SYNERGY - Theresa Glaeser

“I’m Just Human”

Story By: CHRISTIAN OLANIRAN

imagine a reality in which your ethnic classification is a determinant of your interpersonal success. Where your ability to date, to work, to shop, or to simply love - is complicated by the color of your skin. Imagine observing members of your community be misguided in times of needed systemic change, due to an omnipresent cloud of racism. Although this lifestyle may sound surreal, this was life for Theresa Glaeser growing up in Gainesville during the late 1970’s. Placed into foster care as a child, Glaeser was the first bi-racial child to be adopted in the state of Florida through a government agency.

Theresa was not oblivious to the racial discrimination against African Americans; but she was adopted into a White family. She sought to embrace both of her cultural identities, but it seemed that every person she met wanted her to pick a side – to claim herself as just Black, or just White. As early as kindergarten, Glaeser recalls being treated differently because of her race but not understanding why. “Obviously in kindergarten I thought I was going to marry my boyfriend, you know? Because in kindergarten, boyfriend girlfriends are serious stuff. But he was actually white. And so, everybody that didn’t know what my household looked like, always said: You can’t marry him. And I said…I don’t get it. He looks like everybody in my house.”

If there was anything Theresa knew even in her youth, it was that she had no intentions of surrendering her ethnic identity just to appease others. “They wanted me to simply say I was Black or White, but choosing one or the other would not be embracing my true self. I consider myself Black and White. Eventually when people asked what I was, I’d tell them - I’m just human.” During her teenage and young adult years, Glaeser began to surround herself with people who she felt were more culturally accepting, and intellectually aware.

When she did encounter difficult social situations due to her race, Theresa promised herself two things: First, she would not be fearful in asserting who she was. Second, she would respond to ignorance with empathy and a desire to educate. Glaeser says some people “just don’t know”, meaning that they have never had to be around racially diverse groups of individuals outside their immediate surroundings, which leads them to develop limiting views on race and ethnicity.

Thus, we should not always respond with anger or aggression when we feel someone is being discriminatory, because hostility is more likely to incite conflict as opposed to productive conversations. “In many situations I would get negative feedback from those in the Black community. They felt that by me asserting that I was mixed, that I didn’t like the idea of being Black. They saw it as me not wanting to be a part of them which wasn’t true. It hurt, but I also had to remember that they were also coming from a place of racial pain and hurt…especially during those times, which is why they may have felt that way. It’s a matter of where someone is coming from.”

Glaeser’s experiences gave her the motivation to place diversity at the forefront of her personal and professional endeavors. What began as a general enjoyment of customer service, slowly developed into an overall fascination with the retail space. Now, Theresa is the Sales and Operational Manager of Logokick.com which is an embroidery, screen printing, and promotional product company Running her business is not only something she enjoys, but it is something that allows her to interact with a wide demographic of customers and give back to the community. When not working, Glaeser is an active participant in her church community, a diverse sanctuary for her Christian faith where she feels she can be unapologetically Black… and White.