The Voice of Anna Have you ever been discriminated against because of your race or color of your skin? Are you physically attracted to people of a different race? What is the most unusual thing you’ve ever eaten? Do you feel that new immigrants to North America should assimilate into the mainstream? Have you ever traveled back to the homeland(s) of your ancestors? Do you or did you ever wish that you were another race other than your own? Urban Mozaik Magazine asks these questions of our readers and this is what Anna had to say... Name: Anna Age: 40 Occupation: Literary Critic Birthplace: New York, NY Residence: Indiana Mothers Birthplace: Philadelphia, PA Maternal Grandmothers Birthplace: Charleston, SC Maternal Grandfathers Birthplace: Columbia, SC Fathers Birthplace: Queens, NY Paternal Grandmothers Birthplace: Unknown Paternal Grandfathers Birthplace: Unknown Do you feel that new immigrants to North America should assimilate into the mainstream? If you mean by "assimilate" that they should give up their individual cultures to adhere to the dominant culture, then my answer is an emphatic "no". If you mean learn the language of the country in which they live and make some sort of positive contribution, I'm all for that. As a result of  our individual histories, immigrants and non-whites often feel a pressure to "fit in" and often that pressure leads many people to demonstrate a profound self-hate. With this affliction, some people lose any interest in the value of their culture to adopt the culture of the majority people, accepting that culture (usually white Americans) as superior.That's the real problem. Would your parents object to you dating or marrying a person who was of a different race than you? My first reaction is to say that my parents would not object because I have dated without concern for race my entire life, but I realize now that this would be a problem for my mother who thinks that interracial dating is a sign of self- hatred. I assume that she has accepted the men I bring home (as a teenager I brought boyfriends home), but as an adult I really couldn't care less what her opinion is. I know for sure her objections have changed. She would still rather see me with a White North American than any other ethnicity (other than our own) because of her prejudice and general acceptance of ethnic stereotypes; eg. Asians are controlling; latinos are unfaithful; Arabs beat their wives. What do you think of affirmative action and racial quotas in the workplace? They are necessary because whether we are willing to admit it or not, we live in racist societies that presume that everything Western, European, and White is superior to everything else. It has been proven over and over again in psychological surveys children and adults alike will always prefer the white candidate because they "look" smarter, better educated, more professional, better prepared. If Affirmative Action did not exist, many non-whites would never get an opportunity to lead at all. Quotas, however are more controversial. It disturbs me that they are necessary because there is always room for abuse.  Supposedly, quotas are set to safe places for non-whites in jobs and higher education. The problem begins when we ask ourselves just how many of each ethnicity should be represented. Since most the country is white american, roughly 70%, blacks represent 12%, latinos represent 13%, and Asians and Pacific Islanders represent approximately 7% with American Indians representing only 1% of the total population,  does that mean out of 10 people hired that 7 should be white, and there should be one person representing each ethnic group?  Also, as much as we rely on physiology to determine a person's "race", how to do we determine who is the token person of color to represent a particular ethnic group. That is to say should an African be allowed to take the spot of an African-American?  Should someone with a hispanic surname be allowed to take the spot of a person who self- identifies him/her self as hispanic?  Lately, there has been much discussion amongst some of the lesser evolved whites in my community about their distant relative who was rumored to be American Indian. They are interested in "discovering" this relative just to be able to "take advantage" of the quotas they think give minorities an advantage over white men. How do we determine who is American Indian enough to be fulfill a certain quota? Guys like those or only those living on reservations? What do you think of signs on businesses that don't have any English on them? I would like to say that they don't bother me, because they didn't until I contemplated this question. I am very happy to celebrate the diversity of a community; I wish I lived in a community that were more diverse.  But, if I should see a sign written in a language that I don't speak I might very well be happy for those in the community who frequent this place and at the same time feel a bit insulted. That sign does not welcome me and I would be loathe to enter the establishment without someone of that represented culture.  I recognize that the signs aren't there to make me feel unwelcome, as much as they are there to make those people who can read them feel welcomed. Isn't it for the same reason international airports have announcements made in several languages? They are meant to make the visitors who speak those languages feel comfortable. But, my local international airport does not have announcements in Korean, for example, is that to say that they don't welcome Koreans?  I think not. I can assure you that if it is indeed a business the only color that matters is the color of money and people with money and the business owners always speak the same language. Have you ever been discriminated against because of your race or the color of your skin? Tell us about it. The job I have is my primary source of discriminatory incriminations. In general, outside of work, I have suffered only covert discrimination that I have assumed is due to my race. But, at work, it is much more revealing. I work with literature in Spanish and it is amazing the abuse I receive simply because I am not latina or a native-spanish speaker.  Somehow, for some, my years of experience in Latin America and my training is not enough for me to do my job well. I would have thought it was a general discriminatory practice, simply because I am not latina, if it weren't for the fact that my white colleagues' ability to do their jobs is never questioned. Without fail, if I am interviewing an author that has never met me before, they are always expecting a white professional and consistently look over me, the person with the video camera, recording device and plenty of pens and paper. Even Black hispanic authors are surprised when they meet me. I find it no more remarkable that I speak three languages than my white colleagues' ability to speak three and of all the forms of discrimination I have suffered, this hurts me most. Has anything, relating to race, happened lately that really bothered you? I think the thing that bothers me almost daily has to do with the US having its first Black president.  I have gotten over the fact that many otherwise logical and compassionate people didn't vote for him and do not support him simply because he is Black. I cannot stand the debate today over his "race".  It reminds me too much of the media's treatment of Tiger Woods BEFORE he became famous. Tiger Woods was the "promising young Black golfer" until he won the Masters.  Then, he became bi-racial. In spite of his admission of certain identity problems growing up, our president has never stated as an adult that he was anything but an African American and a Black man raised by his White mother's family. He, like most African Americans, has a family that is culturally diverse and he has the right to celebrate such diversity.  But, we all know when we walk down the street, people do not say/think/point out a multi-ethnic person and say "There's that Chinese -White guy".  Bi-racial and that ridiculous moniker "mixed" are only applied to the children of a black and a non-black parent in the US. Barack Obama was Black until he became our president. No one identified him as the first bi-racial senator when he represented Illinois for the first time in the Senate. This game with semantics when it comes to race is more proof of the distance we still have to go when it comes to be accepting of racial differences. Why is it so offensive to some to call him the Black president?  Why is it so important to some for us to be aware of his bi-racial background?  It reminds me of an ailment, a term coined to describe a specific problem-- " negrophobia". If he Richardson had been elected president, would he then be recognized as the first White- Mexican president? Of course not. What is the most unusual thing you've ever eaten? Where were you when you ate it? Sadly, I can't recall any "unusual" meals. What is your favorite ethnic food? Indian! Where do you live and where have you traveled where the culture was the most different from your own? I have lived most of my life in the mid-atlantic states until grad school.  I now have spent several years in Appalachia and the mid-west. I know these are regions of the US, but I must mention the incredible cultural diversity we have here. I find I share more cultural commonalities with the people I meet in Latin America than with Appalachian or midwestern people.  I look forward to learning about Asian and Eastern European cultures in the near-future. Do you feel that you are in touch with your culture of origin? Tricky question. Most of my friends, both Black and White, identify the Black church as the cultural home of all Black people. My family did not go to church when I was growing up and none of our closest family friends did either, which is a major crime in the South. I often feel I missed out on something, but as an adult I ask myself, what could I have missed?  I am not quite sure what my culture is, but I know my history, especially my family history, and feel proud of who I am. Have you ever traveled back to the homeland(s) of your ancestors? Why not, if you haven't? Where would I go? What percentage of your friends are able to speak a language other than English? 100% In brief, describe your idea of a perfect world. I would love to live in a world where there would be a definition of beauty that was much more open. It wouldn't be limited to proximity that one has to European beauty. There would be an expectation that people would respect each other and value each other equally.  A black man would never have to justify choosing a white wife and the choice any woman makes in choosing her mate would not be seen as a lack of appreciation of the men of her own ethnic group. People wold never use terms like "good hair" and would get just as excited seeing a baby with big brown eyes as they do seeing one with blue eyes.  No one would ever be too dark or too pale to be attractive.  Recording race statistically would be impossible. There would be no schools, communities, country clubs, or neighbor hoods that excluded people of another  ethnic group or put up obstacles to scare others away.  I would never meet a person and be forced to hear about their other "black friends". Do you or did you ever wish that you were of another race? If so, why? Never.  I only wished I could speak al the languages in the world so that I could live wherever I wanted to. Do you feel uncomfortable if you are a minority in a room full of people who are all of one race? As long as I am welcomed, I don't feel uncomfortable ever. Are you physically attracted to people of a different race? If so, why do you think you are? Yes. I remember being about 7 years old and being intrigued with my latino classmates. The attraction to latin men started in elementary school.  But, I also found I had an attraction to Asian guys in high school.  I'm an adult now and feel free to express myself any way I want to and find that I just like smart attractive men, regardless of ethnicity. How did you feel about responding to this questionnaire? It made me think more clearly about who I am and what I want the world to see in me. I liked it. If you're interested in submitting your answers to us for consideration in our next issue, please click here. This website: Copyright © 2009 Dream World Media, LLC. / Urban Mozaik Magazine. All rights reserved. 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