Implications And Future Directions For Research

“No one talked about the concept of cultural diversity as a mosaic or as a tapestry of multi-colored threads that when woven together created a vibrantly rich and textured fabric. “Real Americans” were white. “(147) Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston gives her audience an eye opening account of how The United States, a country which prides itself on its diversity, is filled with prejudice and discrimination wherever immigrants are concerned. Jeanne is a beast, she didn’t let anyone stop her from achieving her goals “Not even when I was told I should not continue with journalism major at San Jose State because I was ‘Oriental’ and a female. There were no jobs in the field. So I changed my major to social welfare. And when I was told again by the head of Juvenile Probation Services that they could not hire me as a probation officer because the community was not ‘ready’ for ‘Orientals,’ I did not protest”. Dealing with the same discrimination in my life I can fully relate to Jeanne, there really is nothing you can do but chalk it up and move on with life.

While during the internalization-commitment stage, they are satisfied and secure about their race and welcome other racial and ethnic groups; in this stage, they apply their internalized racial identities into their behaviors and actions (Cross, 1991). The frequently used instrument to operationalize Cross’s model is called the Racial Identity Attitude

People with healthy biracial identity acknowledges and integrates both parts of their racial heritage in forming identity, which process is influenced by family, community and context, as well as socio-economic status. Empirical articles reviewed in this paper demonstrate that family socialization, recognition of both ethnic and racial heritages and validation of racial identification from community members have beneficial effect in helping biracial individuals to form a healthy racial identity (Mass, 1992; Chong, 2012; Lou et al., 2011). Having higher socio-economic status will encourage biracial individuals to claim a biracial identity (Townsend et al., 2012). Context change might pose threat for psychological well-being for individuals who have not reached an integrated biracial identity (Collins, 2000;

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.

Aguirre, Adalberto, and Jonathan Turner. American Ethnicity: The Dynamics and Consequences of Discrimination. 7th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011.

Even though I believe to have a strong cultural diverse upbringing that differs from many of the lifestyles of my white friend, I never experienced any self-depreciation and oppression regarding my culture. I do believe I have undergone cultural development in terms of acculturation, but considering I have never experienced the need to abandon my cultural values, I feel it is appropriate to refer to the white racial identity development model rather than the racial/cultural identity developmental model. As a white female, I have certainly benefitted from white privilege, and it is my responsibility to acknowledge that aspect of my racial identity.

There are many stereotypes and racist remarks in today’s world. This essay will specifically be describing the discrimination towards teenage Hispanics. Many Hispanics are discriminated in today’s society. Discrimination and racism can emotionally scar a person. Many Hispanic teens dropout out of high school due to discrimination. Other Hispanic teens gain depression due to discrimination. Several other Hispanic teens even share their own personal stories about themselves being discriminated. Discrimination is an atrocity and this essay will be more of an informative essay to explain the barbarity of racial discrimination, specifically towards teenage Hispanics. I have a personal experience towards this topic so I will be sharing my own personal story towards this issue. Discrimination has become a grave dilemma and there has to be a solution to end this reoccurring situation. Many people see the crimes of racial discrimination occurring right in front of their faces, but they do nothing. Those people who just watch and ignore this grave problem are supporters for this issue because instead of putting an end to racial discrimination, those people just let it occur as if it is normal. I always question myself the same questions repeatedly; who has the right to look down upon a different race? What makes one race superior to another? Why is racism an issue? These are the most interesting questions to me, which makes a person think of today’s

African American adolescents face a period of development unique to that population, where they explore their ethnic and racial identity along with experiencing

I grew up in a family where my father was a doctor and my mother a homemaker, both immigrants from Pakistan hoping to achieve the American dream. Growing up in a white-dominant community and attending a high school with predominantly, white students and teachers, I was restricted in my growth and freedom. I was treated differently by my friends, peers and faculty members as I tried to acclimate to the American culture. My low social status, identity as a student in my high school was due to my race and gender. My race, defined by my phenotypic traits, compelled my peers and teachers to treat me differently, because of association with an inferior race. Despite being born in America, my foreign looks and association with another country, led me to be captured by the chains of racial profiling. My family, my low-social status in a White-dominated institution and my membership in primary groups were all pivotal aspects that have allowed me to attend UC Davis, where I plan to combat the low expectations of my Pakistani race.

I was born in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and live in the U.S. I went to Lowell High School and took all ESL because I didn’t know much about English. In order to succeed, I started to read and speak more English than my first language, yet I speak Khmer at home because my parent doesn 't want me to lose my native language. In America, there are a lot of immigrants that are trying to come and to get a better opportunity. According to Joel Swerdlow, in “Changing America,” “before 1965 more than three-quarters of all immigrants to the U.S. came from Europe, owing largely to quotas that favored northern Europeans.” (313). In 1965 Congress removed those quotas, and since then more than 60 percent of immigrants have come from Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, the Middle East, and Latin America. However, do children of immigrants often feel they must lose their cultural identity in order to be American? Children of immigrants often feel they must lose their cultural identity because they are changing their own culture identity regarding three topics: Language, Dress, and Behavior.

From evidence based practice, it has been proven that racism and discrimination is evident in our society. As defined by Webster’s Dictionary, “racism is the poor treatment or violence against people because of their race; and discrimination is the unfairly treatment of a person or group of people differently from other people or groups of people” (Merriam Webster, 2015). When immigrants settle into America, they are pursuing happiness, sovereignty and a new beginning. However, for countless immigrants, this idea becomes merely an illusion. The battle to gain acceptance from the America population is a struggle. While seeking economic opportunity and independence, it is more often that immigrants experience discrimination. However, the purpose of this essay a to provide readers with evidence based practice regarding discrimination against American immigrants. Found below is an article that both proves its thesis, and provide a data analysis.

Establishing an identity has been called one of the most important milestones of adolescent development (Ruffin, 2009). Additionally, a central part of identity development includes ethnic identity (ACT for Youth, 2002). While some teens search

I was born in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and live in the U.S. I went to Lowell High School and took all ESL because I didn’t know much about English. In order to succeed, I started to read and speak more English than my first language, yet I speak Khmer at home because my parent doesn 't want me to lose my native language. In America, there are a lot of immigrants that are trying to come and to get a better opportunity. According to Joel Swerdlow, in “Changing America,” “before 1965 more than three-quarters of all immigrants to the U.S. came from Europe, owing largely to quotas that favored northern Europeans.” (313). In 1965 Congress removed those quotas, and since then more than 60 percent of immigrants have come from Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, the Middle East, and Latin America. However, do the children of immigrants often feel they must lose their cultural identity in order to be an American? Children of immigrants often feel they must lose their cultural identity because they are changing their own cultural identity regarding three topics: Language, Dress, and Behavior.

Multicultural discrimination is a set of unique experience of racial discrimination and prejudice due to having a mixed racial background. Viewed as a risk factor (Giamo, Schmitt, & Outten,2012), multiracial discrimination can include a wide range of stressful experiences from denial or rejection of their multiracial identity from strangers and family members (Shih & Sanchez,2005) to being teased or pressured to act or choose one of their racial backgrounds (Buckley & Carter, 2004). Qualitative studies illustrate how these unique racial stressors can often lead to feelings of hurt, anger, guilt, and shame (Buckley & Carter, 2004; son, 2012; Miville et al., 2005). Besides that, other impact of discrimination on individuals of multicultural backgrounds include experiencing unique forms of discrimination, being marginalized, claiming different identities, and feeling accepted and affirmed in multiple racial and cultural communities (de Anda & Riddel, 1991; Guevarra, 2012; Jackson, 2009, 2012; Miville, Constantine, Baysden, & So-Lloyd, 2005).

and thus face similar discriminatory treatment (e.g., Constantine et al., 2005; Traore & Lukens, 2006). Berry’s (1997; 2006) acculturative stress model suggests that changes linked to the acculturation process can cause stress when appropriate coping strategies are not able to counter the stressor(s), and findings from this study support this framework. Sam and Berry (2001) further note that the strategies immigrants utilize in the acculturation process are influenced by the attitudes of the larger society. Indeed, participants in this study noted how others’ prejudicial treatment shaped their response. Only one participant reported prejudicial treatment from police, a form of institutional discrimination. However, immigrant youth are simultaneously subject to anti-immigrant sentiments from their African-American and other peers in school environments. Participants were not asked specifically about the race/ethnicity of students who perpetrated discriminatory treatment, however, several participants noted some being African-American or Caribbean (e.g., Jamaican). Similar themes of discrimination are present in Traore and Lukens’ (2006) account of the tensions between African students and African-American high school students. They note that African students encountered racially charged comments (e.g., misconceptions about Africa, “living in