup is? They treat it like it’s a game- like they’re...
No offense BUT, what are you?
Francesca Sam-Sin, Katy, TX. “No offense BUT, what are you?” That’s usually how the conversation about my race begins. When I arrived in the U.S....
“What are you?” – not a compliment.
Ruby Russoniello Tagaban, Ruston, WA I’ve spent much of my life greeted with “What are you?” It is neither a form of greeting nor an...
Will they ask me or assume?
Hillary Buren, Kansas City, MO. As a biracial women growing up in am almost entirely white community I have adapted to addressing my racial ambiguity...
You’re not white, What are you?
Sheena Biggerstaff Atlanta, GA I get this statement/question combo all the time. It’s amazing how many different races I’ve been grouped into by people trying...
I am what I am: me.
Thanh Bercher, Huntington Beach, CA Vietnamese-French, Polish-Eastern European / South African Interfaith Buddhist-Jew Multilingual enigma.
Father’s reflection, mother’s renewed hope, transformation
Christina Mayes, Richmond, CA. The constant revolving question in my life is, “What are you?” Let’s take care of this question now. My father is...
Stop asking me WHAT I am.
Tory Marcus, NJ. Although I hold my uniqueness close to my heart, WHAT I am should have nothing to do with WHO I am or...
Always, what are you? Long story.
Mariko Lockhart, Seattle, WA. Collected from The Race Card Project, On Location: Seattle Community Colleges My dad was black, born in Panama, as my grandfather...
What are you…I can’t tell?
Nichole Rogers, Albuquerque, NM We love to put people in categories and since I don’t visually fit easily into just one category I get asked...
Different is not bad, just different
Shaida Johnston, Falls Church, VA What is my nationality? I am American. I am as American as you are. Where am I from? Los Angeles,...
I Forget I Am Not White
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...
Don’t ask me, “What are you?”
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....
I’m just an American outside America!
Alma Gill, Columbia, MD. When I travel to other countries, I find it fascinating when asked, are you American? I’ve never been asked or identified...
Don’t make assumptions on my race.
Raquel, Tampa, FL Hillsborough Community College I’ve been called every race there is. Why not just ask me what I am?
