There was no specific time and place where I became aware of my racial identity but I gradually got an idea of what race and racial identities are in grade school. There hasn’t really been a moment where my racial identity was important to me specifically but there have been times where my ethnic identity was important to me. I believe the reason why there hasn’t been a specific moment where my racial identity was important is because early on I understood the relationship and position that white people have with race and skin color throughout history, and in that sense I strive to be conscious of my racial identity around others that differ from my own.
As far as a particular meaning for others, I went to a catholic school in dearborn for my entire education, and within this school, it was mostly white kids attending, but we did have a number of arabic or african american kids who also attended. One day in my morality class, the teacher, who got fired for this, pitted catholics against the arabic kids. In that moment I could tell that the few arabic kids in that class became a lot more nervous and felt singled out by the teacher.
I benefit in many different ways from my racial identity, none of which I would like to benefit from, but benefits none-the-less. These can include less attention from law enforcement, better employment records, growing up in a more affluent area and attending a private school. There are few ways, if any, that I suffered from my racial identity or missed out on certain things because of it, which is the root issue of the injustice felt by members of other racial groups.
Some of these questions are harder to answer because it is human nature to feel threatened when presented with obvious benefits they received for no reason other than pure chance. Question #2 for example, posits if there was a moment where my racial identity as a white person has ever been a source of pride or of importance to me, which to me is something that I understand to be offensive and disrespectful to other racial groups. In the same way that “Colorblindness” in a racial definition ignores the long history of racial oppression in america, to say im proud of my race and it’s an important facet of my being, would be akin to racism.
