Have we changed since Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?

Growing Up Whitegirl in America

Chapter Three

Sixteen years old – Monochrome:
This new place is so white it’s like TV. Every day a river of pale faces flows by babbling evenly and I feel different because I should feel the same. Sociology talks about our non-race and at home children learn they are normal-American as opposed to abstracted other-American. I shake my head this is not normal America this is strained and bleached America but exchange students come here to learn about our country.
I am white but I am the only one who knows. Instead of that really short white girl suddenly I am that really short girl even though the only black family in town is always called black (they are also all very tall but nobody mentions that). When I mention I’m taking Spanish Drew asks why I want to know The Poor People’s language and I say do you know any Latinos and he tries to change the subject and I point out that all the poor people here in weed-shaded mobile homes are white (I fail to mention that my home is mobile but there are no weeds) and then he gives me a dirty look and really changes the subject. Summertime gunfire is back but we don’t call 911 ‘cause we don’t know our neighbors and I hope it was a coyote and not someone’s wife.
Dr. Brown is an African American man from the East Coast with more education than the trailer people even know is possible for anyone who takes over the presidency of the community college and decides to teach the ignorant white hicks who may or may not be racist but only in theory since there’s no one to be racist against (around here they prefer to discriminate by religion) about African Americans. He comes to my class for a discussion and says that he sees a black man in the mirror every morning. Do any of you see your race every day in the mirror he challenges the vanilla room and I raise my hand high and then realize I am the only one and Dr. Brown doesn’t believe me. I explain that suddenly finding myself homogenous doesn’t remove my consciousness. White is not a non-race I’m not even sure what it means besides that it is not Black or Asian or Pacific Islander or Latina or Native American but no way am I European I’m a very short American girl and white’s just a box I check on forms ‘cause I hate to leave anything blank.