Descriptive Essay About Ethnicity

“The History, Development and Future of Ethnic Studies” by Evelyn Hu-DeHart mentions several issues young scholars faced during the time of need for multicultural curriculum in higher education. Young scholars were demanding to uncover the missing facts and accredited sources that American history, culture, and society have left out for centuries. The solution the students concluded in solving this dilemma was to bring attention to the need of ethnic studies programs. With enough support from the student body and willingness of universities, institutions were able to recruit professors and thus create ethnic studies programs. According to Hu-DeHart, by providing ethnic studies programs and departments, the academic field would provide, “…a

I will begin with sharing my background and how I grew up.. First things first I grew up in Palmdale, CA which is about an hour out from LA city. I have grown up as the minority in school for about 12 years which most would think it's horrible, but that has shaped me being a hardened person who does not care about race whatsoever and learned pretty quick what it's like being poor and lower classed.. I personally have always thought bullying was a myth among legends that I only ever heard over movies and television, but once I moved to Northern California I soon came to realize that bullying was a real thing even though I have never been bullied in my life. I

When addressing self-identification, some multiracial or biracial individuals do identify as being two or more races. Some identity as just one, or that they feel closer to a certain racial group. About 69% of Multiracial adults with a black background considered themselves as black/African American (experiences, social interactions that align them within the black community). While Multiracial Asian adults, with a white and Asian background, feel more connected to the white community than to the Asian community. Another group of multiracial individuals, are those that are white and native American, and around 22% say they have a lot in common with the in the US that is native America. And 61% say they have a lot more in common with the whites.

When I started going to elementary school I went to the mostly catholic American School, where most kids would bully me based on my looks and traditions. The kids would call me stereotypical Jewish insults such as greedy, big nose and the one that I felt was the worst Christ killer. Everyday when I went to school I was reminded of my Jewish identity, even though most of the things they called me where not true I was still reminded that I was a minority amongst them and my only possible role in that situation was to take the heat.

Upon entering the class I was anxious, curious, and also oblivious to the ideas I would be encountering. Like other students who had not previously spent time discussing topics of race and ethnicity, I myself had nervous tendencies in assuming that such a class may not strengthen my understanding of ethnic and race relations. I realized I knew little about race or ethnicity, and even the possible similarities or differences. However, I welcomed the opportunity to further discover the possibilities of the class. My understanding of race was concentrated in a definition that could be understood as different skin colors. My limited conception of ethnicity applied to people’s origin or where they lived. It seemed as though my lack of

Race and ethnicity is something that we all have to live with because we all have a race and ethnicity that claims us. Race and ethnicity was something discussed daily at my household because I was the only Hispanic at my school until the third grade. This was difficult because as a child it’s hard to understand why my skin color, language, and ideals are different. I wouldn’t have survived school without my parents and support from my instructors that allowed me to transition into the mainstream without a traumatic effect. Throughout the year my parents would take me to activities like Cinco De Mayo, Religious activities, Independence of Mexico, and other cultural events that celebrated our history and culture. This helped feed my love for my culture and ancestors. Race is usually determined by how one looks but your

"Symbolic ethnicity" is a term coined by Herbert Gans. It refers to ethnicity that is individualistic in nature and without real social cost for the individual. These symbolic identifications are essentially leisure time activities, rooted in nuclear family traditions reinforced by voluntary enjoyable aspects of being ethnic (Gans 424-429). "Symbolic ethnicity" is practiced and enjoyed by white Americans. It is a way for descendants of white Europeans to learn about and be proud of their heritage. That is not the case for non-whites who are grouped together by the white majority making ethnic identity difficult .

Ethnic identity is the sum total of group member feelings about those values, symbols, and common histories that identify them as a distinct group (Smith 1991). Development of ethnic identity is important because it helps one to come to terms with their ethnic membership as a prominent reference group and significant part of an individuals overall identity. Ethnic reference group refers to an individuals psychological relatedness to groups (Smith 1991). These reference groups help adolescents sense, reflect and see things from the point of their ethnic groups in which they actively participate or seek to participate.

Most minorities have been or know some one who has been racially profiled in their life. Being racially profiled has a big impact on the minority community as well as the policing community too. Being a victim of racial profiling hinders the black community. In this essay I will tell you a little about Tony Robinson, then how the black community responded, how the police community responded and finally how it makes me feel when I or another African American is racially profiled.

How does Fredrickson distinguish between race and ethnicity? How and under what circumstances can ethnicity become racialized’ (para.2)?

In the development of racial identity in black American youth, there are 5 stages in developing racial identity between persons of color and 6 stages in developing racial identity in whites. Differentiation of self, people of color in the United States can experience racism from one’s own race with societal stereotypes that carry a negative connotation become internalized. Prior neighborhood experience matters when examining how black youth identify with their race. How black men and women develop racial identity differs and mass media takes a affect on how youth see themselves not only how they see themselves but how they see others who are the same race as them.

America’s schools are challenged to meet the academic and interpersonal needs of all students regardless of culture, race, or ethnic background. Hawley and Nieto (2010) claim that race and ethnicity significantly impacts students’ learning in their article, “Another Inconvenient Truth: Race and Ethnicity” (p. 66). They contended that educators should be “race and ethnicity -responsive” to effectively understand the challenges students from diverse races and cultures face (Hawley & Nieto, 2010, p. 66). Moreover, the article noted that schools should have practices in place that promote an inclusive, supportive, and enriching learning environment for all students including students from different races and ethnicities.

In this essay, I will be discussing Race and Ethnic Identity, and how it is racially constructed. I found the presentation very interesting, to the point that most of my guesses were wrong, just based off the looks and perception of the celebrities. This presentation made me actually look at race and appearance in a different way because you never know what the person ethnic background is by just looking at the person. I have learned a lot on race and ethnicity and how things were categorized in the past, and as the years passed that other categories were put in to place for people to choose the identity that they were comfortable with choosing.

     Gish Jen’s “Who’s Irish?” explores a Chinese grandmother’s thoughts and beliefs about her ethnically integrated family. The grandmother tells the story as though she is looking back on past events and thinking about how they have affected her present life. As her tale begins, she identifies her granddaughter, Sophie, as a wild three-year-old (161). Perhaps the grandmother associates with Sophie’s strong will, because she reveals her own intense nature when she says, “I am hard work my whole life, and fierce besides.” (161). Jen provides an immediate glimpse into the grandmother’s true character that remains constant. As the grandmother recounts her time living with her

Ethnic patterns are changing every year. It seems that the minority groups are rising and are getting stronger as every new school year starts. There are many minority groups in the school setting now. " Nearly half (46 percent) of school-age youths in the United States will be people of color by 2020 (Pallas, Natriello, and McDill 1989)". A minority group is "a group typically numerically inferior to the rest of the population state... (A.J. Jongman and A.P. Schmid)". There used to be two major groups in the school setting, the blacks and the whites. Now there are whites, blacks, Asians, Hispanics, etc. And even to go along with that (they are not truly minority groups), there are the "freaks",