Personal Narrative: Winchester

Growing up I was always called a “Oreo” which means a black person who is white on the inside. In school, I was always called the white girl because I was the opposite of what the stereotypical black girl was. Constantly people would say “you’re pretty for a black girl” “you’re the whitest black girl I know” etc. I took offense to these comments, because last time I checked my skin color shouldn’t categorize how I should behave, appear, or determine my interest. My school and hometown. especially is mostly more whites than anything. I played club volleyball in high school most of the time I would be the only black girl on my team, my brother played baseball growing up, he was the only black person on his team for years, so growing up I was

Everyone is raised within a culture with a set of customs and morals handed down by those generations before them. Most individual’s view and experience identity in different ways. During history, different ethnic groups have struggled with finding their place within society. In the mid-nineteen hundreds, African Americans faced a great deal of political and social discrimination based on the tone of their skin. After the Civil Rights Movement, many African Americans no longer wanted to be identified by their African American lifestyle, so they began to practice African culture by taking on African hairdos, African-influenced clothing, and adopting African names. By turning away from their roots, many African Americans embraced a culture that was not inherited, thus putting behind the unique and significant characteristics

Growing up as a young African American girl in Philadelphia was not always easy, however, having a strong family structure, old fashion southern culture, and beliefs have molded me into the strong women that I am today. Now that I am a mother, following my family’s culture and beliefs are not always the easiest thing to do. Times has changed and I feel like I am forced to conform to the everyday social norms of America, which makes me feel impuissance. Yes, growing up was not easy, but my family and youth kept me in the dark when it came to how society treats individuals of darker complexion, what to expect once I left the confines of my family and neighborhood, and how to befriend or interact with individuals of other racial groups. All of the things that I listed were things that I had to learn through trial and error, which makes life a little harder than it already is.

Trying not to be a product of your environment is so detrimental in making it in life. There are so many people blame their upbringing for the trouble they get in. Just because your mom or dad was not the richest people, or honest, or even if they were in and out of jail, drunks, drug addicts or whatever. That does not mean you should follow in their footsteps. No matter what, us as children should always strive to be better than our parents. No matter the pigmentation of your skin there will always be stereotypes. When some people see an African American male with a t-shirt, jeans, and a pair of Jordan’s on they might instantly think he is some type of thug or drug dealer. When some people see a single mother no matter African American or Caucasian with more than four kids some may think that they the kids might not have the same fathers. The crazy part is that the young African American male you see might be a doctor, a lawyer, or maybe the CEO of the company you want to work for, the single mother you see might be widowed, or anything. One goal in life should to be never to fall into the stereotype of your race, gender, or

81% of Black adults reported that they have experienced at least one incident of day-to-day discrimination. And Adolescence is a stage in which to examine the impact of racial discrimination on the psychological part of African Americans (Racial Identity Matters). Which can cause a person to be scared expectably if someone has already confined in themselves of their race. "My siblings had already instilled the notion of black pride in me. I would have preferred that Mommy were black. Now, as a grown man, I feel privileged to have come from two worlds" (McBride 103). It was easier to accept the black

Once a person begins to realize that they are portrayed differently than others, their entire mind set changes. Black citizens decades ago had to deal with day in and day out feeling like

Everyone is raised within a culture with a set of customs and morals handed down by those generations before them. Most individual’s view and experience identity in different ways. During history, different ethnic groups have struggled with finding their place within society. In the mid-nineteen hundreds, African Americans faced a great deal of political and social discrimination based on the tone of their skin. After the Civil Rights Movement, many African Americans no longer wanted to be identified by their African American lifestyle, so they began to practice African culture by taking on African hairdos, African-influenced clothing, and adopting African names. By turning away from their roots, many African Americans embraced a

Being raised by Caucasian grandparents on the southside of Lincoln in the state of Nebraska isn't the normal living situations for most children. As well as, being a young African-American woman growing up and raised in an isolated community has altered my views on race and different opportunities received as a black individual compared to a white individual. I realized while residing in a primarily white neighborhood on the Southside of Lincoln, white and are opinionated on their personal views and aren’t necessarily accepting with change or promoting differences. (*my personal views about race)

Being a black person within society has never been an easy thing to do. Society has constantly been stereotypical of black people, although blacks have molded history and are very vital to society for the things that have happen throughout history have been big contributions toward modern-day life. African Americans in the 1890’s encountered stereotypes most of which still exist in today’s society. African Americans have come a long way and earned many rights but still live with the destitutions that they had in the 1890’s. Many black people have internalized the negative stereotypes of their race. therefore, internalizing the hatred of their blackness to the fact they began to self-oppress. Due to this internalized racism, many Black result

I grew up in the suburbs of Maryland and never fell into many of the stereotypes that surround African Americans, whether that was the manner in which I spoke, what I preferred to watch, or the songs I’d rather listen to. In high school, there were many times where I was referred to as an “oreo,” a black person who’s “white” on the inside and there was even a point where one of my classmates

Imagine, it is the first day of school, and you are the new student, in a new environment, and no one knows who you are or where you come from. You notice how everyone is in his or her separate cliques, the jocks are in one corner but you do not play any sports, the chess club is in the coroner while everyone else is in their own worlds. You wonder where to go, where you would fit in, with whom you will get along with. You want to fit in but you seem to have nothing in common with anyone so you begin to act out to gain attention. You want attention not only in the social circles, but you want attention in your classrooms as well. How can you achieve your goal of being noticed? After reading the article, “The Burden of Acting White”. The concept of acting white comes from the struggle of blacks being qualified as inferior their white counter parts. From trying to keep up in school but at the same time, letting your true colors be shown was almost contradictory to what was going on in the classroom (Thomas). In the African American community, many issues are causing the epidemic of Acting White. Not saying that acting white is an issue; but who is to say how we are acting is wrong? We all have our own identities and it is up to us to help students mold themselves into who they want to become in the world.

Growing up as a black female in a white world, it was always difficult for me to balance fitting in with those around me and staying true to my personal beliefs and ideals that often conflicted with those around me. I am from the Dallas suburban city, Frisco, Texas; a city whose majority is white. Growing up most of my friends were white, most of my teachers were white and most of my classmates were white. In my middle school and elementary school years I had absolutely no ties to the black community other than the interaction that I had with my own family. Being detached from the black community led my young self to shamefully look down on the few black students that attended my school. I would look down on them for their grades in school and I would find myself annoyed by their constant loudness and disruption. I would even make snide remarks to my white friends about the black girl students’ natural hair or braids and other protective styles. Not only was I turning against my own people, but I was also forming into a person that I wasn 't designed to be. I would relax my hair and constantly straighten it in order to have it look like my friends’. I became so caught up with trying to fit in with the people around me that I didn’t appreciate and embrace the most amazing part of myself.

Having experienced childhood in Pine Valley, California, a town far east of any populated city. With only a handful of African American kids at our high school, I witnessed a torrential slide of racial remarks from other white kids about how these African American

While a cliche choice to use a quote from To Kill a Mockingbird, it is not void of reason. This book holds a wealth of importance to me as it served as a catalyst for the development of my views about the world. During adolescence, I was incredibly confused on where I fit into the rigid lines of the seemingly predetermined social structure. I felt that everyone else knew where they belonged and I was never given instructions as to where I fit in. As an articulate black girl that lives in the South, the idea that I ‘sound white’ was consistently hurled at me. The younger version of myself did not completely understand why this was wrong, but something told me that it was not right. Now that I am older, I know that this is a racist misconception that hinges on the perception that black people are seemingly less articulate than their white counterparts. Throughout childhood, I never felt that I belonged to the untrue stereotypes that were unfairly cast upon my race. However, because I was so confused I spent many years on the outskirts. I was conned into believing that there were strict guidelines and that every had to have a defined boundary on where to fit in.

The next morning I called home. That fall I would start school at a Historically Black University, as systematically different as I could get from my southern Missouri predominantly white university. I flourished, I was involved in numerous organizations, inducted into a national Greek lettered organization and soon after, elected President of my chapter. I developed essential study habits and found my sense of belonging. If you were to ask me what color my crayon was then; it would be the alluring brown or the rich black crayon in the box. My crayon was as brown as the dirt in mother Africa, and as black as the chains the “white man” used to put me into slavery. Yet, I still had not found my true identity I had merely assimilated to the culture around me. It would not be until I stepped into the working world that my true colors would show.