Why Race Is Important To Me

To summarize, Race In America focuses on many aspects of racism in our society. To begin with, the book goes into detail whether or not if racism is still around, the effects of a post-racial society, and how race is or is not overemphasized. As a result of thinking

When I was brought into the world, I was not aware of the hand that I was dealt with. I was completely oblivious to human constructs that inevitably left our world divided. I did not know about race, religion, sexuality or gender roles. If it had not been for the media, I would not have tried to put so much emphasis on the label that was given to me, Latina. When reading Issa Rae’s essay “The Struggle”, I felt a sense of comfort knowing that someone else had gone through similar experiences.

Part I Sorting by Color: Why We Attach Meaning to Race 1. What does it mean that race is socially constructed? Race is socially constructed means that each race has their own social norm and behavior that belong to people of their race. Like, I speak Vietnamese and I have my own culture, which is different than White, Hispanic, Black and Chinese. For example, “A person legally and socially considered Black in the southern United States, but “passes” as White after migrating to the north” (PowerPoint 2, slide.2).

Race matters in nearly every facet of human interaction, although it should not. And anyone who believes otherwise is blind to the issues lying in front of them. Race can be used in both healthy and unhealthy ways. It helps to provide a basis for recognition, belonging, and reference. But race is, by its very nature, discriminating. It classifies people into particular groups that others just can not be in. This creates a feeling of both exclusion and superiority, specifically because some races are treated better than many others. The use of race to hinder the progress of people has been used for thousands of years. And although people are much more tolerant today than they have ever been in the past, racism exist more now than ever. Entire

What does “race” mean to you? How does your race affect your life? Are races really so different? You might answer these questions differently after visiting the RACE exhibit at the Museum of Natural Sciences. From understanding skin color to examining how systematic racism impacts minorities today, this exhibit is incredibly inclusive and eye-opening. One of our favorite interactive components was an activity in which you listen to a person talking and try to determine his or her race. It was very interesting because it forces you to face any misconceptions you may have about how a person of a certain race “should” sound. We all performed poorly at identifying the speakers, which caused us to inflect on our own stereotypical thoughts. The

Novelist, Pablo Medina, in his short story, “Arrival:1960”, describes Medina as a 12-year-old boy moving to New York from Cuba in hopes of discovering further freedom and opportunity. In Medina’s story, he initially arrives in New York with a pure perspective that life will only improve from there. However, young Medina soon learns the reality of race in America. By telling his story from first person point of view, Medina reveals how it feels to be viewed and stereotyped when one is a different race in the United States.

The chance to hear these counter-narratives allows people to hear various stories, which can challenge their thinking and raise questions on how to solve problems involving certain minority communities. Yet even within that community there are a diverse range of experiences and stories, each unique to the individual that partakes in them. This includes Chican@s/Mexican-American individuals, many of whom have struggled with cultural identity and moving within geopolitical dimensions in the majority white United States of America. Based on research and data discovered in an interview with a

Every kid in her age is excited to go to school except this little African American girl. She hates going to school and being isolated from others. Everyone does not want to become her friends or even talk to her not because she made any mistakes, but because she was born in a different race. Races by definition are groups of people who have common histories and are genetically and culturally related. America for decades has promoted diversity and welcomed all ethnics around the globe. However, it does not mean that race is not a sensitive issue anymore. By seeing numerous racisms and divisions occur today, race in America still matters.

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.

In retrospect, I had always thought of race as the color and culture of a person. If some had brick colored skin and loved tacos or spoke Spanish, he or she was Mexican. Dark skin instinctively made someone black. As a child, I had these ideas of what race was and it all seemed innocuous. Today, I am stricken with the true meaning of race and its affects. Omi and Winant describes race as “a concept which signifies and symbolizes social conflicts and interests by referring to different types of human bodies” (55). This definition describes race as a social construct that uses the relation of physical appearances and color to group individuals. “There is a continuous temptation to think of race as an essence, as something fixed, concrete and objective” (Omi and Winant 54). This specific sentence caught my attention because it was how I defined race. Growing up as child, I spent my life in several different homes. Realizing how race had a huge influence in those homes, ultimately made me think of race as an essence. I was told that my mother’s family would

As change came to America, change entered my life. To be even more specific, January 20, 2009, the date of Barack Obama’s inauguration was truly the end of my childhood. That was the day where I became aware of race. Not only was I aware of my own race but of those who were around me. Children have the freedom to live their lives without having to face certain realities such as race. Adults on the other hand, have these topics almost constantly thrown into their faces. Never to be ignored. Always in need of being addressed. I knew that race always

I agree with you, it is important to talk about races especially to are younger generation. This pass Friday, I had to take my son to University of Florida, the day before that on Thursday the Governor had declared state of emergency for that county in anticipation of Richard Spencer. I must admit I was a little scare and concerned for our safety in going to the university because I did not know what to expect. I have never been part of a protest nor will I ever because of the violence that can erupt. Luckily it was over by the time we got there. Talking about races and acknowledging that races differences does exist, understanding the history of races and why people react the way they do, will open our mind to a clear understanding if we are confronted with prejudice or

“If you have never written consciously about race why have you never felt compelled to do so?”

Racism exists in American society. This fact may be a harsh truth for some, but for millions of Americans apparent in their reality, it’s a prominent aspect of their reality. And while racism or its stubborn threat defined lived experiences of so many, there are still those who will dismiss civil the topic of race until tragedy strikes, thrusting these

Growing up in a country that defines who you are based on the color you your skin, growing up in a multicultural home can be challenging. I realize how lucky I was to grow up in a family that did not put limits on me and had a culture and belief system that was far older than this country’s mental slavery. I was lucky to grow up in a family that provided me with a strong sense of who I was and where I came from, for most in this country their culture identity is define by other. Although some would like to believe that race identities don’t contribute to conflict, the ideology of us against them is a driving force for wars, hate crimes, prejudices and conflict not just in this country but all around the world. I identify myself as a Black-woman