Mixed Culture And Mixed Race Identity

According to Cross’s (1991) model, individuals progress from multiple stages of the model, from race having little relevance to an identity in which race is very salient and fully present. For example, during the preencounter stage, individuals view race as a less important part of their identity. While during the encounter stage their racial experiences prompt a reexamination of racial challenges. In the immersion-emersion stage, AAs become pro AA and against Whites.

One of the most prevalent themes throughout the world’s history is the dispute over race and racial differences. But, there is a problem: the majority of the population doesn’t have a clear understanding of what race is. Race is a socially constructed grouping of people that was created in order for people to differentiate themselves from one another and has many sources of influence. While most people believe race is determined by biological characteristics (hair type, skin color, eye shape, etc.), this is not true. To make things more complicated, there is no cut and dry definition to race. Authors of Race and Ethnicity in Society, Elizabeth Higginbotham and Margret Anderson, claim that there are seven different distinct ways to define race. They begin with the popular belief of biological characteristics, and, as mentioned before, through social construction. They go on to note that race can be formed from an ethnic group, from social class rank, from racial formation by institutions, and also can form from one’s self-definition (Higginbotham & Anderson, 2012, p. 13). All of these ways to define race have been seen throughout our history, and many of them have caused problems for minorities, especially in the United States.

In his essay, “Racial Identities”, Kwame Anthony Appiah addresses the topic of racial identification. He describes how and why it’s hard not to identify someone based on their race. Today in the United States, racial identification is quite relevant. People judge and stereotype others based on race. Classifying people based on their looks isn’t bad, it’s the negative attitudes and labels that come with it. Racial identification is hard for most people to avoid, is detrimental due to the bad attitudes people have, negatively affects people’s lifestyles, and divide people.

Individuals identify as and therefore embody the stereotypes and lived marginalized experiences associated with a respective racial label. This embodiment

What is the obsession with people’s need of identification? People need to understand that we all are different, not everybody can fit into a group. In her article, “Being an Other,” Melissa Algranati gives a personal narrative of her life and her parent 's life and how they faced discrimination and her struggles about being identified as an “other” even though she was an American born jewish and Puerto Rican. Michael Omi’s article “In Living Color: Race and American Culture” reinforces Algranati’s article since in his article he discusses about people ideas about race the stereotypes that they face. They have the same thought that Americans is obsessed with labelling people, they both discuss people’s assumptions of others based on how

Racial identity is a person’s sense of themselves and their ethnicity that can be related to a certain racial group. This concept of a person’s view of their nationality is argued to be either shaped personally or by interactions with others. However, Tatum is correct in her statement that racial identity can be created due to experiences and relationships with different people. Even though people are unique in how their racial identity is changed due to these interactions, they are still overall affected by these encounters. In general, race and identity are affected by interactions with others and are all interrelated; however, these experiences with people can either have a negative or positive affect on a person’s personal racial perspective

This transformative moment serves as a powerful reminder of the beauty of embracing one’s uniqueness and challenging social norms to find identity. Racial tension has been a persistent and deeply seeded issue in society, as highlighted by various literary works. Having a racial identity is a crucial part of discovering yourself, and “racial identity is noted to be shaped by oppressive and racist experiences in African American lives” (Johnson 1). This statement underscores that reality identity is not solely a personal choice, but is intertwined with experiences and social expectations. With encounters with discrimination and racial profiling, African Americans have to navigate life when their race can affect their opportunities, treatment, and sense of belonging.

Some individuals actively resist imposed categories by “performing” race in a subversive manner. A white person, for example, might take on the linguistic patois and stylistic gait we commonly associate with contemporary blackness. Over a person’s life course, they may “switch” racial identities—or be transferred to a new racially defined group, as a result of changes in state-based racial classification, the emergence of new group definitions, or even a longing to claim a suppressed or long-abandoned identity, real or imagined (Omi, Winant p. 2).

There are two different dimensions of our identities: ethnicity and race. Ethnicity refers to one’s belonging to a specific cultural, or racial group that makes up culture, race language, and/or place of origin. For example, one can be African-American but have different ethnicities, one African-American and the other African-Caribbean decent. Race is a social construct that can be changed over time. Historically, referring to its specific characteristics one possesses based on: ethnicity, religion, or language; today's its classified solely based upon the color of one’s skin. Nevertheless, ethnic and racial identities are important and instill a sense of belonging and identifying with that specific group through attitude, behaviors. Moreover,

Recently I have been evaluating what I think to be my own racial and cultural identity. As a Caucasian of mostly German decent who grew up in the upper Midwest, I blended in with the majority of people around me. Due to this fact, I did not often think about race, and when I did it was thinking about how others were different than me and the rest of ‘us’. I was a product of my culture and the society surrounding me; I regret this thinking now, and do deeply apologize.

Throughout the essay, Race, Culture, Identity: Misunderstood Connections, I found Kwame Anthony Appiah’s claims about social scripts to support my idea that we present ourselves differently depending on the circumstance. There are times when we try to play into the majority, as well as times where we try and fall into the minority; we choose which group we want to highlight depending on which will get us where we want to go.

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.

How you do in school, your social ability, and your awareness of others are all guided by how you identify. Identification in one’s gender, race, religion, social class, and ethnicity are all driving forces behind your future self. Identity is a crucial part of who you are, and in recent studies and experimentation researchers have been trying to identify new, untested factors that influence behavior in people. Although, in the past there hasn’t been a strong focus on the positive and negative effects of race and ethnicity, the conversation is now shifting to align itself with the current times. With America becoming increasingly more ethnically and racially diverse, we must take the time to see how certain factors, specifically race and ethnicity, impact a person’s development and behavior.

Society has a way of making assumptions based on one’s physical characteristics. Often at times we categorize individuals to a particular social group. In regard to society’ perception of an individual this however, contributes to the development of social construction of racism. Most people want to be identified as individuals rather than a member of specific social group. As a result, our social identity contains different categories or components that were influenced or imposed. For example, I identify as a, Jamaican, Puerto Rican and a person of color. I identify racially as a person of color and ethically as Jamaican and Puerto Rican. According to Miller and Garren it’s a natural human response for people to make assumptions solely

“If we don’t fully understand our individual and collective roles in maintaining a system of white superiority, our relationships with people of color remains superficial, our ability to work in diverse workplaces is greatly diminished, and we fail to create a just world in which everyone has an equitable opportunity to contribute and thrive” (Kendall, 2013, p. 1). This paper discusses who I am as a cultural person and how I have come to be this way. The first section of this paper discusses my cultural background and my cultural identity. I address the factors that make up my cultural identity and the challenges that I have faced because of my cultural identity. The next section discusses my White racial identity development and the events in my life that have led me to become the person I am today in relation to my racial identity. The final section of this paper outlines the implications my own racial and cultural identity will have on my career as a clinical mental health counselor.