Examination of Cultural Diversity in America Essay

America is greatly influenced and enhanced by the many versatile cultures which inhabit it. Cultural diversity has added to our economy in such a way that it brings innovated ideas and contact structures throughout the world. International cuisines have come to America through subcultures, have expanded the food industry, and have allowed English Americans to try new foods and flavors. Immigrants have brought with them religious values that greatly differ and vary from those at which were natural in the main stream American culture. The educational development through foreign nationals has led America, as a nation, to excel and be deemed one of the most intelligent nations in the world! Consequently, the subcultures have kept our

Ask any American how they feel about multiculturalism you are likely to get one of two responses: either a cringe or a smile. Those that cringe will say something along the line of “Multiculturalism is the wrong way to look at things. It separates us by saying that everyone is different instead of saying that we are the same and unifying us.” Those that smile will talk about how great multiculturalism is because they get to see aspects of all different cultures on television and on the radio and they are free to explore all the different things that various cultures have to offer. In actuality, one cannot help but wonder if either of these responses reflects the true meaning of multiculturalism? What do

In Spite of the devastating history of segregation in the United States. A lot has changed in the past fifty years since segregation ended. The United States shifted from arresting African Americans for using “white only” facilities to integrated schools all over the country. Influential individuals such as Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr helped pave the way for African Americans to live as equals to along with their white counterparts in the United States of America.

Before the Civil Rights Act of 1964, segregation in the United States was commonly practiced in many of the Southern and Border States. This segregation while supposed to be separate but equal, was hardly that. Blacks in the South were discriminated against repeatedly while laws did nothing to protect their individual rights. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 ridded the nation of this legal segregation and cleared a path towards equality and integration. The passage of this Act, while forever altering the relationship between blacks and whites, remains as one of history's greatest political battles.

The Pew report on Asian Americans is one physical manifestation of the Asian model minority myth- the belief that all Asians are educated, wealthy, assimilable, and submissive. The model minority myth which was actualized during the World War II has since evolved to be more than a stereotype. For many Asian Americans, it has become a tangible barrier, barring disadvantaged Asian Americans equal access to social programs and educational opportunities. The myth has grown to become so influential, so pervasive that it has manifested itself in the discourses on legal policies such as affirmative action and in the rhetoric of the pseudo statistical Pew report. Racism is far from being over; it has taken on new form-praise and laudation- to justify rejection of aid to underprivileged people. The Asian model minority myth has stripped Asian Americans of their diversity and homogenized them as a privileged, educated community. As a result, Asians have

What is different about the way of life in Montana compared to Washington, DC or your country? Why?

My life has been split into two very disparate halves. I spent the first 8 years of my life growing up in the urban jungle of Queens Borough New York. New York is the largest city in America, as well as one of the largest in the world. The city was a palpable living, breathing entity that I could feel all around me as I grew up in the center of this metropolis. I grew accustomed to the flocks of pigeons that bustled around as if there lived a separate city above my own. I learned how to navigate the twisted network of roads that joined my apartment building with the rest of the urban sprawl. The sound of police sirens, trucks, and people became my lullaby as I fell asleep. I learned to love not only the movement of the people in the city, but also the diversity of the populace that surrounded me. Queens was a melting pot, something evidenced by the multiple areas populated by African Americans, Asians, Europeans, Hispanics, and Indians. Diversity was the norm. My own parents, who met and married in New York, are a perfect example of this level of cultural interaction, my mom being an immigrant from Ecuador, and my father being a descendent of Yugoslavian immigrants. The art, music, and literature of New York is composed of expressions from a diverse multitude of nations, all contributing their own influences to the vibrant cultural atmosphere that thrives in the city. I was exposed to this mosaic of human interaction from a very young age. I would best describe myself as a speck of paint in a massive portrait of the Big Apple.

Nearly a century after the abolishment of slavery in the United States of America in 1865, Black Americans still faced oppression, segregation, race-inspired violence, and poverty. There had been significant attempts to improve the status of black Americans before 1950 with the biggest achievement being the overruling of the “separate but equal” doctrine by the Supreme Court in 1954. Although the court had declared the rule illegal, federal government still failed to implement the decision with black people having to face the risk of crossing racial barriers. The next decade and a half saw the formation of various civil rights movements compel the government to enforce the decision and all areas of public life. The civil rights activist used

Colleges and universities should emphasize the diverse culture we live in. This position can be validated through the passages written by Mike Rose's "Lives on the Boundary" and Adrienne Rich's "What Does a Woman Need to Know." The following two quotes exemplify Mr. Rose's and Ms. Rich's point of view illustrating this topic. A quote from Mike Rose affirms "We are in the middle of an extraordinary social experiment: the attempt to provide education for all members of a vast pluralistic democracy."(Rose, 117) In another quote Ms. Rich states, "For no woman is really an insider in the institutions fathered by masculine consciousness."(Rich, 69) Our society is made up of various cultural groups. Colleges and Universities are a microcosm of

For many years, African Americans had been fighting against a lots of racist policies and the civil rights movement highly affected American society. The civil rights movement in the United States was a struggle of legal, political and social by African Americans and dreamers to gain full rights of citizenship and racial equality. In 1870’s, several southern states congresses passed the law which allow to separate colored from white people. This colored included any people who have blood from black. This segregation applied to schools, parks, public burial grounds, theaters and restaurants. However, in 1954, the United States Supreme Court ruled that Montgomery’s bus segregation laws and Jim Crow law were unconstitutional. This ruling was made

Historically there is no civilization or American culture. In the territory of today's America before the Spanish conquest, there were culturally heterogeneous societies, in broad regional shared, throughout its history and with a variable duration, the influence of common civilizational horizons.

School de-segregation and the Civil Rights Movement were probably one of the most harsh and intense times in the United States history. The Civil Rights Movement took place in 1954 up until 1968. This was a time that if you were not white you struggled in many aspects. From going to the bathroom, getting something to eat, taking public transportation, and especially getting an education you were considered less than and did not get what you deserved and not what a white person would have the benefits of. This caused many problems for people especially African Americans. During this time, African Americans were viewed less than White Americans which made it very hard when people were trying to make a changed to how things were. Inequality dates back quite some time and somethings were put in effect to try and make a change. The Plessy vs. Ferguson case that took place on May 18, 1896, which had a ruling of “separate but equal.” This meant that white and colored races would have equal opportunities and rights but were separated depending on their race. For some time, this was accepted and people were okay with it but when there started to be a distinct difference between the education in white school verses the education in colored schools, that’s when the movement for de-segregation in schools started.

“We need to help students and parents cherish and preserve the ethnic and cultural diversity that nourishes and strengthens this community - and this nation (Cesar Chavez).” This quote has one meaning overall that I love. We need to honor the ethnic and cultural diversity that helps our community grow along with our nation. Without diversity, our country and community our world would be boring and dull.