My Racial Identity Essay

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.

Prior to beginning my readings on white racial identity, I did not pay much attention to my white race. If someone had asked me to describe my appearance I would have said short blond hair, blue eyes, average stature, etc. One of the last things I would have noted was the color of my skin. Growing up in overwhelmingly white communities, I never thought to use the color of my skin to differentiate myself from others. Over the course of this dialogue I have learned that my white racial identity is one of the most defining aspects of my appearance in this society. There is a certain level of privilege that I am afforded based solely on the color of my skin. According to Peggy McIntosh, “White privilege is like an invisible weightless

To start off, both of my parents are white Americans. My father’s great grandparents came to america from czechoslovakia in the late 1800’s and same for my mothers German great grandparents. Born and raised in primarily white small towns, my parents are your stereotypical middle class white americans. About 10 years into their relationship when my mom first got pregnant with my oldest brother Dalton (23), they bought a 3 story house that was right outside of a suburban neighborhood on the outskirts of Anoka, Mn. The nearest gas station was about a 8 minute drive, and the nearest restaurant was 10. They had 3 boys together, and took in my oldest cousin Chey when she was 10 because my aunt had passed.

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

As a biracial woman growing up in the South, I never knew my place in the world. My father is a dark-skinned African American and my mother is a fair-skinned Caucasian, leaving my sister and I to fall somewhere in the middle. In elementary, my unique background caused numerous personal problems. Friends would assume I was adopted. I would frantically defend myself by saying “I am not adopted! My mommy is white and my daddy is black, and there is nothing wrong with me.” My classmates often told me that I was not possible: “black goes with black, and white goes with white.” In time, both races rejected me. I was bullied by the black girls at my school for being “too white” regarding my clothes and my hair. I continued to struggle with this

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.

As a young child, I lived life colorblind, unable to grasp the concept of race or skin color. Growing up in Florida as the only Asian in my elementary school and never being bullied for being different, I assumed everyone was white, including me. But then came that earth-shattering epiphany: I realized I wasn’t white. I started to notice that not every supermarket sold Pocky or bubble tea and that it’s not common to get money in shiny, red envelopes on New Year’s. I realized that not everyone knew how to use chopsticks, that not everyone ate rice with every meal, and that when some people spoke slowly to me, it’s not because they were trying to articulate, but because they thought I didn’t understand English.

If I were to write a memoir highlighting issues of racial identity in my life, I would talk about my experiences living in rural Iowa, my interactions with my family in Chicago after I moved to Iowa, and the pressure I felt to work hard in order to break stereotypes which affected how I viewed myself as a black person.

Many are unaware of the effects that race has played in their lives over the years. Some may not understand its implications, but are very oblivious to it. Race can influence such things like attitude and behavior. Nowadays being white or black means something more than just a Crayola color. No longer are they just colors, they are races with their own rules and regulations. People of color have been inferior to the white race for centuries. In their own way Zora Neale Hurston shows this concept in her story “How it feels to be Colored Me” as does Richard Wright in his autobiographical sketch “The Ethics of Living Jim Crow”.

Identifying the type of racial identity that one person is can be difficult for some people. I became aware of my racial identity when I was still in elementary school. When I was younger my hometown in a racial aspect was generally people of white descendants, but we had neighboring towns that had

Through history, humanity had to deal with the same constant problem: racism. As a matter of fact, there is more than one type of racism. For example, there is racism by religion, by language, by country, by genre, and also by race. Apparently, society has a global idea of what is acceptable and what is politically correct. The story “Effigies” by Lucinda Roy, develop around Samuel Bernard Monroe, who always identify himself with, he believed, the right racial group, indeed he made a career out of “being black”. After all, the credibility of his identity is then in judgment after his nemesis Seraye Underwood, who was a “true black person” with strong skills and knowledgment about African-American studies, based her argument against him in the fact that he didn’t look “black”. The term of what counts is quality, not quantity, is globally known, as well as the achievements of a person do not have a color. As result, not having a specific cultural background nor physical characteristic should be part in the judgment of someone’s ability, moreover it shouldn't be a reason to hire or fire a person.

Jonathans work and romantic experiences are examples of light skinned privilege because he may “blend in”. Chameleoning himself as he calls it, only boast that someone with European features get a pass regardless of which culture they decide to mesh with. Through the eyes of many light skin is perceived as less threatening and more beautiful or attractive. However, Jonathan was not able to choose the color of his skin. The systemic of preference for individuals of color who have lighter skin is as old as slavery. Lighter skin aids in helping Jonathan overcome the stigma and stereotypes that come with being dark skinned and African American.

As a child in a predominantly white area, many people said I acted white—along with many other black kids. How is it that as a dark skinned black woman I could act the color white? Well, white wasn’t simply referring to color or heritage rather any and all positive attributes a person would ever wish to possess. They saw my knowledge, my intelligence, my solid upbringing, the manner in which I carried myself as white. Furthermore, my positive traits made me worthy of whiteness. It was quiet bothersome that anything positive made me white, ignoring the fact that many black people were like myself and I was not an anomaly. However, the moment I became angry, did something bad or incorrect, they would say “there’s the black in you.” This thought process isn’t unique to my small town. Unfortunately, many people think like this. The image of blackness has been painted as disgraceful and negative, while the image of whiteness is painted as elegant and positive. Society has socially constructed whiteness as the goal for success, by disparaging blackness.

For many years now the people in power or “whites” have passed laws so that other racial groups are kept at the bottom of the social hierarchy. These racial group that are kept at the bottom become racialized and oppressed therefore they become unequal to the people that are at the top of this hierarchy. The racial groups that are kept at the bottom vary from the Native-Americans to the Mexican-Americans and obviously the African-Americans. In this essay I will be comparing how the racialization process has been similar and different between these racial groups. I will also define race and racialization. Furthermore, I will explain how class, gender, sexuality, and citizenship has impacted the racialization process within these groups.

Growing up, I saw the world through rose-tinted glasses; I never thought that morality had shades of gray, until I saw it with my own eyes. When I was a little brown skinned girl, I knew that my mother was Mexican and that my father was Scottish. To me, the word race was just a word. However, I soon found out that my race and the color of my skin did matter to the rest of the world.