When we moved into our neighborhood, our daughter wanted to make friends with 3 Caucasian girls(who happened to be sisters). Her mother stormed out of the door to see who she was.No problem..untilllllll she casually asked me what I did for a living...no problem. Where my husband worked, not a problem. Then where did I go to school and yadayadayada. Of couse being a parent , I didn't think much of it. Until I asked her what she did,where she went to school, and what her husband does. Her answers were nothing ,junior college, and prepares taxes. Can you believe it! Then I got the feeling that this was some kind of interview to test my lifestyle. We live directly across the street from these people. Beyond the one time they played, of which we both supervised, our kids never played again. I then started to assess my "paranoia". At my job, it seemed as though my white co-workers challenged my ability. (When I mentioned I went to a HBCU, they merely shrugged as though my school wasn't capable of producing a quality professional in any arena.) Any idea I had was not feasible but they would use it and turn it around as though it was not the same. Sometimes, I would find myself explaining and proving myself ALL the time. And then there is the lady at the grocery who places the money on the table or holds the money at the edge of the dollar or drops the change in my hand as if I'll bite her.
Is it mere paranoia?
Unexpressed Racism Paranoia (URP)
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