I hate whites for their hatred
Elle,
France.
I cannot see them as good people. They have oppressed so many minority groups – historically and to the present day – then they deny that they have ever done anything wrong. Their police kill us and we are always blamed. They are always 100% innocent in their own eyes. I have grown to hate them not for their skin color but because of their actions, excuses and denials.
Whites demand gated-fences, Blacks, doors.
Daniel Knoll,
Saint Louis, MO.
Just some ruminations on the issue, as a Local Missourian, and past resident of the town NEXT to Ferguson MO..white, adopted child of full Native American(Cherokee) mother and German-American father…
Taunted by Whites for being untanned.
Marcia S Davis,
Holland, MI
Since I was a kid and into adulthood, I’ve heard people say to me, a Caucasian, “You’re so white!” “You need to get some sun!” When I was younger I didn’t have the self-esteem to come back with a clever retort. I just buried my shame, dragging my self-image down with it, wishing I wasn’t in my own skin.
I call it Fish-Belly White. Peer pressure drove me to fry my skin with baby oil as a teenager just to fit in. Usually I just turned into a lobster. I’ve had numerous sunburns that are now emerging in my 50s as precancerous skin. Thankfully, I’ve been seeing a dermatologist annually for check-ups and may have saved my skin in time.
I’m not sure what to call this experience. Is it bullying? Is it a form of racism? Reverse racism? This project was a good outlet for me to express the shame of being the whitest of White people I know–many people who, ironically, tan their skin to be darker, yet have racist attitudes toward people of color.
If anyone criticizes my pale skin now, I just tell them [duh] I was born Caucasian. What you see is what you get. And hopefully I won’t get skin cancer.
I would love to understand what is behind the comments….what being “too white” means to them.
Blacks Would Go Extinct Without Whites
Miranda Metto,
Richmond, CA.
Very tired demands from racist aggressive, rude, uncivilized ignorant black people and their white fan club to pity and apologize to people who aren’t contributing anything equal or better than anyone and to be expecting all white people to dumb ourselves down so they can keep up.
Colorblind but others may not be.
Catherine,
USA
I was raised to treat others with respect, no matter their appearance, but it’s difficult to when my identity is destroyed because so many fear “whites” as a result of the few bad ones within the race.
Whites can’t distinguish Harvard from Hoodlum.
Alisa Dennis
Los Angeles, CA
Many white people do not personally know any blacks, or very few. As a result, their only reference point for black culture is drawn from stereotyped, caricatured images from T.V. news, sitcoms, Hollywood movies, or quickly driving through the outskirts of economically marginalized black neighborhoods where they are likely to see boys/men they may characterize as “hoodlums”. Because they aren’t exposed to a diversity of blacks, they have trouble accurately discerning their energy and intention when they encounter us. Blacks, as a “minority group” in this country are constantly surrounded by and exposed to a wide variety of white people so we learn from an early age how to “read” and assess their attitudes and intentions by noticing their dress, quality of eye contact, gait, tone of voice, hairstyle, etc. These subtleties are lost on whites because they don’t have enough practice being around Blacks.
I am an Ivy League graduate with a PhD who happens to have dreadlocks. White women still clutch their purses when I enter an elevator if I am casually dressed! Once, I was in an upscale clothing boutique and I was followed around the store. The sales girls were trying to see if I had shoplifted anything and kept asking me if I wanted to leave my bags at the counter. They were looking inside my bags! Ironically, in the moment they were shaking me down, 2 teenage white girls came into the shop and yanked clothing off a rack and ran out of the store! Serves the owner/manager right for harassing me.
Whites have much to answer for.
Paul Burnam,
Westerville, OH.
I am a 68-year-old white male. I am so, so tired of hearing about whites who think they are being persecuted such as those who posted to The Race Card Project about the mistreatment of whites. I heard all this again on “All Things Considered” on March 13 when Michele Norris was interviewed. What I mean in my “Six Words” comes from my mother telling me when I was in my early 20s that she and my father selected the neighborhood to buy their first house because it would insure that my brother and I would not have to go to school with African Americans. I was disgusted by a white minister or chaplain who was organizing a memorial services for the wife of one of my wife’s former faculty colleagues. We entered the retirement community with my wife’s African American colleague and her husband. As we were signing in at the receptionist’s desk, the chaplain came up to the husband of my wife’s colleague and asked him if he would help put up chairs. He just assumed any black man present was there to do manual labor (the gentleman was dressed in dress slacks, a sport coat, and an open-neck dress shirt).
I also want to acknowledge Michele Norris’ efforts in making me aware of white privilege in the focus groups she and Steve Inskeep did in Des Moines, IA and York, PA during the 2008 election. The comments of a book publisher in Des Moines about being tired of having her tax money be used for school lunches and a female factory worker in York who wondered out loud if she would have to walk in the street if Barack Obama were elected crystallized how upsetting white privilege is to me.
Discrimination still exists; whites always suspected!
Brian,
West Hills, CA.
To expand on those six words, I’d say that discrimination against people of color still exists, though often more subtle than it used to be (e.g., implicit bias). Still, the degree of discrimination is vastly underapreciated, especially by whites.
On the other hand, whites are always under suspicion for being racist, which is an exaggerated response to a real phenomenon (discrimination). In addition, racism is hardly limited to whites, though the concrete effects of racism coming from whites is greater than the effects of racism coming from others in this country.
Only been victimized by other whites.
Michael Ponsler,
Brooklyn, NY.
I’ve enjoyed an extremely diverse social life, dated & married interracially and on countless occasions have been the only white person within a crowd, community or family gathering. I have never been harassed, harmed or threatened by a person of another race. However, I have been rejected, assaulted and/or threatened several times by one or more whites, not in every instance, but often as ‘punishment’ for my mixed race relationships.
I’m white; where do I confess?
Anonymous,
Annapolis, MD.
Shouldn’t blacks learn something about white attitudes. I’m often surprised by what we hear about whites.
Racism definitely exists for a reason
Johnson,
USA.
I am sick to death of people trying to pretend like there aren’t legitimate reasons for racism. Not always, but they are there. I was raised not to be racist and people say racism is a learned behavior…yeah…I learned it myself from being around blacks. Black people can’t see it like everyone else because they’ve been raised that way their entire life so it’s completely normal and acceptable behavior to them that they cannot see objectively. To them it’s normal to be loud, obnoxious, confrontational, and inconsiderate. I know this is not all blacks but through countless personal experiences in several different areas/states/locations/situations I would argue that it’s most of them….especially when they’re around other blacks.
I have seen, numerous times, black people act like normal everyday regular people until another black person walks up and they suddenly turn into something completely different, their mannerisms, speech, accent, body language….everything changes….they go from being a black person to a n***** in 2 seconds….wtf?!? This is a trait only significant to black americans. I’ve had every other race (including African) of friends and never witnessed this with them but have with every single African-American I know.
Which leads me to another point….Your parents were born here? You were born here? You’re American!! Just because youre black doesn’t always mean you came from Africa anyway. Black people do exist on other continents you know? Dave Matthews is African American and he’s white.
Anyway here’s an example: I was in a gas station a few weeks ago here in Columbus it was around lunch time so there was a long line at the counter comprised of whites, Mexicans, Asians, Indians, and Somalians. The place is pretty quiet as people are patiently waiting in line…..
In walks 3 black people. Immediately start being loud and obnoxious, drawing attention to themselves, yelling at each other and cackling at the top of their lungs. Two of them start cussing each other out over what kind of pop to get and making absolutely sure they’re doing it loud enough for everyone to hear. Then when they get in line they all immediately start yelling and complaining to the clerks to hurry up, and loudly talking about how they’re stupid and should hire people who know how to do their job and blah blah blah….Nobody else in line was complaining at all understanding that sometimes places get busy and things might take longer than usual…not these black guys though.
Want another?? My step-mother’s Daughter-in law was raised in farmland Ohio around nothing but white people her whole life. I grew up on the south side of Chicago before moving here around the age of 16. She would always argue with me that racism was BS and black people were just the same as white people…etc.
She moves to Charlotte NC, gets a job as a waitress. Within only one month she’s been spit on, cussed out several times, and almost physically assaulted (all separate incidents) by the black clientele. Treated with respect by every other race. So after like almost 40 years of preaching anti-racism–she became a full blown racist in a matter of weeks NOT because of white people she LEARENED to be racist from blacks.
Stop Blaming Whites for Your Problems
Anonymous,
Austin, TX.
Blaming all white people for slavery is the same as blaming all black people for Boko Haram. If I am to be held responsible for what some white guys unrelated to me did centuries ago, then you should be to blame for what your people are actively doing right now. This goes for all races. People of all races have done horrendous things and we need to stop blaming the color and start blaming the GREED!
My Full-time Job: Being Black
Jessica,
Taunton, MA.
Being Black in America means that you constantly have to change and work on yourself in order to please the dominant group in society (Whites). Its about making them feel comfortable and at ease even if that means rejecting your culture, traditions, ancestry, and basically everything that makes you who you are as a Black person. Society makes us feel that we should not be proud of our Blackness but instead work towards assimilating ourselves to be more White. Because after all, that’s what being an American is right?
I cannot believe Whites so cruel
Pam Lindberg,
Minneapolis, MN.
I am embarrassed by the behavior of my race. We need to open our eyes accompanied by our hearts





