“When we traveled together, the flight attendant asked us and ONLY us if we belonged together. They see a black man. They don’t know he spent half of his life serving this nation.”
‘He’s different from the others. You know what I mean.’ We woke to a noose hanging in our yard.’: Military wife talks difficulties of interracial relationship, ‘We all need to speak up’
‘Oh, that poor baby! Why don’t you do something with her nappy hair?’ The other kids weren’t allowed to play with me, the ‘little mixed girl.’: Mom to bi-racial family details experiences with racism
“My mom always carried a brush and detangler. She still carries them with her everywhere she goes, 26 years later. I remember sitting on the floor in my living room, my mom meticulously brushing for hours, crying because of the comments. I wanted to be like the other kids. ‘This is just the way it is, honey.'”
‘Are you going to buy that book?’ An employee walked over to me. ‘You can’t stand here and read it, you have to put it down.’: Woman details personal experiences with racism, ways to help
” ‘Are you kidding me?’ I looked around at the others doing the same exact thing. ‘So, it’s OK for them to stand and read, but I can’t?’ She smugly said, ‘YEP.’ I started shaking.”
‘Did you have ALL these kids with the same woman?’ He is a loving, faithful husband, but he is not treated like everyone else.’: Woman in interracial relationship urges ‘color exists, and so does racism’
“He’s avoided walking down grocery aisles. People call him Obama because he’s very well spoken…for a black man. He’s been told, ‘Our entrees start at $50,’ as we walked into an upscale restaurant. He’s listened to heinous racial slurs casually dropped. But don’t worry, they apologized afterwards. They would never want to offend him.”
‘I wish it was as simple as LOVE ONE ANOTHER. It is time to say enough is enough.’: Mom to bi-racial family urges for ‘peace and protection for all’
“When she was put into my arms almost 23 years ago, the only thing I saw was a beautiful baby with huge eyes and the longest eyelashes I’d ever seen. In these times of sadness and heartbreak, I am reminded my daughter’s skin isn’t just a beautiful color of brown, but the reason she may not be as safe as I am.”
‘My children have white privilege. The skin tone hides their true identity and background.’: Mom to bi-racial family says ‘they will be major allies in this fight’
“They never know what it feels to be like their daddy. BECAUSE their daddy is brown.”
‘A nosy man focused too much on race. I lost my patience. ‘I have so many kids because I sleep around a lot.’ He whipped his gaze over to my husband in shock.’: Couple with biological kids adopt 2 more, ‘My soul knew these souls’
“‘If you have more children, you could spend the rest of your life in a wheelchair.’ I can still hear those words echoing in my ears. There was no panic. Just calm. They didn’t even come with a photo. We didn’t need a photo to be drawn to the baby boy and his toddler sister looking for their family. They ran right to us and gave us big hugs. They are my babies, they always have been and they always will be.”
‘Tell me about when you CAME OUT.’ We left the interviews feeling a sense of ‘otherness.’ ‘Why does that even matter?’: LGBT couple adopt medically-complex baby boy from NICU
“I was at lunch with friends when my phone rang. I didn’t pull it out of my coat pocket. Soon, I got this overwhelming feeling to check it. My heart literally stopped. ‘It’s the adoption agency.’ I could barely get the words out. Both my friends yelled, ‘IS IT A BABY?!’ I rushed outside. There was a 2-pound baby born 3 months early. ‘He’s not breathing.’ We were presented a long list of medical issues. ‘Are we ready? Can we even do this?!’ We decided to let fate take over.”
‘For us, he was only ever our son. Not our black or adopted son. Even though most folks find him adorable right now, they might feel differently when he dates their daughters.’ Mom adopts black child, hopes for more acceptance for his future
“A neighbor at a playgroup asked all the kids to go around the room and say what color they were. They all laughed when it was Eli’s turn. He said he was white, like everyone else did. They made sure he left knowing he wasn’t.”
