Mallory: Hey, Carvell: would you say that white Americans pretty much constantly misunderstand the concept of black forgiveness? Carvell: It's hard to know what white Americans are thinking, but given what they say, then yes. Like...a lot. A lot. Like this guy who got on the shooter's Facebook page and forgave him publicly. I saw a lot of white people, even friends, sharing that, like: "See! Isn't this beautiful?" Whereas a lot of my black friends were more,…
One of my favourite Twitter accounts is the frustrating and important @AfAmHistFail, run by an anonymous (for obvious reasons) docent who gives slavery presentations at a historical plantation. She shares the ups and downs of her job, the struggles to keep composure in the face of racist questions and monologues, and the difficulty of puncturing the romanticization of the antebellum South. She was kind enough to answer some questions for us. To what degree…
It was always hard for me to watch things like this with you. You overreacted to everything on the news. I hated that about you. Every storm, every wildfire, every random shooting, every nighttime strangler, you acted as if seeing them on the news would somehow magically make them show up at our apartment door. You issued nonsensical warnings like “Be careful out there. They’re
"Were your families against your marriage because of, you know, the race thing?"
Why, since you asked, let me tell you all about our intra-family race politics in great and excruciating detail! Because that is precisely the sort of simple, carefree, and not-at-all-personal topic I love to discuss with strangers I've only just met at a dinner party.
"I've found that the farther apart their native countries, the more interesting the couple."
Feel free to ask Aunt Acid a variety of questions at advice@the-toast.net at any time. Previous installments can be found here. Help. Help. Help. I have a large and spread-out extended family; my mother has six living siblings and they are spread from California to Pennsylvania, so we rarely all get to see each other in person. Most all the aunts and uncles and cousins are extremely liberal humanists, with…
"Rioting broke out on Monday in Baltimore—an angry response to the death of Freddie Gray, a death my native city seems powerless to explain. Gray did not die mysteriously in some back alley but in the custody of the city's publicly appointed guardians of order. And yet the mayor of that city and the commissioner of that city's police still have no idea what happened. I suspect this is not because the mayor and police…
Noah is a multiracial Korean American. Nicole is a Korean American adoptee with multiracial kids. They both have a large number of white relatives and, to date, have not managed to turn a single one of them even a little bit Asian.
Regrettable Things Our White Relatives Have Said to Us, Or Why Having an Asian Person in Your Family Does Not Make You "Less White"
In the publishing world, the romance novel reigns -- at times an underappreciated, resented, and mocked monarch, but the sales numbers don’t lie. Historical romances are among the most popular books in the genre -- the queen’s crown jewels, so to speak -- pulling readers in since the very beginning. Although much has changed over the years in historical romance, including the rise of heroines who are more likely to save themselves than wait around for a…
There are no crows in Austin. The grackles have chased them away. They have stolen the scraps of food in their tiny claws and their long, pointed beaks. They have taken the place of the crows at the dumpsters and picnic tables and supermarkets. They have replaced the ominous flocks of crows lurking in the trees or perching on power lines. The grackles have taken their spot on the branches, on the telephone poles, chirping…
Stephen Kearse's previous work for The Toast can be found here. I sat quietly as my shorn hair fell, sprinkling my bare shoulders. I’d received haircuts in barbershops, shopping malls, salons, basements, garages and college dorms, but this was the first time I’d had my hair cut in a bedroom. I was thankful there were no mirrors in sight that would allow…
“I write to shred the cloak of invisibility thrust upon us.” - The Invisible Latina “A mystery is the only place on this Earth where we really find justice” - an interview with Wendy Werris at Publishers Weekly Who she is Désirée Zamorano lives in L.A., where she writes award-winning short fiction, plays, and novels. Zamorano brings her passion for engaging elementary and middle school students in enriching language arts expression and experiences to Occidental's…
At a time when it is being proposed that hundreds of billions be spent to uplift Negroes and other minorities, the nation’s 300,000 Chinese Americans are moving ahead on their own, with no help from anyone. --“Success Story of One Minority in the U.S.,” U.S. News and World Report (1966) Can we all get along? Can we get along? --Rodney King on the third day of the LA Riots, after the acquittal of four police…
Abdul and I, we’ve known each other since he came running toward me one night with open arms and a wide smile, declaring: “It’s so good to see you!” I had never seen Abdul before in my life, but how could I turn down this beautiful, smiling face? I met him midway, for the first of many embraces to follow. Later, we would find many more things connecting us: two young brown queer people from…
