Shaun Wade Post 1

I am of Irish, English, German, Dutch and French heritage. I have been told I am what they call a "mutt" meaning that I have many different backgrounds that make up who I am. I guess it can be compared to a dog that is a mix of many breeds. I identify mostly with my Irish heritage. My great-grandparents from my moms fathers side were born in Ireland and came here sometime in the 1800s. The older I got the more I wanted to know but since my grandfather was born in 1907 and died when my mother was 17 (1977) I was clearly a long way off from even being a thought in her head.

I would say that in middle school I became aware of the issues of race and ethnicity. In elementary school i really never paid any attention to for example the color of a friends skin or anything like that. I did not even think of them as black or yellow or whatever. They were my friends and that was all that mattered. I would say it was not in any class that I was first aware of race or ethnicity. It was probably centered around derogatory language towards someone who is black.

I was also taught that race should have no importance to me in my life because it is all about who the person is on the inside not what they look like on the outside. I agree with what I was told and taught because it does not matter what your race is, it only matters who the person is inside and how they interact with you.

My views on race and ethnicity have not really changed over time. I have though witnessed many instances of racism in my life. It is actually one of my best friends dads. He is always using derogotory language towards people who are black. He is very southern orientated and very much a person you could compare to someone who would have been all for slavery and keeping blacks from getting any rights. My friend is not the same as his father and neither is is mom or sisters.