woman Archives - The Race Card Project

White Males discriminated against at work.

March 4, 2025March 6, 2025 best practices, Charlotte, discrimination, hire, job, lower the bar, Mary Fruin, minorities, MLK, NC, office, white male, woman, work

Mary Fruin,
Charlotte, NC.

I think that Rev . Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s Dream is nowhere near being fulfilled when our big corporations are illegally paying big bonuses to managers to hire & promote minorities and women (read: not white men) and giving soft metric well paying jobs to minorities while chasing white males out of jobs to give them to minorities in many situations. We are surprising one race to elevate others, in many cases lowering the bar. Why not hire the best person? Why not promote for good work? Many men in my community are becoming stay at home fathers, not because of want but because their wives have a better career path due to hiring practices.

Warning!!! Educated black women walking by

April 2, 2024April 2, 2024 Black, Black woman, educated, NY, Potsdam, Samantha Ciena, warning, woman

Samantha Ciena
Potsdam, NY

I will not yield to you.

April 2, 2024April 2, 2024 Black, Houston, James Michael Rogers, jogging, male, neighborhood, TX, white, woman, yield

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 the black lady had to step off the track to get around them. It made me realize how randomly a black person can be confronted with racism in as innocent a setting as a spring morning stroll. I’m a white male.

Middle Eastern, Woman, non-conformist, Human.

March 19, 2024March 19, 2024 human, Middle-Eastern, non-conformist, Ornella El Tamer, USA, woman

Ornella El Tamer,
USA.

I am woman first, biracial second

March 5, 2024 biracial, Cordova, TN, unapologetically Black, woman

Cynthia Heard,
Cordova, TN

I am unapologetically Black. I have little tolerance for fragile people who don’t consider their need for comfort as a problem for others who just want to exist in their melinated skin.

Who’s directing? It’s HER? No Way!!

March 5, 2024March 5, 2024 African American, Altadenam, CA, directing, filmaker, invisibility, Lorna Green, stereotype, woman

Lorna Green,
Altadenam, CA.

I am an independent filmmaker, a writer-director, African American, and a woman. This combination confuses some people; it makes no sense to them because most directors are white guys. Granted, I selected a profession that relegates me to invisibility, but what’s interesting is the day-to-day reality of this. Working with new production crews means being asked if I’m a PA or in craft services. While blocking action or chatting with talent, I’ve had people ask me who’s directing. I’ve heard, “…it’s her? No way…” countless times. Deciding how to deal with this has been challenging. The first few years of my career, I felt offended and compelled to speak upon it, to right a wrong. All that got me was being unfairly accused by some of playing the race card — and we all know that the dreaded race card=you in trouble. Most times, I put those six words on ignore. I know they reflect where we need to grow as a society. Once while directing children actors on an educational industrial, I overheard them talking about me, about being a black woman director, about whether it even matters, and that’s when I realized the part I play in this, that the joy of directing, of visual storytelling, and of challenging societal conventions in front of and behind the camera is worth enduring my race card.

Somewhere between Salsa and Country!

March 5, 2024March 5, 2024 American, CA, Californian, Colombian, country, Cuban, English, Eureka, German, irish, music, Panamanian, salsa, scottish, Stephanie Connors, Texan, woman

Stephanie Connors
Eureka, CA

Music is one of my biggest reminders of the cultures that I grew up with. It fills me with nostalgia and pride, longing and love of the people who came before me. The people from: everywhere! I love all of it now. From day to day I swirl around in a delicious mix of American, Texan, Californian, Panamanian, English, Colombian, Scottish, Cuban, German, Irish and Woman!

Italian American women are still invisible

March 5, 2024March 5, 2024 American, Ann Sparanese, Englewood, Invisible, italian, Italian-American, NJ, woman, Women

Ann Sparanese
Englewood, NJ

Proud to be an American woman

March 5, 2024March 5, 2024 American Woman, proud, Sue Christensen, UT, veteran, West Valley City, woman

Sue Christensen,
West Valley City, UT.

Michigan, 1970: Where are your horns?

March 5, 2024March 5, 2024 1970, BJ Diamond, ct, East Coast, horns, Jewish, Michigan, Midwest, West Hartford, woman

BJ Diamond,
West Hartford, CT.

Just married, moved from East Coast to Midwest, found a job as an urban planner for the county. First woman in a professional position at the agency. The other women were administrative staff. I was always asked to fill in for them if they were short-handed (e.g., please get the coffee, please type this report/letter, etc.). My Star of David necklace caused a lot of whispering behind my back. Finally, when I asked what was going on, I was told they had never met a Jewish person before, and where were my horns.

Darkskin woman with locs.. future Doctor?

June 8, 2023June 8, 2023 biology, Black woman, darkskin, Dillard University, doctor, dreadlocks, hair, LA, New Orleans, Reion'ne Stewart, woman

Reion’ne Stewart,
New Orleans, LA

I am a Biology Pre-Med student at Dillard University. I am also a dark-skin woman with locs. I also just happen to be masc presenting. Whenever I go out in public I get the stares and microaggressions. I go to the grocery store and get watched, I either deal with non black cashiers not wanting to take items from my hand or hand me money. I go to self-checkout and I am watched to ensure I scan every single item. When I tell someone my career goals I get asked ”do you plan on cutting off your locs?” ”Do you plan on getting rid of your piercings and your colorful hair?” and it is exhausting. I am simply existing trying to live my best life and be my best self and I am met with judgement every step of the way. How could I be a darkskin masc presenting woman with locs and piercing AND be a doctor. Is it the impossible? It it that hard to believe?

I am a not an object

March 10, 2022March 10, 2022 body, ct, female, Megan Hoban, object, proud, respect, Ridgefield, sexual assault, University of Maryland, white woman, woman

Megan Hoban,
Ridgefield, CT.

Being a caucasian woman in the US I see sexual assault every day. I am proud to be who I am and I am proud of my body. With that being said I refuse to be looked at as an object or treated with any less respect because I am a female.

White woman regrets black friend opportunity.

December 6, 2021 assasinated, bridge the divide, CA, Chicago, High School, Jill Crusey, MLK, opportunity, San Diego, South-side, woman

Jill Crusey,
San Diego, CA

Grew up on the south side of Chicago as a white girl who went to a high school where black students entered through one door and white students entered through another. Did not know how to bridge the divide in my heart and move toward my fellow black students even though we sat next to one another daily, Until Martin Luther King was assassinated and I felt the rage in the city that was burning, I did not know how to comprehend the issues. Today and everyday I want to apologize to my black friends for my inaction.

White female born in America. Blessed.

September 15, 2021 america, blessed, FL, Joni Arredia, Key Largo, white, woman

Joni Arredia,
Key Largo, FL

Biracial woman: strength, confidence, confusion, pain.

April 21, 2021April 22, 2021 biracial, black perspective, confidence, confusion, cost, interracial marriage, learning experience, Melissa Flowers, On Location, pain, privilege, proud, San Antonio, strength, Texas, the race card project, Trinity University, TX, USA, woman

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 colleagues, friends, and even family members. I also feel as though I am looked to to defend or represent the “black perspective” on a number of things professionally. This causes confusion. This causes pain.

Contemplating all of these emotions in the context of being a wife to a black man and a mother to two interracial children has made my identify exploration evermore challenging and complex. Being biracial is a lifelong learning experience – one I embrace proudly.

I gotta be better to be equal.

July 16, 2020September 10, 2020 Andrea Canchola, boss, equal, equality, latina, San Antonio, stereotype, TX, woman, work hard

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 to work 10x as hard as you ever had to.

Dark skin woman; I love me

November 6, 2019November 8, 2019 character, dark skin, experience, love me, memphis, opinion, share, slef-worth, Sylvia, thank you, TN, woman

Sylvia,
Memphis, TN.

Thank you for this outlet. Letting people share their experiences, personal opinion & self worth, and/or reflecting on others in a limited character count gets to a very real place

Being a mulatto woman is complicated.

June 20, 2018June 20, 2018 bi-racial, complicated, Dorian N., mulatto, pride, Spokane, WA, woman

Dorian N.
Spokane, WA.

I am mulatto. I have a black father and white mother. I love being bi-racial, I take pride in it and feel very lucky to have heritage that stems from two completely different directions, but it took many years to achieve this level of confidence, because when strangers, family and friends come at you repeatedly with comments such as “You act very white,” “You don’t seem black.“ “You date too many white guys” or “You wear your hair too straight” back to “Why don’t you straighten your hair?” And “You don’t talk black” I mean the list goes on and on. I’ve experienced a lot of self-doubt and lacked the ability to identity with how I feel inside in comparison to how others feel I should look like and act like. It has been a struggle, but at the end of it all I ended up realizing that racial identity has been made complicated when in reality it doesn’t have to be. So what is complicated about being mulatto isn’t being mulatto itself, it is complicated because society makes it so. Society hasn’t always been satisfied with me being half-and-half; it demands that I identify with just one, but I refuse to do that. I style myself how I want, date who I want, and treat everyone of all colors and cultures with respect. I’m black AND white, and that is just the way it is. I owe no apology, nor do I need to repress either side.

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