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I grew up in very multicultural areas with a dad who sold insurance almost exclusively to BIPOC. My best friends were black and asian. I've dated a single white individual. My first experience with race? People saying I had squinty Chinese eyes. And asking my dad what that even meant. And being like??? confused at why people would say such things just to be hurtful and asked if I should be upset by it or more upset that such peoples exist.

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Growing up my mom was a social working. I think I first realized through her work about color and social status. During holidays we would drive around to elderly low income, mainly black, homes and deliver Christmas gifts. Which were actually just clothes and socks. The things I took for granted. 

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Growing up my mom was a social working. I think I first realized through her work about color and social status. During holidays we would drive around to elderly low income, mainly black, homes and deliver Christmas gifts. Which were actually just clothes and socks. The things I took for granted. 

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Telling my parents in kindergarten that I was going to be Chinese when I grew up just like my beautiful best friend. I had no idea that's not how it works.

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At a small Christian school, a boy in my class used the n word.

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My folks were from Scotland and my dad was Jewish. The biggest messages I got were that all people are equal and deserve to be treated with respect. My folks did not use derogatory language towards other cultures. I grew up on the west coast btw

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After 9/11  - I’m half middle eastern and got called a terrorist multiple times

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I was 9 years old  moving to Africa. I can't remember it was a positive or negative thing regarding race, only that we looked different and had a different culture.

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moved to a new neighborhood and started high school and see more students from different races

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My family moved to a new neighborhood when I was about two or three. There was an Asian family and an African American family on my street and I remember my brother asking my parents why "they looked different" from us. He was little and didn't mean any harm, he just hadn't met anyone different from him before. My dad explained that everyone comes from different places and everyone looks a little different. Shortly after, my parents explained race to us. I would say this was a neutral experience.

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I remember my Dad holding my arm and telling me that some people did not like other people that had different colors of skin. but under our skin we are all the same. He told me told always remember that . I was maybe 6 I just remember him being so serious about and not understanding why anyone would dislike anyone for that reason

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I remember moving a lot when i was younger and my parents spoke about moving to good neighborhoods. This meant neighborhoods where white middle and upper class people lived. Even though we are BIPOC I remember them saying that they did not want us to grow up in dangerous neighborhoods where black and hispanic people lived. It felt so confusing.

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My parents always made sure we lived in "good" school districts.

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Kindergarten when I told my parents I wanted to be Chinese when I grew up just like my best friend.

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I grew up in a very small Midwestern town that was segregated between white people and Hispanic people. We were told that it was best to keep the races separate.

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I remember moving at a young age and when my parents were looking for houses I can vividly remember to conversation around where they were looking and why. Who they were buying from and why.

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My Mom's family is Indian (Punjabi Sikh) and when growing up, skin lightening was a common topic and seemed to be talked about like it was normal for light skin to be prioritized.

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I went to a mostly white, small, private college. When a person of color that my friends didn't recognize was on campus or at a party, it was automatically assumed there were "such and such's" friend from urban Chicago. Like, they couldn't possibly be a student at our small, private school.

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Growing up I was always asked "where are you *really* from? because of my looks. The way I look was never in line with people's perception of what my ethnicity or nationality should look like. I knew that my skin+hair color played a huge roll in my identity.

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When I was in high school I dated an Indian girl. My parents did not mind but my grandparents were very bothered and would make jokes constantly. They would talk about how it was just a phase and that i would "get my head straight" eventually.