The Color Of My Skin

Growing up in Park Ridge, Illinois was significantly different from where I was born in Morristown, New Jersey. One of the most startling differences was apparent in the make-up of the student body. In Morristown, I attended an elementary school with a diverse student body; many of my schoolmates were African American and I remember even at a young age, students regardless of race interacting all-together without any sense of stigma attached to it. In that sense, while attending elementary school, since it was the norm to have friends of different races, I did not think very much of my race.

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

Growing up, I was constantly surrounded by people of the same ethnic race and culture. I was raised in the small city of Temple City where a lot of older generation Asian immigrants resided, which resulted in my schools being mostly dominated by the first generation Asian American population. Because of this similarity of race and culture with my peers, it was fairly easy for me to bond with other students as well as feel comfortable within the realms of my schools and neighborhood. I had little trouble learning and participating in classrooms and also was able to be very involved in leadership positions in extracurricular programs at my high school which was a good learning experience for me.

My first awareness of racial identity and diversity occurred when I was in Year 3. Having being raised acknowledging acceptance of people of racial or cultural difference my thoughts of children of colour were positive and impartial. However, one day a boy in my class of Sri Lankan descent got into trouble with another student, but only the Sri Lankan boy was asked to go to the principal’s office. During our lunch break he came over to a group of us and told us that he thought he was the one that got into trouble ‘because he was ‘black’’. I remember thinking to myself, ‘why would he get into trouble just because he was black?’ It was in fact that both boys

When I came to the campus, I wasn't sure how people would react to me. I wasn't sure how I should "act". Would people look at me differently if they knew I was biracial? I mean I couldn't just decide to be white one day and black the next. Some people think it is like waking up and deciding what to wear, "Hmm, should I wear the red or blue shirt today?" "Hmm, should I be

Growing up in a predominantly white community, I had never thought of the issue of race as a child. My neighbor and I were best friends, and I never thought of myself as different. She had blonde hair; I had black. She had blue eyes; I had dark brown. We loved to play with the same things, thus we were

My pre-adolescent years were spent in a community thick with diversity. My friendships were as diverse as the environment in which I lived. It never struck me that racial and ethnic ideals separated people in society. However, upon moving to a predominately white upper-class community I began to question such racial and ethnic ideas. From my adolescent years through today I began noticing that certain people are viewed differently for reasons relating to race and ethnicity. As a result, the most recent community I grew up in has kept me sheltered from aspects of society. As a product of a community where majorities existed, I found myself unexposed to the full understanding of race and ethnicity. Prior to the class I had never fully dealt with issues of race or ethnicity, as a result I wondered why they would be of any importance in my life.

Let 's start from the beginning, I was a high school freshman who had been around the same people my whole life. Some might call it out of the norm for someone of my skin color. Although it was a public school in the suburbs of Houston it was infamous of being the “white school.” The school had just opened and there were only sophomores

If NC State is considered above average, schools that are below average have an even lesser representation of African Americans in their schools. According to the scholarly article “The African American Student Network: An Exploration of Black Students’ Ego Networks at a Predominantly White Institution” by Tabitha Reed, she states “These negative and pervasive experiences are taxing and can result in lower levels of energy, satisfaction, and academic success in the college environment” (p.375). Not only does this cause negative effects academically, but also it can cause a problem such as making friends outside of your in-group. Though it is difficult to make friends outside of the in-group, it makes it harder for people to accept different cultures. This results in a domino effect when it comes to the negative effects that are spread throughout the school. Levin states “Our results also support earlier contact research suggesting the importance of outgroup contact, and friendships, for improving ethnic attitudes” (p.87). In summary, the lack of representation in the school creates a disconnect from African American students who wants their voices to be heard in the school

Growing up, I knew what my race was but I never knew about my race. I attended a predominately white school throughout my entire life and the only thing that we learned about was slavery and a FEW of the inventions that were contributed by people of the same color. That brought up further questions and concerns about my ancestors and where my people originated from. There was so much racial tension at my high school and I just wanted to get away to a place where I could learn more about myself, my academics, and my people. This is why i decided to attend an HBCU.

From Kindergarten up to my sophomore year of High School I attended a private school. My elementary school and high school were slightly diverse. The majority of the student body was Caucasian and the rest were made up of several other races. My school environment was very structured and controlled. I had some great teachers and one or two bad teachers. Around fifth grade I started to notice the way teachers perceived me and the challenges I would deal with due to the color of my skin. There were

Growing up I did not have very many friends who were of color. I had one best friend who was half white and half Samoan. I did not think anything of her being different than me because we have known each other from birth. Color did not matter to us; we were best friends. Due to my lack of exposure to people of different races than what I was used to, I developed a picture in my head of what it meant to be white. To be white when I was a child meant you were well off and were not in danger. I always classified different races with danger because it is what I always saw on the news. That Is very embarrassing to say but it is true. I do not feel this way today because I have more experiences in life that have helped me make connections and change my view on people who are different from me. I do not want my children to think or feel the way I did when I was younger. I want to expose my students and children to different cultures and races. I want them to be comfortable being around anyone no matter what the color of their skin

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.

My parents and my extended family has always made sure I knew my culture and that my race was different from other races such as Caucasian and Asian children I went to school with. I also always knew I related to a different race due to my family skin color versus the other people who were around whose skin color is different from mines. As a child when I was growing up I heard adults or older kids talk about issues such as different races and people they have interacted during the day. Another thing exposed to me as a kid was the different political issues especially George Bush administration and racism as general. Being exposed to many views on how the color of your skin will affect the way society sees you and places you in the social system put perspective on how I saw my future. Being black you often automatically deemed as you are not going to succeed in life or you are not going be educated enough to place in high