“She insisted she alone would handle it. ‘I’ve got an email to write,’ she announced. An hour later, she returned with a draft to the teacher: ‘Good afternoon. I am unsure of whether or not it came to mind when creating this assignment that not all students come from a line of descendants whose history involves voluntary immigration.'”
‘My daughter waved a piece of paper in her hand, exasperated. ‘What’s wrong?’ She said, ‘This assignment!’: Student powerfully pushes back after racially-insensitive assignment on ‘ancestors’
‘My student from 10 years ago messaged me. ‘Miss Silva, I’m applying for my Doctorate and Master’s Degree.’ I cried.’: Teacher urges ‘he is much more than the color many cannot see past’
“In a world that told him he would not amount to much because he was a black boy, he kept going. In a society that told him he was not worth much because he had dreadlocks and wore his pants a bit low, he kept going. He defied the odds, and then he crushed them.”
‘I am bi-racial, but when I gave birth to my son 4 weeks ago, I chose Caucasian as his race on his birth certificate.’: Woman shares candid reality of growing up mixed race
“I vividly remember my great grandmother’s pride in my looks. I was treated as though my light skin color, blonde hair, and green eyes meant I was better than my cousins with darker skin and brown eyes. I was made to promise I would only date white men or women. I was confused and hurt, but as I grew older, the less I cared.”
‘My little girl asked, ‘Daddy, what’s a wawwy?’ ‘A rally?’ She nodded. I knew I wouldn’t be that kind of father.’: Gay dad of 3 multi-racial children teaches ‘our differences make us beautiful’
“Growing up in south Mississippi, I was able to easily see how my own father was the most racist and hateful person I had ever met. As I got older, he would call me sissy, mama’s boy, and queer. That was bad enough, but the things I can recall him saying towards black Americans were just as bad, if not worse.”
‘Does he smoke or do drugs?’ My 19-year-old son was having heart attacks. He said no, but all she kept asking was, ‘Does he do drugs?’: Mom loses son after hospital malpractice, ‘This is systemic racism’
“‘Can we move forward and find out why his chest hurts?’ I was FURIOUS. When she came back in, the first thing out of her mouth was, ‘Well, your toxicology screens were clear.’ All she saw was a young black man and assumed he was on drugs. No one would help him. One day, while playing basketball with friends, his heart stopped.”
‘Are YOU okay, ma’am?’ The officer was staring at my passenger, my 15-year-old son. Her hand shot right back on her gun.’: Mom speaks out about racism against son, ‘My skin protected him’
“I was pulled over for driving over the speed limit. I BROKE THE LAW! Each officer got out, slowly approached my car with their hands on their guns. That had never happened to me before, so I thought it strange. One cautiously approached my window and asked, ‘Are YOU okay, Ma’am?’ She stared at my son with a look I had never seen in an officer before.”
Reflections from a Token Black Friend
“There is no escape. There is no level of success that will spare you. We are black men, and that is all that matters to some. Many white people do not understand their level of ignorance — especially the good ones.”
‘Their 10-year-old son went out for a bike ride. Suddenly, police were knocking on their door after reports a black man was trying to break into a house.’: Woman asks others to ‘use your privilege for good’
“The test results said, ‘You are 98% privileged.’ They stared back at me like a red blinking light. The results shouldn’t have been a surprise. I’m white, heterosexual, and was raised by two white, heterosexual parents.”
‘He gets to come home every night and take off his badge, his vest, his weapons. That choice is a PRIVILEGE.’: Cop’s daughter powerfully explains why ‘black lives matter’
“He can walk outside and nobody has to know he’s a cop. But black mothers, fathers, husbands, wives, and children? When the hate becomes too much or too hard, they don’t get to change their skin tone. They shouldn’t have to want to, but they are feared for simply existing.”
‘I can find my foundation skin tone because of white privilege. I can exist without fear of getting shot. That is white privilege’: Woman says ‘none of my struggles are because of the color of my skin’
“I haven’t lost a job or called the n-word because of the color of my skin. I haven’t had to work harder and prove myself as a person AND because of the color of my skin. I’ve known what it’s like to lose a job, be broke, and have zero in my bank account. But I still have white privilege.”
