Why Does Race Determine Identity

Race labels have been present in society for hundreds of years. However, the concept of race has not always existed. In ancient times, while people were often divided by characteristics such as class and religion, they were never divided by the color of their skin. “Race” in the context of classifying humans was not even used in the English language until 1508 in a poem by William Dunbar (California Newsreel, 2003). Today, race defines most of the things that we do. For example, we are asked about our race when filling out most forms like standardized tests and the United States Census. But why is this important? The answer: it should not be. I believe that race divides people and allows for things such as racism and stereotyping to

As it comes to the essentialists, race is very important when it comes to identity. It consists on the history and society that are involved in a big part in determining one’s identity, for all that experiences of races are different as they put them. Unfortunately, it comes from our past to when people used to think that the whitest people were the purist of all against the darkest people who were seeing as worst of all kind. As an illustration to that, historical trends take part into it, one horrifying example is slavery, when Africans were brought to the American colonies for the first time. Africans were taught to be categorized as completely different from us, used as things and property because they were black. In addition, they had

Society labels others which are shapes our identity. Labels such as white, black, cool, not cool, popular, unpopular etc. These labels are all given by society and placed by society. Based upon this evidence labels can be some good and some bad but either way, society has given them to you and they are difficult to change to our real selves. These labels shape who we are as a person or our identity.

The 21st century society consists of judgements and unrealistic expectations of the public. Different races get treated certain ways based off the stereotype that humanity has assigned to them. The way a person presents themselves is oftentimes used as a characteristic to categorize them in our day and age. For example, the way one dresses, does their makeup, or acts in public can place them in a general group of people with similar features. By organizing people into categories, assumptions are made about these people that tend to create boundaries for these individuals. When one hears the word identity one thinks about the way one appears or the way they express their likes and interests. While both of these are valid ways to think about someone’s identity, most people do not think about how that can affect the way someone lives. There are things we chose to identify as and there are things that we do not have a choice about. People are judged every day because of their race, gender, ethnicity, class, etc. Race and appearance, such as being African American and one’s fashion choices oftentimes intersect in society creating challenges.

We live in a country that is so diverse. No matter where we go we always seem to encounter someone of a different race or culture. So much so, that it has become imperative for many to be able to properly interact with others from a different background. Unfortunately, due to the fact that we are a society that primarily focuses on one’s personal growth, we never look back to realize what effects we inflict upon people of a different race. This topic very well hits close to home for me because I am a hispanic female. This topic not only interests me because of my racial identity, but also with the sudden change in political climate, it is a topic that should be brought up and discussed. I personally believe that for those that are a part of a minority group, or outgroups, the effects of racial identity and interactions are not always the best, whether it be mentally or socially.

Early attempts to define a process of minority identity transformation came primarily through the words of black social scientists and educations (Sue & Sue, 2016). In my quest to becoming culturally competent, I must first understand my own culture and Identity. Multicultural and social justice competent counselors, develop knowledge about the history and events that shape their privileged and marginalized status (MSJCC, 2016).

My racial and ethnic identity are tied to my everyday experiences. I identify as African American or black because it’s my culture. I born by two black parents and grew up in a black household. Although I was often told by my parent I am black, I would say that the term “Black” was given to me before I even entered the world. The term “Black” was given to Africans by Europeans when they took us as slaves to the Americas. Ever since then, the one drop rule applied to anyone with African heritage in the United States. In Abby L. Ferber’s article “What White Supremacist taught a Jewish Scholar About Identity,” she proves that race is a social construct. While researching the readings of white supremacists, she found that white supremacists view Jews as a race, rather than a religion or ethnically. Their perception of Jews being a race was socially constructed and imposed on Jews by the dominant group. Additionally, in “Italian Americans and Whiteness” by LaChrista Greco, she tells the history of Italians Americans’ assimilation into mainstream America through her own identity. When Italians first came to the United States, they were seen as non-white. As time progressed, Italians Americans asslimiared into mainstream America, through the lost of culture, and were now classified white. The experiences of Greco and Ferber prove that race isn’t biological, but something that is socially constructed through the dominant group. In short, race isn’t a category one chooses, but a

Race is something that is determined by our genes, what we are born with, but so is gender. Gender and race are both determined by what genes we are handed down and neither of these things are our choice, we are simply male or female, and we are simply a race. However, if one is not comfortable with his or her gender, they may freely identify as any other gender regardless with what they were born with. Using the same logic, we must reach a similar conclusion with race. If, as a

I believe race in America shapes how a person identifies themselves and others 100 percent. I also believe American culture encourages people to identify by race. For instance, a typical employment application in America requires race self identification; historically Black Colleges and Universities encourages applicants to embrace race identification (for good reason, I must admit); race identification in America even extends to annual physician visit pre-screenings. For example, according to the National Institute of Health (NIH), African Americans will likely be checked for sickle cell anemia while Whites will likely be checked for heart disease despite the fact that African Americans are more likely to contract diabetes (www.NIH//ncbi.nlm.nih.gov). From all aspects of American culture, race identity is fully expected.

Race and ethnicity are key roles in our society, people can be prideful about them or they can be shameful, none the less they are a huge topic and many people would like to get rid of them, but in all actuality there is a reason why they exist and function. To start off i would like to quote the original question in the book, Emerging by Barclay Barrios, it asks the question, “why do ethnicities continue to function in society?”.This question can be answered in three steps. The first step for why ethnicities persist to exist is big institutions, secondly, what new mechanisms are emerging for classifying people, and lastly, the psychology behind ethnicity. These together make race and ethnicity posable and keep them around.

As someone who identifies as a multi-racial woman, I have found that my racial location in society has been different based on who I am around. I am of lighter skin, and I have acknowledged I am more privileged than a woman who is darker than me. As a multi-racial woman, I at times have had to make sure I fit in based on who I was surrounded by. I am aware that in ways I do benefit from white privilege, but in a lot of ways I am still put into the subordinate group by the dominate racial groups. I fully became aware of my racial identity as a child, going to a predominately white elementary school. After my encounters with some of the peers and teachers at this school, I became aware that I was “different”, and for the first time not feeling fully accepted into my peer groups.

The study of the racial autobiography has discovered the racial identity of the individuals. Particularly in Asia, people who have identified themselves through the racial, they have developed different perceptions about the world. A part of the race, cultural, sexual and gender identity has done more perceptive on how individuals view the world. By using the Asian history to study race, culture, and gender, there are quite a number of cognitive adjustment on how individuals view the world.

In my twenty years of life, for the majority of events that I have encountered, very few if any have I experienced any racial identification. I think there's several factors that contribute to why racial identification events were not often or existent. For the most part of my life, I grew up in predominantly African- American and Hispanic area in the southside of Chicago. I attended the local public schools, where most of my classmates were low-income and welfare assisted. All of my friends were Hispanic or Black and for the most part shared the same beliefs and customs, so feeling different did not occur to me. However, when I turned 16, my parents decided to move Elmhurst, a middle class northwest suburb outside of Chicago and I did encounter one moment where my race became important to me. Things were so different in Elmhurst, all of my neighbors and classmates were White and those who were not white were of Asian descent. I felt like I was the only Hispanic in that town, and without putting too much thought, I started picking up after my peers. I started to carry myself like everyone at the town, I adapted some of the slang they spoke, and did things the rest of the kids did. I got a job at Michael's, the craft store and one day a lady that looked of Hispanic descent and spoke zero English came in one day and everyone working at Michaels was White and so I was called into the front to assist her with the language. I was singled out already because I look Hispanic and

Racial identity is a part of a socially constructed hierarchy that identifies human beings based on their ethnicity and ancestry. Essentially, the only difference between race and ethnicity is that race is determined by the dominant ethnicity. Race has been a relevant topic throughout history, and racial conflicts still exist in the modern world. Judgements based on racial identity create prejudice and bigotry. The susceptibility of people to believe others’ predispositions is what causes prejudice and bigotry to grow. Racial identity has inhibited individuals’ opportunities for centuries due to predispositions formed from a lack of credible knowledge.

If race were not simply a concept in relation to genetics, then it would remain constant across the globe; someone who is considered Black in the United States may be called White in Brazil or colored in South Africa, thus race is inconsistent and capricious. Much like how race as a construct is fluid, racial identity can be fluctuating as well; the way in which one