who I am Archives - The Race Card Project

I’m still discovering who I am.

July 7, 2022July 8, 2022 Barry Kyrklund, connections, discovering, Flowery Branch, GA, who I am

Barry Kyrklund,
Flowery Branch, GA

Adopted, discovered, and still discovering more biological connections.

Colonization is part of who I am

May 4, 2021 colonization, HI, Patricia Cambe, Waipahu, who I am

Patricia Cambe,
Waipahu, HI

I’ll embrace who I am always

February 16, 2021 Brittany Sanchez, embrace, Frederick, journey, MD, who I am

Brittany Sanchez,
Frederick, MD

My background has a large impact on the type of person I am today. Through my family and culture I motivated to show representation for my people and work even harder to help my family and people who have pushed me along my journey.

This is just who I am

November 2, 2020November 2, 2020 country, human, Korea, racial bias, who I am, Yeonsu Park

Yeonsu Park,
Korea

We’re just the same human beings. I want to live equally without discrimination in any race. There are many prejudices about Korea. Of course, that’s not all true. Not only in Korea but also in any country, people in other countries think that there is prejudice. We don’t know much until we experience it in person. I hope that we think that prejudice is just another culture that is different from ourselves and respect it. I believe someday will come when no racial bias, no racism, just human self-seeking.

I am not one for boxes.

September 21, 2020September 21, 2020 bleach, CA, caring, chick the box, Cupertino, Denise Duvernay, ethnicity, father's heritage, generous, Juris Doctorate, look white, nationality, religion, sexual, Trader Joe's, who I am

Denise Duvernay,
Cupertino, CA.

People are always trying to figure out exactly, what I am. But does learning my nationality, ethnicity, religion, sexual background, or any other particular thing tell you anything about WHO I AM? So often, I feel like people are just looking for any excuse to dismiss you, or box you into their own narrow view of what they want you to be, so I live my life challenging everyone’s basic biases. I work at Trader Joe’s, but that doesn’t mean I’m uneducated; I actually hold a Juris Doctorate. And just because you think I look white, don’t make me deny my father’s heritage. And I wear my freckles proudly, I am sorry if you think I may be prettier if I bleached them or covered them up with makeup. I embrace all the differences that make me an unconventional beauty, weighing more than you might expect. I am smart, funny, caring, and generous. I love food and traveling. And I will do anything for my family. Knowing which boxes I check off on my census paperwork will never truly reveal all of the wonderful intricacies that make me, so ME!

Ask who not what I am

July 22, 2019February 23, 2023 @marthasjonesUM, @michele_Norris, #theracecardproject, Ann Arbor, ask, Martha S. Jones ‏, MI, The University of Michigan, who I am

Martha S. Jones,
Ann Arbor, MI.
Submitted via Twitter: @marthasjonesUM
#TheRaceCardProject @michele_norris

My race isn’t who I am

July 26, 2018July 26, 2018 blind, bliss, ethnicity, Ferrum, ignorance, Jackson R Barnes, Race, VA, who I am

Jackson R Barnes,
Ferrum, VA.

My race/ ethnicity hasn’t effected me in the slightest. I have not been discriminated against or any other of these ill circumstances that I hear others go through. Perhaps I am sheltered or maybe I am blind, but in a case such as this maybe it is better to be blind, after all ignorance is bliss.

I am who I am, ME!

May 17, 2018May 17, 2018 AZ, Black, Debra Rosenberg, growing up, Jew, obstacles, Phoenix, prejudice, who I am

Debra Rosenberg,
Phoenix, AZ.

I am the person I am meant to be, and proud to be a Jew even though growing up I knew what it was like to be “Black”. I had to overcome many obstacles of prejudices.

Ask WHO I am, not WHAT.

May 9, 2018May 9, 2018 asian-american, bi-racial, ethnicity, Jessica Hong, Korean, mixed, PA, Philadelphia, self-conscious, who I am

Jessica Hong,
Philadelphia, PA.

As an Asian American, people often ask “what” I am within the first 20 minutes (or sometimes 20 seconds!) of meeting me. Others feel self-conscious about asking but are visibly relieved when/if I happen to mention my ethnicity myself. I think the question of my ethnicity wouldn’t bother me so much if it was a true inquiry about the substance of who I am and what makes me ME (including but not limited to my ethnicity). But more often then not, I find that the desire to know “what” I am seems to be motivated by an anxiety about the unknown, an anxiousness to know which category of people to put me in. This anxiety is revealed as soon as the question of my ethnicity is answered. What that looks like is this: as soon as I reveal that I am Korean, I hear about all the other Korean things in that person’s internal Korean Box — friends who taught English in Korea, favorite Korean dishes, the two words of atrociously pronounced Korean picked up along the way, family members who fought in the Korean war, or childhood best friends who were (and presumably are still) Korean. These contents of the Korean Box come spilling out and I realize that the next Korean person this person meets may be soon be hearing about me.

Jessica’s story was featured on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Listen here, http://www.npr.org/2013/03/13/173816975/six-words-ask-who-i-am-not-what?ft=1&f=173814508

1/2 Black; 1/4 Chinese; 1/4 Norwegian

January 22, 2018January 19, 2018 1/2 black, 1/4 Chinese, 1/4 Norwegian, beauty, CA, categorize, define, Fremont, illusion, Jordan Yee, Separation, who I am

Jordan Yee
Fremont, CA

The biggest illusion is the illusion of SEPARATION. We all have the same roots and we are all branches of the same tree. People constantly ask me my ethnicity- I’m Black/Chinese/Norwegian but that doesn’t DEFINE who I am (it just gives me my good looks lol) .. but I don’t want to be CATEGORIZED … I’m just a HUMAN BEING and by being that I can relate to anyone!

Invisible lines drawn with invisible ink

June 26, 2017June 27, 2017 identify, Invisible, MA, stereotype, Tess Aaronson, who I am, Worcester

Tess Aaronson,
Worcester, MA.

I am a race that is not connected to a skin color. Races and cultures are not defined by an individual identifier, but by multiple shadowy characteristics that stereotype. One or many, no matter the amount of signifiers, lines have been drawn for me: who I am and who I am supposed to be.

Shamed for being who I am

April 20, 2017April 20, 2017 Avery, CA, devil, elementary, Los Angeles, Mixican, Race, school, shame, skin color, sympathy, teacher, who I am

Avery,
Los Angeles, CA.

All throughout my life I’ve felt many challenges that come along with my race. All throughout elementary school, when I was an impressionable little kid, in all my history classes I was told that white people did all the harm in the world and were literally heartless. I even got bullied for my skin color in middle school. I’d get things thrown at my head, told that I’m a white devil that deserves death, and the teachers would just sit by, not doing anything. It led to me having a lot of shame for just being born in my own skin as a kid, I even used to tell strangers that I was Mexican, not white, because I could tan so well that I could pass. These days race tensions are even higher, and though I’ve been able to convince myself that I am not wrong because of my skin color, I worry for other little kids out there that are going to have to take the same journey as me and might not even come out of it. The worst part is that society has no sympathy for these kids, as they never had any sympathy for me. If I replaced every “white” in what I just wrote to “black” everyone would be up in arms, but I’m told this is apparently a false equivalency because of systemic oppression, which I can agree with to some extent. However we are still creating and trying to even further a society that puts people down for something they have no control over, and our next generations will believe there is something wrong with them just because of how they were born. Is this really a society we are okay with?

Proud to be who I am.

August 5, 2016August 5, 2016 credibility, Denise, integrity, Italy, make your point, mesage, proud, who I am

Denise,
Italy.

If you resort to insulting others to “make your point,” the only point you’re making is that you lack credibility and integrity – 2 traits that either make or break your message.

Proud of who I am – always.

December 22, 2015January 8, 2022 Brandi Mcgrath Kong, Kansas City, MO, proud, who I am

Brandi Mcgrath Kong,
Kansas City, MO.

I actually like who I am.

November 30, 2015 AZ, Glendale, Kenya Ramsey, who I am

Kenya Ramsey,
Glendale, AZ.

I am who I’ll always be

August 24, 2015August 24, 2015 Cassandra, change, Cleveland, identify, OH, six words, who I am

Cassandra,
Cleveland, OH.

The process I went through to identify those six words is by realizing the six words that mean the most to me. What I mean by this is that those words explain who I am in short for everyone. I thought about what I felt was most important to me and, what I feel everyone should know about me before anything else. With that in mind I came up with the six words that would best express what I feel is important for others to know about me. This forms how I would describe myself to others that may not know me and even those who may think they know me well enough.

I decided on these six words because it explains me as a person. What I mean by that is that this shows what I fell is the most important about me. The words “I am who I’ll always be” means that I am who I am and will never change. That in basics is just saying that who I am today will not change tomorrow, I’ll be the same person each day. It also is just the best phrase to say that I will not change who I am for anyone, every person will see the same side of me. I think that’s important to know about me because I chose to be who I am, and no will make me change and I won’t change for anyone. If anyone ever feels like a change should happen they need to change themselves. I will not change myself to make someone else happy, they will need to change to make themselves happy.