First racist experience

Not sure what my first experience like this was but the one that comes to mind where I felt it myself was in middle school. I went to a lot of different schools throughout my education. In 6th grade, I was sent to a school across town with mostly Mexican, and African american kids. I am a total mutt of all different nationalities, Cuban, Irish, Swedish, Mexican, south American, Etc. I look sorta white, but have black hair and my skin is darker than someone who is normally classified as "white".
Anyway, this experience spanned over the next several years as I bounced around to different schools. The first school, I was always talked down to for being The "white boy" or "white bread" they'd say. I would always just think "what the hell, I'm cuban, man". After that year, I was transferred to a school in the suburbs that was mostly white, There I was the "Mexican kid".
They all would call me names and steal my stuff.

All in all, I have come to the conclusion that racism is everywhere, it knows no shade of skin, or ethnic background. I was raised to be tolerant and accepting of everyone, and for the most part I am. I just have a hard time tolerating people who are intolerant of people for their appearance rather than their actions. The only thing to do is to speak up against intolerance when you come across it rather than being quiet. When I hear someone making a racist or classist comment, I like to call them out in front everyone who is around and ride them for being ignorant.

I can see that - middle school for the current generation is mostly where it would become the apparent for most kids. When I was younger it probably happened at a much younger age but I honestly do not remember a lot of really mean spirited type when I was in elementary age. I remember my brother making fun of my friend calling her chocolate and her just giving it right back to him. More fun teasing.

But as you get older it tends to get mean. I even remember a high school teacher telling a classmate of mine you are our token black kid. I could not stand that teacher he was sexist as well.

For my own children - I saw it first hand - not someone actually being racist - but saw her recognize with shock that people are actually treated differently because of skin color. Now she had friends with all sorts of backgrounds but she went to a Christian school and knowing the principal any sort of racist behavior at all would not be tolerated. Any way she was about 11 and rented this movie called the Color of Friendship. It was about apartheid where a white south African girl came to stay with a black American family each expecting a different color. I had to explain to my daughter how people of different colors were treated - you should have seen the shocked look on her face like she couldn't fully understand why you would think more or less of someone simply because of skin color.

It was a little sad to see that innocence go away, but also seeing a new understanding and sympathy for what some other people have had and may still endure.

I love to see that reaction in children. Not the part about losing the innocence, but about being shocked to find out that anyone would treat someone differently because of skin color. One of my favorite movies of all time is "A time to kill" If you have not seen it, I highly recommend it. I dont want to blow the plot, but basically, A little black girl is murdered and her father gets revenge. Most of the film is of the court proceedings afterwards. In which, the lawyer hired to defend the father ells the jury a very vivid story about what has happened to the mans daughter, and how she was raped and murdered and drug behind a truck. Upon completion of the story he asks the court room and jury to imagine that the girl was white. Needles to say, they win the trial. Awesome way to make people see the truth.

I hope there's a lesson here someplace. I'm Japanese American born in the US, and during WWII we were relocated to concentration camps. I was six to ten years old in the camps. When we came out after the war, we went to Lincoln School in Sacramento where I was born. Many in those days told me to "go back to your own country."
That's how ignorant and silly racial discrimination is. I'm third generation American. Where was I supposed to go?

Yes show this movie as well as read the book. Try reading the book - although the movie was well done - the book is always better.

That is so sad - sorry you went through that - do you see differences now?

I do remember reading books in school about just what you talk about. About the fact not just that innocent people born in Japan were sent to these camps but actual natural born Americans were.

I wonder if some of those born of Middle Eastern descent find this happening of them. My daughter was good friends with a girl - she was of middle eastern descent I can't remember if Lebanese or not really doesn't matter. But I remember when her mom was having a boy. They really wanted to name him Muhammad or another similar name that was ethnic of their cultural. Both the parents were born here in the US. They were concerned about how people would treat him - they did opt to go with the ethnic name as they loved it.

I can't imagine having to worry about that.

Since about the late 1950s-early 1960s, race relations in the US ( both North and South) have undergone tremendous changes. At one time, laws prohibited Black-White marriages. Discrimination at lunch counters, swimming pools, drinking stands, buses, slowly disappeared. People changed.

Sociologists have stated, time and time again that people dislike and are often afraid of others who don't look like them. Black vs White...light-skined Black vs dark skined Black...rich kid or rich adult vs the poor kid or poor adult.

Within the Black race, there's always been an advatage to those, who by intermarrige had become lighter, or who's hair was somewhat straighter.
While Whites have descrinated against Blacks in the past and even in the present, little discussion is paid to the fact that Blacks often descriminate
against others of their own race. ( Think of skin color, think of wealth, think of education...)

Growing up in Chicago, playing with and going to school with White and Black kids of the SouthSide, I'v heard both Black girls and Black women refer to a Black man as "too Black" or even saying he was "too ugly".

You asked about our first racist experience. Well for me,I was a kid in the 2nd grade in an integrated school in Chicago. The kids were supposed to walk in pairs with others in a march or a parade. The teacher paired the kids up and was then contacted by the mother of a White child about the fact that she didn't want her daughter walking in the parade with a Black child as a partner.

The teacher then contacted my White mother and asked her if she would allow me to walk in the parade with a Black child. Nonsense! My Mother said...She didn't care about the skin color of my partner.

That was my first experience in racial conflict. I truly loved my Mother then and even now for how she handled this racial problem.

As an adult, on A2K I was called "Jew trash" on one thread and on another thread, I was called "White trash". Of the two kinds of "trash", the one that hurt the most was being called "Jew trash"...it took my breath away then, and it still takes my breath away today.

Japanese Americans understand what Muslims are now experiencing in this country. I know the Ueyama family. They used to live in Florin. I also know the Hisatomi and Noguchi family, because I was born and reared in Sacramento.
http://www.recordnet.com/article/20151003/ENTERTAINMENTLIFE/151009880

Thank you all for your responses. Depending on where in our countries we live in, we experience different forms of discrimination. Japanese during WW2, Jews in heavy Jewish areas, blacks, well thoughout the country. Latinos...just for looking for a better life just like all the others that came before. Muslims. Why do we always look for someone to blame? Hilter chose Jews to hate. America feared Japanese citizens, and its a history we are ashamed of today. Yet we have politicians now that want us to return to that fear.
"All we have to fear is fear itself." FDR.

I do have a positive story though. Or maybe I just remember it that way.
I was in highschool in the mid 80's. It was when Martin Luther King's birthday was recognized as a national holiday. In those days, Lincoln and Washington had separate birthdays and both where school holidays.
Well, our school was not yet recognizing MLK's birthday as a school holiday. They claimed it was too many days off for students. The black students were unhappy about this and clamour started about how they were gonna boycott school for those who could and the rest would wear black shirts for the ones who couldnt. Some whites got incensed and said they would wear white shirts that day. Tension was on high.
MLK day came, and most students black ir white, didnt follow through on their threats. Sure alot of kids that were black were absent, but the rest came with no animosity. Because, we were all friends! Or I believed that anyway. I saw no evidence of discrimination in my high school. But then again. I am white.

In the early 1940s, my mother was crossing a bridge, here in Texas, somewhere. She had my oldest brother's hand. He was not much past his second birthday. From the other direction, a Black American was also crossing. When he came near, the brother quailed in fear, grabbing on to my mother. "Niggie bite me," he kept repeating. Since my mother was not a racist, this incident shows that our father, or somebody in the family, had already tainted his mind. Later, in grade school, we walked to class every day, for perhaps a mile or so. We walked at the same time as a black kid named King. My brother and King called each other every racist term they could come up with, to school and home. In the 1960s, my brother served in the Army with one black man, who was so good and friendly, my brother dropped his racism and they became close friends. I like to think he continued to be more tolerant as a civilian, but there were no Black Americans living close those years.

I always hope, in my heart, that as the years pass, and the older generations pass, that relations improve in our country. I agree, the hate is passed down, black and white together. Blacks teaching their children to distrust white people is just as distructive as whites teaching their children the same. We need to break that cycle if we are to move forward.

It has improved, but there will always exist racial and/or religious bigotry. The likes of Donald Trump is a case in point. When he speaks, all the bigots come out of the woodworks, and want him as our president.

Amen! He terrifies me! I struggle to defend our country with my international friends when he is in the news. I have to constantly reassure them there is NO WAY he will be president. He set such a humiliating taint on our country. But I am scared. Have our ignorant voters actually outnumbered our educated voters?

The nation as a whole has become more and more like the period of history at the end of the 19TH Century.

End of the 19th century? You mean the end of the civil war? We havent regressed that badly where the KKK can operate openly, but beware...Trump talk is awfully reminiscint of Hitler speak.

Haha, I allowed my own thread to be hijacked! Please continue to post your first racist experiences, black, white, latino, jewish, ect...ect...

This reminds me of a joke of a Jewish comic decades ago. In coming to America the family changed their last name. When asked what their name was previously his answer was, "Jew." A lot of truth in that joke, in my opinion. Also, a compliment to America.

Im sorry Foofie, I dont know the joke.

I think it has. However you are always going to have those rare idiots. I think most people are tolerant and not racist.

Recently I was on the subway and this idiot got in the face of this Asian man starting ranting and raving racist remarks. I can't really remember them but they were very hateful and he also started threatening him and his family.

The poor man just stood there ignoring the comments. Several people began standing up for this man..physically as in standing next to him and verbally...calls were made and at the next stop this idiot was escorted off as a round of applause sent him on his way.

You see a lot of the support and positive as well.