Blog / race relations
Video: Things People Say to Transracial Families
A couple years ago we shared a popular video series making its way around the internet:
Sh*t White Girls Say...To Black Girls Part 1
Sh*t White Girls Say...To Black Girls Part 2
Today I ran across "@#$% People Say to Transracial Families"--I've heard it all! People, watch the videos...if you have heard any of these things come out of your mouth, educate yourself and DO BETTER!
Speak Up! Responding to Everyday Bigotry
Your brother routinely makes anti-Semitic comments. Your neighbor uses the N-word in casual conversation. Your co-worker ribs you about your Italian surname, asking if you're in the mafia. Your classmate insults something by saying, "That's so gay."
And you stand there, in silence, thinking, "What can I say in response to that?" Or you laugh along, uncomfortably. Or, frustrated or angry, you walk away without saying anything, thinking later, "I should have said something."
People spoke about encounters in stores and restaurants, on streets and in schools. They spoke about family, friends, classmates and co-workers. They spoke about what they did or didn't say — and what they wished they did or didn't say.
And no matter the location or relationship, the stories echo each other.
Speak Up! is a book that shares love, insight and pain, but also offers "lost words", practical solutions and hope for a better tomorrow.
Download your free copy of SPEAK UP!
Another great resource offered by Teaching Tolerance.
Poem: "On my applications" (biracial)
Here's another great poem from Arnold Adoff that was in the book All the Colors of the Race
that I featured yesterday.
On my applications
by Arnold Adoff
On my applications I can
put:
this girl:
a black,
white,
Christian,
Jewish,
young
woman:
student,
musician,
singer,
dancer,
runner in the middle distance races,
is willing to help you
if you take her as she
is.
Read more →
that I featured yesterday.
On my applications
by Arnold Adoff
On my applications I can
put:
this girl:
a black,
white,
Christian,
Jewish,
young
woman:
student,
musician,
singer,
dancer,
runner in the middle distance races,
is willing to help you
if you take her as she
is.
Poem: "The lady said" (biracial)
Here is a tiny treasure that I found in the library this summer. A book of poems, All the Colors of the Race, written by Arnold Adoff. Based on his own interracial family, Adoff writes from the perspective of his biracial (black/white) daughter, which I find very interesting. At first I was a bit thrown off because I generally prefer poetry to rhyme, however, his style is considered "free verse" poetry. The more I read (and re-read) them, the more I fall in love with them! I hope you do too.
The lady said
by Arnold Adoff
The lady said: what are you going to
be
when you grow
all the way up?
And I said: a woman.
And she said. No. I mean what are
you
now?
And I said: a girl.
And she said: No. I mean what do you call
yourself?
And I said: Honey. Baby. Sweet
potato
pie
face me.
If she finds it hard,
I find it easy
to make it hard for her.
Read more →
, written by Arnold Adoff. Based on his own interracial family, Adoff writes from the perspective of his biracial (black/white) daughter, which I find very interesting. At first I was a bit thrown off because I generally prefer poetry to rhyme, however, his style is considered "free verse" poetry. The more I read (and re-read) them, the more I fall in love with them! I hope you do too.
The lady said
by Arnold Adoff
The lady said: what are you going to
be
when you grow
all the way up?
And I said: a woman.
And she said. No. I mean what are
you
now?
And I said: a girl.
And she said: No. I mean what do you call
yourself?
And I said: Honey. Baby. Sweet
potato
pie
face me.
If she finds it hard,
I find it easy
to make it hard for her.
