Biracial Case Study

Time period covered in report: First session – January 7, 2015 (2 hours). Next session: Follow Up in 3 weeks

The definition of being a mixed person is being of descent of two or more races. However, in society, being a mixed person means so much more than this as each race entails its own cultural background and beliefs. These contrasting cultural backgrounds and beliefs are what cause debates on whether being mixed enables people to be accepted into multiple areas of society or if being mixed creates additional challenges when mixed people try to acquiesce into society. Clearly, James Mcbride agrees with the second argument by believing that being mixed makes it more difficult to assimilate into society. Mcbride recognizes how the contrasting cultures and beliefs that come with each race creates adversity against mixed peoples’ assimilation into multiple ethnic groups of society.

There was a time when America was segregated; Caucasians and African Americans were forced to attend different restrooms, restaurants, and water fountains. However, the era of segregation has been terminated; now America embraces and appreciates the various cultures and ethnicities that create this melting pot several people call home. Likewise, it is this melting pot, or mosaic, of races that multitudes of individuals have identified themselves with. Thus, race and ethnicity does matter for it portrays vital and crucial roles in the contemporary American society. Furthermore, ethnicity and race brings communities together in unity, determines which traditions and ideals individuals may choose to value, and imposes an impediment for it categorizes humans unjustly.

When I came to the campus, I wasn't sure how people would react to me. I wasn't sure how I should "act". Would people look at me differently if they knew I was biracial? I mean I couldn't just decide to be white one day and black the next. Some people think it is like waking up and deciding what to wear, "Hmm, should I wear the red or blue shirt today?" "Hmm, should I be

Race and gender are two facets that inherently dominate individuals everyday lives. A person’s social environment, work environment, and educational environment is congruent to their race and gender. From birth, it has been set up that everyone is assigned to a label. A pink or blue blanket is swaddled around a newborn child and a box is checked signifying that child’s place in society. These two actions ultimately define how a child is to be viewed and treated. As children grow into young adults they either decide to stick with their original assignment, while others decide to deviate from it. These individuals deviation results in many of them being viewed harshly and looked down upon because they strayed from their social norms. This constant cycle of being classified and labeled from birth is the social institution of gender and race. These social institutions aid in the inequality that is present in society, and race and gender are shaped by this. However, if these social institutions were removed, race and gender could dissipate. This is due to the fact that race and gender are not real, but are socially constructed concepts used to organize the power, or dominance, within our society to one social group over the other groups.

The majority of my family comes from Africa and has been very divided since I was born so that probably really affects the way I am now. Such as how parents put a very strong emphasizes on education, religion, and other more traditional things which can be both good and bad. For example, sometimes when I tell my mother my feeling towards something she finds it disrespectful that I would even bring it up if it goes against her views. Probably due to her belief that you must respect your elders, and to her me having an opinoun contrary to her is disrespectful. I thinik thats the reason why I have problems being vulnerable emotionally with others, which is what i’ve been trying to work on changing. I’ve for the most part had the same friends

Every time I fill any paper work, and they ask the question, “Ethnicity?” I automatically feel I am being judge just by where I came from. Although, I am half “white,” people do not care, I even ponder if its worse if you are from a multiracial family. Discrimination makes life harder; and if you are proud of your heritage, and your not afraid to show it, you get even more discriminated against.

Humans define race by how they conceive and categorize different social realities. Thus, race is often referred to as a social construct. The differences in skin color and facial characteristics have led most of society to classify humans into groups instead of individuals. These constructs affect us all, and they often result in situations where majority racial groups cause undue suffering to those that are part of the minority. The understanding of race as a social construct is best illustrated by the examination of racial issues within our own culture, specifically those that have plagued the history of the United States.

This essay will be delving into the roots of race and ethnicity and will be discussing the advantages and disadvantages of racial and ethnic labelling and ways to overcome the negative things that are associated with racial and ethnic labelling and categorization. Race and ethnicity are two different things but yet have striking similarities. One focuses on the biological characteristics of a person the other focuses on the cultural practices of a group or

Think about how much race affects a person every day. Maybe today you disclosed your race on the SATs or were passed over for a job opportunity because your name is too “black”. Race exists in our culture, but racism should not. Everyone tries to get rid of it, but humans ultimately created it, because it is a construct of cultural. Every day we form judgements and fall into stereotypes. Our children watch this discrimination and let it carry into their own futures. Strangely, these judgements and stereotypes are not technically race, merely the creations of an ignorant culture. To begin avoiding this, people need to learn that technical race and our world view of race are very different, and that humans may be too unique for concrete groupings.

Biracial (A definition) The dictionary definition of biracial is “(a person) containing members of two racial groups.” But to me it means being too white but at the same time too Latina and at the same time not white enough and not Latina enough. It means (when I am with other Latinos) receiving a shocked expression followed by the words “You're Latina?

My pre-adolescent years were spent in a community thick with diversity. My friendships were as diverse as the environment in which I lived. It never struck me that racial and ethnic ideals separated people in society. However, upon moving to a predominately white upper-class community I began to question such racial and ethnic ideas. From my adolescent years through today I began noticing that certain people are viewed differently for reasons relating to race and ethnicity. As a result, the most recent community I grew up in has kept me sheltered from aspects of society. As a product of a community where majorities existed, I found myself unexposed to the full understanding of race and ethnicity. Prior to the class I had never fully dealt with issues of race or ethnicity, as a result I wondered why they would be of any importance in my life.

To many people across a variety of different nationalities and cultures, race has been proven to be a key factor for how society views you in the eyes of those who are prominently in charge. The term race has been brought up in recent years, to be considered a form of identification, as the word race is used to describe physical characteristics such as a person’s color of skin, hair, and eyes. When in reality, the correct term they should be using is Ethnicity. As a result, the term race is used to separate people into sub-categories based on the color of their skin. This type of classification, is a man-made creation used by society to classify certain groups of people into lower classes, while keeping the predominate group in charge at the top.

Those that study racial discrimination over mixed races tend to find that those individual usually do not have another mixed race relative or friend that can relate to the same situation as them. But psychologists believe that it’s best for individuals to seek help from those that are of mixed race if they have been discriminated against. But to also know that they are not alone. “Adolescents who do not have a stable racial identity show lower self-esteem,” says Astrea Greig, a Psychological Doctor that meets with multi and mono-racial young adults (and children) over substance abuse and perceived discrimination. And this being a stable racial identity, occurs when individuals either young or old, have been discriminated or brought down emotionally and psychologically over being mixed-race (or even mono-racial) that they are depressed/ashamed over the fact that they are mixed. This striking a fairly large problem, it’s best to find a biracial-multiracial, referring from what was mentioned earlier, to help when problems such as discrimination occur. It’s best not going through such as thing alone and is better when someone has a support

Whether you believe it or not, racial discrimination is not a controversial matter of the past and has a profound impact on society. Nowadays we still inherit unconsciously misconceptions and prejudices that happen to be unnoticed in our day by day. Consequently, in order to raise awareness upon the connotation of this matter, we must educate people on behalf of assertiveness and comprehension. Therefore, it is remarkably important to acknowledge: the negative impact of racial discrimination on the individual and society, the necessity of derogating misconceptions and the values of cultural diversity.