The World War 2 : A Significant Turning Point Of Ethnicity Studies Essay

In the United States World War II has been one of the most remembered wars of all time. Acclaimed historian Ronald Takaki asserts that for many Americans, World War II was fought for a “double victory”: on the battlefront as well as on the home front. Takaki’s book Double Victory: A Multicultural History of America in World War II reminds the audience that there was much, much more happening at home and on the frontlines during World War II than in the battlefield. Takaki presents a strong central argument; it illuminates the incongruity of America's own oppressive behavior toward minorities at home, even while proclaiming the role in World War II as a fight against oppression abroad. It also pays tribute to the determination and perseverance of ethnically diverse Americans in their two-front war against prejudice and fascism. In addition Takaki tells the story through the lives of ethnically diverse Americans: Japanese Americans who felt betrayed by their own country when families were sent to internment camps; For African Americans, the war for freedom had to be fought in their country’s own backyard; a Navajo code talker who uses his complex native language to transmit secret battle messages and confound the Japanese, while his people are living in desperate poverty on a government reservation. Their dual struggle to defeat the enemy abroad and overcome racism at home gives the Double Victory its title and its texture.

During the time of World War II, there was a dramatic change in the society of America and its way of life. Men were needed at war and the women were left at home. People were mistrusted and were falsely accused of something they didn’t do. Some people were even pushed away because they were different. These people were the minorities of America. Some of the minorities it affected the most were the African Americans, women, Japanese Americans, and even young adults. What is a minority? A minority, in this case, is a person or group of people who are discriminated against because there is something about them that makes them different. Some of these reasons why they are different are things like race, gender, and even age. However, the real

World War II, which from 1939-1945, was the largest and bloodiest war the world has ever know. And also a lot of races, and gender problem about the minorities. During the war, color of soldier discrimination by white soldier, American they don’t trust Japnese by break the role and promise. In the same time they got the same opportunities as men. Although black soldier discrimination by white in WWII, American moved Japanese to camping, Women got the chances to work as like men.

During World War II many minority groups thought that if they were to participate in the war and defend the country that they would gain more respect or get a higher class status in society, although they thought wrong instead they were sort of obligated to defend the country in war without thinking they were going to get any reward in return. African Americans were one of the few minority groups that hoped to win a better position in postwar society. But in the end they were very disappointed. Many blacks were migrated from rural areas into industrial cities which was great for the economy but not really for the blacks because it created tensions among blacks and whites. In the military blacks had the most menial assignments, and there were segregated training camps and units for the blacks. Not only were blacks affected by the war but also Native Americans. There was very little war work that was available for the tribes. Some young people left the reservations causing the number of people in tribes decrease. This caused many Indians to come in close contact with white people, which opened up their eyes to the benefits they would receive if they left the reservations and lived in a non-Indian world and adjust to American society. But soon after the war there were fewer jobs available for them so they returned back to their reservations. Then there were many pressures to eliminate the reservations for good, which would require tribes to reassign themselves and adjust to

Race and ethnicity is something that we all have to live with because we all have a race and ethnicity that claims us. Race and ethnicity was something discussed daily at my household because I was the only Hispanic at my school until the third grade. This was difficult because as a child it’s hard to understand why my skin color, language, and ideals are different. I wouldn’t have survived school without my parents and support from my instructors that allowed me to transition into the mainstream without a traumatic effect. Throughout the year my parents would take me to activities like Cinco De Mayo, Religious activities, Independence of Mexico, and other cultural events that celebrated our history and culture. This helped feed my love for my culture and ancestors. Race is usually determined by how one looks but your

Identity is something that is found within that you have to find when you cross cultural differences domestically and internationally. In Eboo Patel's book Acts of Faith he uses a quote that shows how identity evolves over time. “The tradition you were born into was your home, Brother Wayne told me, but as Gandhi once wrote, it should be a home with the windows open so that the winds of other traditions can blow through and bring their unique oxygen. “It’s good to have wings,” he would say, “but you have to have roots, too”(Acts of Faith). This quote really shows that identity is something that is found at what you call your home and you keep your roots there. Your roots are your upbringing when you are young and your wings are when you leave the safety of home. This quote is also showing that the winds of other traditions bring unique oxygen which would be a new experience that help you sculpt your identity in the way you want it. Tradition is something that you will always remember but in order to truly find who you are you must cross domestic and international boundaries. When you cross these boundaries you learn about your identity because your wings have been used and your roots have been deepened. Another book read over the course really demonstrates this concept of identity being found within. This book is Citizen in this book it really shows cultures being crossed not necessarily internationally but domestically. I found a quote that states, “Perhaps the most insidious and least understood form of segregation is that of the

This paper will identify the ethnic identifications within individuals. Ethnicity is part of everyone’s identity development. Individuals may have one ethnicity or multiple, depending on their current location, homelands, generations, religion, environment, language/dialect, physical appearance, and more. A cultural individual is considered ethnic either by being first, second, or third generation. According to Phinney (1989), there are four stages of ethnic identity development: diffuse, foreclosed, moratorium, and achieved. They describe when an individual explores or does not explore their own ethnicity, and accepting clarification and understanding of ethnicity. An individual can be placed within these stages throughout their developing lives. It is important to recognize these stages within an individual to better apprehend their identity and where they perceive their own identity in their position.

The United States was a divided nation at the time of World War II. Divided by race and racism. This Division had been much greater in the past with the institution of slavery. As the years went by the those beliefs did deteriorate slowly, but they were still present during the years of World War II. This division was lived out in two forms, legislation and social behavior. The legislation came in the form of the “Jim Crow” laws. The belief that some people were naturally superior and others inferior, scientific racism, was the accepted belief of the time These cultural traits were waning. After World War II ended they would decline even more rapidly.

No diasporic community manifests all of these characteristics or shares with the same intensity an identity with its scattered ancestral kin. In many respects, diasporas are not actual but imaginary and symbolic communities and political constructs; it is we who often call them into being.” (Palmer)

The document I had to write about was a reading about racism occurring in America during World War 2. While men were fighting in the war, African American men and women were needed to work back home. Racism still was prevalent however, during the time frame the demographics in America were assumed that black men were rapists, white women pure, and black women uncleanly.

Why was there so many racial dilemmas emerging in the United States after the end of World War I? It is possible to say that the main reason is because this World War I was fought by the entire world. It was a war between countries of different nationalities and ethnic groups. There was especially more hate in the United States since it is a country made up of Americans of different backgrounds and recent immigrants. During the drafting of soldiers of the war, African Americans were also taking in the fight. At this time, whites didn’t have time to be concerned or angry about blacks partaking in the war since they needed to recruit as much people as possible in a short amount of time. However, after the war ended, white Americans were again

In simple terms, the Diaspora as a concept, describes groups of people who currently live or reside outside the original homelands. We will approach the Diaspora from the lenses of migration; that the migration of people through out of the African continent has different points of origin, different patterns and results in different identity formations. Yet, all of these patterns of dispersion and germination/ assimilation represent formations of the Diaspora. My paper will focus on the complexities of the question of whether or not Africans in the Diaspora should return to Africa. This will be focused through the lenses of the different phases in the Diaspora.

In contrast to the idea of race, Ethnicity refers to ethnic affiliation, or the “cultural practices and outlooks of a given community of people that set them apart from others” (Giddens, 1997:210). Members of a particular ethnic group see themselves as culturally distinct from other groups of people in a society or culture. There are different characteristics which serve as a way of

The question of identity is always a difficult one for those living in a culture or group, yet belonging to another. This difficulty frequently remains in the mind of most immigrants, especially the second generations who were born in a country other than their parents. Younger generations feel as if they are forced to change to fit the social standards despite previous culture or group. Furthermore those who wish to adopt a new identity of a group or culture haven't yet been fully accepted by original members due to their former identity.

In the article “Diasporas”, historian and anthropologist James Clifford explores the issues that can arise when trying to concretely define diaspora, a “traveling term, in changing global conditions”. Clifford explains, the concept of diaspora was used in the study of Jewish and later Greek and Armenian displaced groups. However, since the 1950s it has been commonly evoked in reference to African forced migration and is now used to describe a variety of peoples and relocation experiences. In addition to ‘diaspora’, other terms are also being used quite heavily in discussions of the movement of people, including “border”, and Clifford explores the differences and similarities between people living in a state of “border” versus a state of diaspora while both suggest connections and “multilocalities” of people “borders” implies a politically and geographically defined line, where as a diaspora connotates a further distance of separation, and possibly a sense of exile. Clifford discuses these connections and