A Narrative Essay About My Ethnic Background

My grandparents were the storytellers in my life and I believe that it was them that have had the biggest impact on how I would define my ethnic background. When I was growing up I used to love hearing stories about my grandparent’s experiences and learning more about my family’s history. Some of the stories that were told to me were more pronounced than others, but I think that the common theme in all of their stories, were the sense of national pride that came with being an American. However, it is blindingly clear that my family’s racial designation is white, but this factor was missing from all of their stories.
On my mother’s side of the family, my Nana hails from Plymouth, England. She is a proud first generation immigrant, who has now lived in America for most of her life. She would always boast about England and tell me about her experiences during the war. My Nana has always had a strong sense of nationalism not only for her country of origin, but in being an American citizen as well. My Grandfather’s background on my mother’s side was never discussed. He was abusive and left the family in in poverty after twelve years of a dysfunctional marriage. I was never quite sure what his ethnic background consisted of, but then again I am not sure that it really ever mattered because he is not apart of my family’s …show more content…
Whiteness is something that is in constant view, but never in the topic for discussion (2007, p. 868). My family and the community which I was brought up in were predominantly white, but the topic of whiteness was never on the table for discussion. It is seems strange to think about my experience as a white person growing up in a community where most of the families were white. Suchet suggests that whiteness maintains its seemingly neutral position because it remains invisible and that the silence surrounding whiteness is how it maintains its power (2007, p.