Michele Norris started The Race Card Project in 2010 to foster a wider conversation about race among her readers. It has since grown into a rich and powerful archive. Thousands of people from all over the US and the world have submitted their candid thoughts on race in six-word essays. Read a selection and submit your own Race Card HERE…
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My kids will [know/love] all [races/colors/ethnicities/PEOPLE].
Senior year, Dad rode the pine.
Not hiring whites. So moved north.
Black, a disfunctional culture resisting change.
My goal is to defy stereotypes.
EVERYONE has the same color blood
(Deep down in our veins runs equality. What’s on the outside does not matter. It’s what runs through our hearts that counts. You don’t read a book by staring at the cover. Look deeper, think deeper, love with the heart. Make the world a better place)
Remember this? “…(J)udged by the content of their character and not the color of their skin.”
My mother is white. My father is black/Indian…maybe some white in there.
So what?
There are trashy blacks and trashy whites.
We’ve gone from MLK’s dream to escalating racism to a whole new level.
what is a pigment number?
There is but ONE race – HUMAN
you feel superior, but you are not
you feel superior, but you’re not
My daughter will be raised as I was by my grandmother, she to will be raised color blind. I was taught not to see color but the person for who they are.
White; no automatic scholarship for me.
Racism ends when differences aren’t glorified.
Race should just mean a game.
“You have to be carefully taught.” From the show, South Pacific
I think many say “race” when they mean “skin color”, and/ or, “physical appearance”.
Unless it can be proved, through scientific testing, that someone is of a minority race, claims of racial discrimination should be disregarded.
“African-American”, “Asian-American”, “Mexican-American”…all inappropriate descriptions for people born here with out dual citizenship, unless, race is more important than heritage…RACISM, don’t let it control YOU or how you’re “labeled”!
Brown or white, hearts beat alike.
I was the only brown kid.
Black, white, brown, we’re all around
Color shouldn’t matter. Let’s stop hiding.
Outer differences, inner sameness, just humanity.
we will be one some day
TV never shows mixed race couples.
The Race Card Project was a great idea and I hope it works out as hoped.
I am Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.
Horses A Present in the Moment
Michele, thank you for your speech last night at SVSU, so glad Mamie and others invited you. I partner with horses to help human development, it’s a perfect learning & training model to help people be authentically who they are (in the moment), regardless of race, gender, or any other man-made descriptor. They are also a present or gift to humans, so I played on that word to show the double meaning. Thank you!
White ethnic folks have race too.
1. the media lies despite the evidence being public
2. Trayvon was shot while committing an aggravated assault
3 No ones son is at risk unless they put themselves at risk
4. The deceased should have considered the possible consequences of his actions.
afraid for my white teenager too
Does stand your ground cover stalkers?
Race: a futile exercise in categorizing humans
“I don’t care, he can pitch.”
(Old bus PSA, Brooklyn, ’50s)
Blacks kill blacks daily in Sanford
Schoolmates say, “honky”; Who taught them?
I didn’t protect him from police.
Ethnic heritage unknown, skin color: white.
I take him at his word.
TURBAN DOESN’T MAKE A MAN TERRORIST.
ALL TURBANED MAN ARE NOT TERRORIST.
Lipstick, rouge and rules for boys.
Not all ethnic inquiries are racist. That is my six words; here is my explanation. Often times people in the South, (maybe especially white people,) ask “Where are you from?” My answer would be, “Scotland, via Northern Ireland, through the port of Charles Town. But, I’m a sixth generation Alabamian.” The question results from many Southerners having been taught our family history from an early age and we compare notes, especially now that Ancestry.com is so ubiquitous. I see this as a modern day version of how the Celts would recite their ancestry before going into battle. It is hard for many Southerners to understand anyone not wanting to talk about where they are really from. Outsiders need to know that we mean no harm by asking.
Fat black women are people too.
Whiteness kept me ignorant. Not “innocent.”
Judge by the individual not whole.
Judge by individual not the masses.
Seek answers from facts not T.V.
Born in America, I am American.
I really don’t understand why so many still have this race issue. I was born in the USA, and I am American. Parents are from Mexico and I spent a lot of time in Mexico growing up. But, I am not Mexican. I grew up with PB&J, OJ, Captain Crunch, Nirvana, RHCP, watching American Football, playing baseball. Ask me about Mexico and all I can do is tell you what I see in the news. Sorry, I was born and raised in the USA. My focus in life, like most American children, young adults and now an adult, working my butt off for the *American* dream – Family, House, Car, invest for retirement, enjoy Super Bowl Sunday, etc.
My entire life I have always been treated with the respect I earned (as we all do). I was never discriminated, and if I was, I was never aware of it. As a kid, I spent the night at my white friends house. Spent most of the summer at my black friends swimming pool. Enjoy playing in the street with my asian friends. In college, I felt that I was treated like everyone else, equally. Job interviews, the same. I held a software job right out of high school with a large corporation. White boss, mixed colleagues – never felt that I was any less ( well, being the new guy, the young kid, but that’s not “racial” and we all go through that). Immigration check-points on my way to the Grand Canyon or Vegas, I’ve never gone to secondary.
The reality is, it’s always been the Hispanic or the Latino (however you want to label “these people”) that bring up the “race” card – Where are you from? Me? Well I’m from Los Angeles. “OK then”, they respond in a disappointed/frustrated tone, “where are your parents from?” – Does that matter where my parents are from? My white friends, black friends, asian friends – that question usually comes up after we’ve become friends.
At any rate – Born in America, I am American. I can talk to you about Togos, Washington DC, American Football – I don’t not much about Tortas, Mexico City or Soccer.
Have you thought about a gender/sexual orientation card for the 6 words project? I think it would be very powerful, especially with all the misconceptions out there.
Native Americans swept dead under rug.
Why is being (enter race here), enough said?
Racism changed my son–I cried.