Essay about Race and Ethnicity

Growing up in Park Ridge, Illinois was significantly different from where I was born in Morristown, New Jersey. One of the most startling differences was apparent in the make-up of the student body. In Morristown, I attended an elementary school with a diverse student body; many of my schoolmates were African American and I remember even at a young age, students regardless of race interacting all-together without any sense of stigma attached to it. In that sense, while attending elementary school, since it was the norm to have friends of different races, I did not think very much of my race.

The classifications of race and gender have intersected and caused conflicts with the lives of those close to me, shaping the social world in which I have grown up.

Defining someone by their skin color is an everyday phenomenon. Many people see a specific shade of skin and believe they know exactly how that person is going to speak, carry, and illustrate themselves. It seems to be embedded in one’s head at a young age to have specific views given by family, friends, and coworkers such as, believing interracial relationships are immoral, or it being acceptable to judge others according to their skin color. In the articles “Race is a Four Letter Word” by Teja Arboleda and “Mr. Z” by M. Carl Holman, the color of the authors skin plays a substantial role on how they are treated and perceived. Living in a society that doesn’t understand one’s culture can make their life extremely difficult.

When I entered the Dynamic of Racism and Oppression class I was the individual who had blinders on. I did not have a full understanding of what racism was, which in itself is shocking to me as I thought I had. What made me really stop and think was this class opened my eyes to the fact that I did not know my own identity. I have heard individual say “I’m black”, “I am of African decent”, “I’m Latino”, “I’m Canadian”, and “I’m white”. These are common statements of how individuals view their race and identity. I have even placed my identity in one of those categories, I’m white. I was unaware and unsure of what it meant to have a culture, which many individuals claim everyday. Some individuals know their identity, others do not, I was one

Race and ethnicity is a main factor in the way we identify others and ourselves. The real question here is does race/ethnicity still matter in the U.S.? For some groups race is not a factor that affects them greatly and for others it is a constant occurrence in their mind. But how do people of mix race reacts to this concept, do they feel greatly affected by their race? This is the question we will answer throughout the paper. I will first examine the battle of interracial relationship throughout history and explain how the history greatly explains the importance of being multiracial today. This includes the backlash and cruelty towards interracial couple and their multiracial children. Being part of a multiracial group still contains its

Dating abuse and domestic violence are becoming increasingly prevalent in today’s society. Ten million people per year report to being abused by their partner (CDC, 2010). Due to the majority of the victims being women, however, the media often overlooks men as victims of domestic abuse. According to The National Domestic Hotline, almost 30% of men in the U.S. have experienced some form of domestic violence. Previous research has attempted to examine the different types of abuse as well as the factors that lead less men to report these incidents (James, 2003; Douglas & Hines 2011).

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.

Beverly Daniel Tatum PH.D. is an expert on race relations and the development of racial identity. Tatum guides her readers through racial identity and major ideas and concepts regarding race. Throughout the book readers will better understand the racial dynamic of their everyday lives, along with suggestive actions toward a more equitable world for all. The following paragraph gives a summary of the book, breaking it down into the IV parts containing ten chapters.

Many people forget or do not realize that race is a social construct used to obtain superiority over others of different skin pigmentation. Race is defined as “a group whose inherited psychical characteristics distinguish it from another group” (Henslin, 2015, p. 263). Although the construct of race may be different in one culture to another, the idea of race is still one that has been conceived by society. There is no biological evidence that race is part of a biological makeup. Ethnicity has to do more with how someone identifies culturally, and can identify with multiple groups no matter their “racial identity.” As ethnicity is defined as “having distinctive cultural characteristics” (Henslin, 2015, p. 266). However, even though race is

The school I went to was tiny. In grade school, our class had around twenty-five kids and over the years dwindled to a graduating class of nine. It had to be the least diverse institution I’ve ever been to. I had several Hispanic and Latino classmates, but at least ninety percent of the class was white. There was not a single teacher who wasn’t Caucasian. Maybe I didn’t miss out on any aspect of my education because I have no other perspective to view this from, but it’s my assumption that my worldview is lacking the diversity f So, simply put I have had very few encounters with race-related issues or any ingression of racism in my life. This small and inaccurate representation of society I experienced failed to bring out curiosity in other people’s situations, and how the effects of racial conflict could affect the relationships of people who would otherwise have no reason to have any hostility towards one another

For one thing, skin color can change your perception of a person, by looking at the celebrities, some of them identify as black and by looking at them, and I never would have thought that some of them were mixed with black among other ethnic background. Some of the celebrities shared a common distinctive religion and culture that could link them together, as well as share different lifestyle experiences, and how they were brought up. Some people try to define race and ethnicity as the same, but they are very different and taking this course open my eyes to several things that I was unaware of, ex: perception, race, and ethnicity play a

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”.

Being a minority, at a predominately white institution (PWI) means, constantly seeing images on websites and social media about how “diverse” your school is. You’re, also, constantly hearing about innovative and new policies being put into place to make your institution “more inclusive” for all races. The truth is, it’s all bullshit.

Are racial/ethnic minority and/or female students more likely (or less likely) to face any particular stressful discrete life events than those faced by all students?

Identity development is process that occurs over the course of a lifetime that establishes the sense of self-worth through the reflection of how the person believes that society perceives them, as well as how the individual perceives themselves (Hud-Aleem & Countryman, 2008). Although race is just one factor for the individual to consider in identity development, it’s easy to see how racial-identification can be difficult for individuals who are biracial. For instance, a person’s identity is formulated through the expression of multiple dynamics, including relationships, historical factors, social contexts, and community involvement, as well as other more generalized demographics such as race, gender, age, sexual preference, socioeconomic status, temperament, family structure, and political or religious