I'm an African American. Ask me anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

ManHere wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you have friends who work in STEM fields? If so, did they go to college and what was their major?

Yes. A handfull of friends. Most majored in engineering, math, premed, etc. and went to grad school. Wasn't my path so I don't have a lot of info to give you.

Follow up. Do you know if they are smart and did well in school?

Not pp, but I'm pretty sure you have to be smart to get through STEM majors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Um, many of these mixed race children as described by their black family members say that their skin is white. The white family memebrs would describe the same child as brown or black.
My mixed race kids do not look white. They look like a mixture betweem myself and my husband.

I've met many mixed raced children who, even though they may look white, there is still always something about them lets you know they are mixed. Could be hair, lips, anything.

I'm curious are you AA? I've had AA co-workers that I've seen totally analyze a person to determine if they had "something" in them that would make them them other than white. I have never known a white person to do this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

ManHere wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you have friends who work in STEM fields? If so, did they go to college and what was their major?

Yes. A handfull of friends. Most majored in engineering, math, premed, etc. and went to grad school. Wasn't my path so I don't have a lot of info to give you.

Follow up. Do you know if they are smart and did well in school?

Not pp, but I'm pretty sure you have to be smart to get through STEM majors.

Not everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Um, many of these mixed race children as described by their black family members say that their skin is white. The white family memebrs would describe the same child as brown or black.
My mixed race kids do not look white. They look like a mixture betweem myself and my husband.

I've met many mixed raced children who, even though they may look white, there is still always something about them lets you know they are mixed. Could be hair, lips, anything.

I'm curious are you AA? I've had AA co-workers that I've seen totally analyze a person to determine if they had "something" in them that would make them them other than white. I have never known a white person to do this.

Not the PP, but since we're swapping anecdotes, I've known plenty of white people who, based on a person's phenotype or some other characteristic, speculate that the person has white ancestry.

[Anonymous]

Why do I see so many AA's jaywalking in traffic? Literally strolling leisurely across the street without regard for approaching traffic. Are you afraid of being hit? Is it some sort of statement to motorists?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was told by a doctor friend that some older black patients do not want to be seen by a black doctor. They will insist on a white doctor.

Have you seen/ heard of this, and can you speculate on why a white doctor is supposed to be better than a black one, in the eyes of some black patients?

Interestingly enough, I know several older black people who insist on only seeing black doctors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do I see so many AA's jaywalking in traffic? Literally strolling leisurely across the street without regard for approaching traffic. Are you afraid of being hit? Is it some sort of statement to motorists?

The same could be said of white people. I know because I'm a motorist and this happens to me daily. Every. Fricking. Day. And its always a white person. I'm thinking that pedestrians just don't give a fug, no matter the race of said pedestrian.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do I see so many AA's jaywalking in traffic? Literally strolling leisurely across the street without regard for approaching traffic. Are you afraid of being hit? Is it some sort of statement to motorists?

The same could be said of white people. I know because I'm a motorist and this happens to me daily. Every. Fricking. Day. And its always a white person. I'm thinking that pedestrians just don't give a fug, no matter the race of said pedestrian.

+1 I live in Georgetown and it's really annoying.

[Anonymous]

Interesting. I find the doctors thing to be a total non issue for anyone in their 40s and younger. I'm white, my primary care doctor is AA (and totally awesome!).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was told by a doctor friend that some older black patients do not want to be seen by a black doctor. They will insist on a white doctor.

Have you seen/ heard of this, and can you speculate on why a white doctor is supposed to be better than a black one, in the eyes of some black patients?

Interestingly enough, I know several older black people who insist on only seeing black doctors.

I'm 31 and I prefer black doctors for my PCP, OB/GYN, dermatologist and pediatrician for my children. With other specialties, I'm not so picky.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do I see so many AA's jaywalking in traffic? Literally strolling leisurely across the street without regard for approaching traffic. Are you afraid of being hit? Is it some sort of statement to motorists?

OP Here. Jaywalking is pretty common among all races. If you are driving in a predominantly black area, then you will see black jaywalkers. Same goes for driving through majority white, latino, or other areas. Like most things in life, you tend to notice people doing annoying things when they are less like you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was told by a doctor friend that some older black patients do not want to be seen by a black doctor. They will insist on a white doctor.

Have you seen/ heard of this, and can you speculate on why a white doctor is supposed to be better than a black one, in the eyes of some black patients?

Interestingly enough, I know several older black people who insist on only seeing black doctors.

I'm 31 and I prefer black doctors for my PCP, OB/GYN, dermatologist and pediatrician for my children. With other specialties, I'm not so picky.

I've never heard that either. I'm 33 and growing up, my parents didn't only see black doctors. For myself, I don't care about race, but I do prefer female doctors. I feel more comfortable talking to another female about my health problems, but that's just me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was told by a doctor friend that some older black patients do not want to be seen by a black doctor. They will insist on a white doctor.

Have you seen/ heard of this, and can you speculate on why a white doctor is supposed to be better than a black one, in the eyes of some black patients?

Interestingly enough, I know several older black people who insist on only seeing black doctors.

I'm 31 and I prefer black doctors for my PCP, OB/GYN, dermatologist and pediatrician for my children. With other specialties, I'm not so picky.

I've never heard that either. I'm 33 and growing up, my parents didn't only see black doctors. For myself, I don't care about race, but I do prefer female doctors. I feel more comfortable talking to another female about my health problems, but that's just me.

Neither I nor my parents preferred AA doctors, but we do prefer American ones (of any race)...

[Anonymous]

When I was growing up, my parents tried to patronize black businesses, but there was no preference for black medical professionals. We had a black doctor and black dentist, but when they passed away, we had white ones.
Now, my dentist, orthodontist, my child's dentist and pediatrician are all black. Interestingly, none of that was on purpose. Those are just the people who were recommended to us. All but the orthodontist were recommended to us either by white people or via listservs where people didn't know we were black. And no one mentioned that the doctors were black. It was a pleasant surprise every time.

[Anonymous]

Why did you start this silly thread?