Tag: 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, Sh*t Mixed People Get. Today I ran across “@#$% People Say to Transracial Families”

Enjoy!

Your friends at iCelebrateDiversity.com

Speak Up! Responding to Everyday Bigotry

SPEAK UP!

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.

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.

Cultural Cookies

Cultural Cookies provide a unique way to share the message, “we’re more alike than different!”

We have taken the fun of fortune cookies and combined them with proverbs around the world to show that all human beings share similar experiences in life, no matter how different our backgrounds. 

Proverbs in one culture are frequently similar to proverbs expressed in other cultures. For instance, the French “Qui vole un oeuf vole un boeuf” translates to “He who steals eggs steals cattle,” compared to the American proverb “Give him an inch and he’ll take a mile.”

These fun cookies can be used at home to spark discussion, as icebreakers in the office or classroom, an activity during diversity training, or simply on top your desk as a fun way to remind staff or students that people are much more alike than different.

For more information

Beginning

I’m so excited about starting this blog! It’s something that I’ve wanted to do for a while but I wasn’t sure exactly what approach I wanted to take with it. Well, this weekend I sat on a panel at a transracial adoption workshop and know exactly what I want to do!  I want to create a place where we can share our experiences of having a multiracial family, ask questions, post frustrations, share resources and encourage each other. This is my first blog, so I’m going to have to learn how to navigate the blogosphere, but I’m looking forward to the journey! Will you join me?