- The people that we don't cover in this series
because there's just too many people in this world.
There's billions of us.
Hopefully gives them an opportunity of when
they feel like they should be silent to speak.
(cheerful clapping music)
- You know, on the outside,
I just look like a white woman, right?
My parents are first generation,
so when people say to me--
- Yeah, white privilege.
- Yeah, but it's like, well, okay.
How can I walk softly?
How can I open my heart and be part of this
and say yes, let me hear you?
- Our stories and our struggles is the way
to educate people.
So let's talk about it as opposed to automatically
labeling like white privilege,
you don't understand kind of thing.
- Right.
And these are such beautiful, sensitive points.
And at the same time every single day is
white pride day in America.
That's, you know, the TV shows, the dolls,
I've really become aware of it as the mother
of girls of color.
- I grew up in a primarily white suburb,
and I was the brown Muslim girl.
Like, I never felt beautiful as a child and I--
- That's shocking.
(laughing)
- Yeah, no, I just 'cause you made me think about
that as when I was younger I wanted to be kind of
like that white Barbie doll with the long blonde,
like soft hair and you know,
no, I had the frizzy Arab girl hair.
- But I think that everybody has that.
Like when I grew up, I wanted curly hair,
and my hair does not want to be curly.
Like, I got a perm and my hair was like,
it's not happening.
(laughing)
So like everybody wants something that they don't have.
- It's human nature to always want what we can't have,
but there's something very different there
between like representation in the media
of not feeling beautiful as a colored person
versus like wanting curly hair.
And I appreciate like that was a point to relate to
of not feeling beautiful, but it's very different.
And just because you are well-intentioned
and didn't mean to offend me,
it doesn't mean that like the things you say
aren't offensive.
If somebody calls you out, like hey, that offended me,
rather than writing them off, like oh,
I didn't mean it like that.
Maybe take a second to understand where
they're coming from.
- And like being okay with not knowing
or not understanding--
- [Woman] The courage to say I don't know.
- Yeah, I just don't get it.
Like, and being okay with being uncomfortable.
- That's so hard to do.
(people talking over each other)
It's so hard to do.
You know, we want to be like kum ba yah
and like I see you.
You know what I mean?
- And really, I hear, I'll listen to you.
- Yeah, but then we have these judgments, right,
that we're raised with.
Like these societal judgments that kind of
are always lurking, and it's a fight.
I have judgments about white people.
I have judgments about Muslims.
I have judge, my father's a Muslim.
I have judgments about Asian people.
I have judgments about myself.
And it's like, okay, but are you willing to
be changed in a way?
And sometimes I am and sometimes I want
to stick with the damn story.
I feel vulnerable.
- Exactly, exactly.
- And that's the part that's really scary, right?
- [Brunette Woman] And that comes out survival like we do.
- Yes.
- I used to think that it was okay to just be like,
you know what?
I'm just happy to be here,
happy to talk about my ethnic experience.
(laughing)
Just talk about being an Asian American,
but now it's like we want to have an open dialog
with people, but let's demand that we have
a dialog about it.
- If we can have this conversation,
and we, I think we've called each other out a few times,
and we took it really well,
and I feel like if we can do that,
then there's no reason that anyone else can't.
- Putting ourselves out like this,
this is the right thing to do.
I think we're doing the right thing
and I hope that these videos reach people,
and I hope it gets them to start talking.
- I think that we have to try to strive
as human beings to grow together,
because if you don't grow together,
you'll grow apart.
And I think that that,
like listening to what you said to me about my hair,
I was like, yeah, you're totally right.
That didn't even cross my mind.
I was actually trying to empathize with you
and be like, yeah, I totally get that,
and I wasn't trying to invalidate your experience.
I hope that you can forgive me for that.
- Oh, no, no, no, I do.
It's fine.
- Like that is, that's what this is about.
I grew in this hour with you guys.
I'm so grateful to you guys for that.
(upbeat instrumental music)