Race and Ethnic Groups Diversity in America

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Introduction

Race refers to a group of people who have similar biological, religious, cultural and ethnic characteristics. America comprises people of different racial and ethnic groups. Due to the diverse personal characteristics, issues of social inequalities and racial segregation occur. As a result, a need to handle such challenges through collective participation of the government and citizens arises. The government has formulated several strategies for racial equality and integration. Citizens should also play an active role in combating such issues by appreciating ethnic diversity. The report provides a case analysis ethnic diversity in America.

Race and Ethnic Groups

According to the 200 census statistics, there are six legally recognized racial and ethnic category groups in America. The first category is the White American, European American, or Middle Eastern American. This category comprises people whose origin can be traced from Europe, Middle East, and North America. The group makes the racial majority with 77% of the US population. The second category is black American or African American. Most of the people originated from the Sub-Saharan region. The third category is the America Native or Alaska Native. Their origin is traceable to North, Central, and South America.

The third category is the Asian American. These are people of origins in Asia and Indian continent. The fifth category comprise of people of origins in Polynesia, Melanesia, and Micronesia. This ethic group is referred to as Native Hawaiians or Other Pacific Islander. The final group referred to as some other race is a racial group comprising of individuals who do not belong to any of the above groups.¹

The Respondent interviewed

The respondent was a black American man aged 23 years. Being a White American I was privileged to share some of my life experiences with the respondent.

Ways of interviewing

Information and data was obtained from the respondent oral interviewing. The process involved a face on face interview with the client on two occasions. The respondent was required to give his view on racism in different perspectives such as racial diversity and racial segregation, the respondents were required to share their experiences relating to their race or ethnicity. This state of play was based on matters such as segregations, favoritisms, and inequality in resource distribution

The interviewing involved a one on one interaction with the respondent. The first setting of the interview was a restaurant. During theone and half an hour meeting we shared experiences based on our differences in terms of our ethnic and racial characteristics.The second setting was recreational park, which took place on a weekend for about two hours. During this meeting, we engaged into an in-depth discussion of the subject matter. More questions that are personal and discussion of ethnic diversity dominated the talk during the meeting. We were also able to discuss the importance ofappreciating racial and ethnic diversity.

The respondent proved friendly and welcoming. Thus, felt free to ask any question. I felt comfortable to interact with the respondent.

Differences in Every Day and Major Experiences

The respondent revealed that, Inequality, prejudice and racial disparities are major experiences across a number of areas such as family formation, employment, ethnic violence, housing, health, schooling, judicial rulings and incarceration rates.

As a result, many whites felt that racial discrimination was the drawback behind socioeconomic problems. The survey also revealed that African Americans strongly believed that discrimination remained the major reason for their unsuccessfulness.

The respondent revealed that inequalities existed in many social areas like. In his view, there was uneven distribution of resources based on factors such as race, gender, wealth, and religion among others. According to Healey and OBrien, this situation occasionally leads to favoritisms that inhibit fair allocation of resources to all people based on their racial and ethnic origin.

There is still a lot of work left undone regarding the equality between blacks and whites segregated vicinities.²

Most Unexpected Information you learned in the Activity

The most unexpected information was the revelation of social inequality is significantly pronounced in the education sector. The respondent revealed that Racial in equality has been rampant in the American schools. Being black (blacks form the minority group in America) one is alienated from the whites, who comprise the majority group. Although this situation has gradually changed, schools that are meant for both blacks and whites face discrimination challenges. This state of affairs has affected the quality of education of the black children owing to educational bias.

The Identified Similarities

From the activity, I learned that the respondent appreciated ethnic diversity just as I did. In addition, that the respondent attained education from a prominent school dominated by whites despite the segregation challenges. The respondent denounced all activities relating to discrimination based on personal characteristics of color, gender, race, sexual orientation, and/or disability. All this concurred with my personal perspectives of ethnic diversity,

The most surprising similarity was our consensus view on issue of appreciating racial and ethnic diversity. I view racial segregation as an issue that has added away. Those involved is such activities can be seen as laggards and uncivilized persons. This was the same perspective of the respondent who was not pleased with segregation experiences and criticized them. In his view, appreciating ethnic diversity and treating each individual with dignity are sure ways of promoting harmonious relationships.

Appreciating Racism and Racial Differences

By interacting with the respondent, I was able to know the different experiences faced by black people. I was able to understand the importance of appreciating ethnic diversity.

Some of personal characteristics where discrimination is rampant are personal traits such as race, origin, class, gender, age, and religion among other traits.

For one to appreciate personal differences it is essential to acquire the knowledge about the correlation of the differences.that way it will be easy to understand the underlying I issues that relate to racial stratification, inequality, prejudice and discrimination.³

Appreciating racial and ethnic diversity is essential for a harmonious living among people of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds. Personally, I regard it civilised and dignified to appreciate all people despite their personal characteristics of colour, race, disability or gender. My personal perspective concurs with that of my respondent who denounced all acts of discrimination based on personal traits. The respondent criticized such acts terming them as ill acts.

It is true that most white Americans regard private acts of racial discrimination as undignified. Contrarily, studies disclose that nearly half a century after the abolishment of racial segregation, prejudice, and oppression still exist in America. However, significant progress has been done to end racial segregation.⁴

Racial and ethnic relations

There has been a gradual process of racial and ethnic segregation in America. There are noticeable changes 1960s in terms of racial and ethnic relations. The fading away of racial segregation led to reduction of racism based on skin color. Recent surveys to study the perceptions of the whites towards the blacks show a steady trend of positive attitudes towards racial equality and integration. However, racial segregation has not been dealt with to satisfactory levels.⁵ Despite the fact that most Americans support the ideal of racial equality, not everyone believes that the country has overcome poor racial relations.⁶

Conclusion

Although racism and ethnicity in America is gradually declining after embracing racial equality and integration, there is a long way towards the implementation of these ideals. Racial segregation and unsubstantiated denial of rights has declined over the years. However, the civil rights movement failed to deal with many aspects, and racial inequality still persists and is yet far from over. Therefore, embracing and appreciating ethnic and racial diversity is the by the citizens is the sure way to promoting a harmonious existence where every individual is treated with dignity despite such personal differences of skin color, gender, age, sexual awareness, ethnic, and disability. American governments should seek a common understanding of ethnic diversity and encourage schools to integrate rigorous ethnic studies in both elementary and middle schools.

Reference List

Healey, Joseph, and Eileen OBrien. Race, ethnicity, gender, and class: The sociology of group conflict and change. London: Sage Publications, 2014.

Henry, Norah, Eugene Tettey-Fio, and John W. Frazier. Race, Ethnicity, and Place in a Changing America. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2011.

Footnotes

Joseph Healey and Eileen OBrien, Race, ethnicity, gender, and class: The sociology of group conflict and change (London: Sage Publications, 2014), 32.
Joseph Healey and Eileen OBrien, 34.
Ibid, 45.
Norah Henry, Eugene Tettey-Fio, and John Frazier, Race, Ethnicity, and Place in a Changing America (Albany: State University of New York Press, 2011), 75.
Henry, Tettey-Fio, and Frazier, 73.
Ibid, 76.

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