Race Remixed: Shades of Grey Shining Like the Colors of the Rainbow

Feature Editors:
Shanasia Bennett, 15
Ilda Zenelaj, 16
Massachusetts

Have you ever made assumptions about a person’s race simply because of his or her appearance? Be careful, because you walk among millions of people who come from multiracial backgrounds. The results of the 2000 Census show that close to seven million people in America identify as multiracial. As a nation we are all mixed together. Whether you are Black, Caucasian, Asian, Latino/a, or a mixture, our variety of races, even in a single person, is what makes America unique. The multiracial experience is one that should be celebrated and cherished. Being thankful and feeling comfortable with your own identity is the first step towards learning the many racial differences and accepting others for who they truly are.

I Am Fed Up With Being Judged
Malory Hom

When people look at me, they don’t know exactly what my race is, what my ethnic background is, or what my cultural heritage is. That’s because I have many different ethnic backgrounds. I am part Chinese, part Irish, and part Italian. As you may have guessed, that is quite a combination.
It is hard for me to understand why race is so important. Why does it even matter? Shouldn’t it be about who you are on the inside? Honestly, I am fed up with being judged by my appearance. I know that I am not the only one who feels this way because every time I turn on the television or go to school, I see people judging other people by the way they look. As a result, people’s feelings get hurt.

Appearance and race shouldn’t matter, so don’t let it. All we have to do is feel proud about our heritage and what we look like. I know this isn’t easy because there are pressures in today’s world for people to look a certain way to fit in, but don’t be afraid to stand up for yourself and not care about what other people think. Think—don’t judge.

What Are You?
Tadina, 18
Washington, DC

Throughout my life I’ve been plagued by the question “What are you?” People seem perplexed by my race and often feel the need to figure it out. “Wait, let me guess…you’ve got pretty hair, but it’s not that pretty; you’ve got light skin, but it’s not that white: what the hell are you?” Well, as far as I can tell, I’m an 18-year-old female who’s tired of answering the same questions over and over. I’ve heard people say that being mixed is helping our society become color-blind. But until then, I’m still stuck in the middle where questions about my race step less towards the direction of one human race and more towards racism.

When I was younger, these questions would push me into self-doubt and I would feel torn between the different races of my parents. I felt conflicted, not because I didn’t know who I was, or where I came from, but rather because I couldn’t find other people who looked like me. I remember going to school when I was younger and finding that I stood out. No one treated me any differently than anyone else; no one was mean to me or did anything that I would label as racist or insensitive. But when I looked around the room, there was no one who looked like me. I was just a little girl who lacked confidence and felt lonely and unsure of myself because I was different.
I hope that some day every little girl can walk into any environment, from ballet school to business school, and feel comfortable because she is surrounded by a rainbow of races—including multiracial people—many of whom look just like her.

main 1 2