Diversity and multiculturism

Diversity and Multiculturalism in the United States Diversity is a notion that entails respect and recognition of people from all lifestyles regardless of the race, culture or social standards. The diversification concept encompasses the recognition and the understanding that each person is different and unique. Diversity is a familiar topic within the American society. The United States government has encouraged discussions about the topic of diversification from time immemorial. America is a diverse country comprising of people from different racial and social backgrounds such as the white Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, Latinos, and indigenous natives. Diversity not only includes race but social and gender specific individuals’ as well including women and homosexuals. Citizens in United States have employed the diversity concept, which has enabled Americans to co-exist together peacefully. Diversity is imperative in America as it helps on building a peaceful and harmonized society. United States as a country has harnessed on diversity of the citizens to make services offered to the people pertinent and amicable (Diller, 115). Pertinent and amicable services have ensured that America stays on top in the service industry sector. Diller demonstrated that aside from the service industry, diversity has largely contributed to making Americans well aware of the society thus making Americans knowledgeable (134). Studies have shown that the United States is one of the leading countries on a literal level because of the immense knowledge and attributes brought about by diversity. The history of diversity and equality in America dates from as early as the inception of the United States as a country. In the colonial period, the distinctive uniqueness of the American society was the diversity of the people. By all standards, the United States society had immensely diversified regionally, ethnically and religiously. In 1970 during the first federal census, the results showed that a fifth of the population in America comprised of the African Americans (Richard and Barnett, 89). Richard and Barnett further argued that the whites consisted of the English, Scottish and the Irish (91). The Dutch, Germans, French and the rest comprised of the remainder. The diverse society led to the emergence of different religious groups in the united Sates. However, the spirit of fairness and equality during the colonial period did not exist. Women had to work extremely hard compared to the male counterparts. Despite the hard work and exhaustion that women had to endure, the society was unappreciative towards the women. The women’s job was homemaking for poor households during the colonial period. McDuffie explained that the women had to wash clothes, cook meals and to make the various household goods (56). Furthermore, the women doctored the families, took care of the animals and tending to the gardens. The case for the middle class and wealthy women was different because servants from poor families did the chores. The society was unfair to the women hailing from poor families. It was a social humiliation for a woman not to have married by the age of 25 years as many of the women married at the tender ages of between 13 and 14 years. The widowed women succumbed to pressure of getting married soon or risk social humiliation. Once married the women had control over nothing: earnings, property, and inheritance and could not vote or act as witnesses in a court of law (McDuffie, 107). Wife battering was legal giving husband an opportunity to discipline wives whenever the wives went astray. If a woman killed the husband, the crime was punishable by burning the woman alive although for the men it was serving a jail term. In recent history according to statistics, men have always had the upper hand in the educational sector compared to women. Anne and Elizabeth stated that the education trend is soon changing with reports showing that more women are graduation from colleges in the United States as opposed to men (57). The significant change came after the enactment of the Title IX in 1985 that bars gender prejudice in education (Anne and Elizabeth, 63). Diversity and equality in the United States has helped promote the various aspects of human rights. The right to choose a marriage partner is a fundamental right for human beings. In much of America today, same sex marriage is legal and accepted. The diversity that the Americans uphold has enabled people to understand and accept the same sex marriage partners. Diversity has also promoted the freedom of speech amongst the American citizens. In America, people are free to air views as long as the views do not compromise other people’s culture. Diversity has greatly aided the Americans in living peacefully thus enabling the Americans to focus on developing the country together as a whole. America as a country is very keen on dealing with issues pertaining to diversity and equality. Several laws and policies have been enacted concerning many issues on equality and diversity. The United States is a multicultural nation with people hailing from all the parts of the world. The U.S. Census Bureau states that in 2010 the population of different races totaled white (223.6 million, 72%), African Americans (38.9million, 13%), Hispanics (50.5million, 16%), Asian (14.7million, 5%), and Native American (3.4million, 1.1%). (US Census 2010). With the vast amount of culturally different people in the U.S., the issue of racism for a many decades was a hard felt menace in the American society, more so to the minority groups like the African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans. Enmity amongst the different races ensued thus deterring the development of the country. In the late 19th century, America was an antagonistic nation between people of different races, the superior white people and the minority groups. Now and then, the minority groups planned revolutions to demand equality and fairness. These protests, rallies and strikes often created clashes with the white majority ending in violence and racial atrocities. In the start of the 20th century, the states enacted laws that dictated that everyone was equal in the eyes of the law to eradicate racism. The policies and the laws stipulated that everyone regardless of the skin color were equal as an American citizen. One realization of how well the laws and policies on equality and diversity became evidently successful was when the American people chose Barrack Obama and he became the first person of color to become the president. An achievement made viable by the fact that Americans are on the brink of becoming one people and one country. The laws and policies in place have helped to change society from believing that the minority’s being part of the elite were mainly held aside for those in sports professions who had physical talent. Today stringent measures like legal punishment, such as serving jail terms and hefty financial penalty’s befall citizens or organizations that defy the laws and policies in place on equality and diversity. This country’s social policies on multicultural equality and diversity although successful can be questionable, on the account that diverse Americans today still do not have equal chances of making it in life. For instance, the youthful African, Hispanic, Asian, and Native Americans from the ghettos and inner-city neighborhoods are less likely to attain college education as compared to the white Americans. Lower incomes, poorer childhood education contribute to the lack of minority having opportunity for college. Subsequently, women to date also have struggle with an oppression like the minority’s earning less money, as opposed to men in the same professions even after attaining the same degree’s and working sometimes even harder than men. The different political parties in the country seek to level the platform that will ensure equitability to all, but the parties have completely different ideas about tackling equity issues. The political parties’ different ideologies continue to stir up debate in our society thus contributing to, at times, a stall in the progression of equality but actual healthy democratic solutions. The United States of America is a diverse country in terms of race, ethnicity, religion and culture. The rising tide of ethnic and racial diversity in America has reached almost every corner of the country; minority groups have formed an important sector of the population in each state. This diversity has helped me, a great deal, to develop respect for mutual co-existence as I have been offered the opportunity to understand and integrate with people with different racial, cultural and religious backgrounds. Interacting directly with these people squashed many myths I have been nurturing in my mind since very long. This country’s successful experiment of coexistent diversity clearly demonstrates that, the whole world can live in peace with each other, provided there is a respect for each other's thoughts and beliefs, cultures and social values, race and ethnicity.

Works cited
Allan, Elizabeth J. Women's Status in Higher Education: Equity Matters. San Francisco, California: Wiley Subscription Services, 2011. Print.
Diller, J., V. Cultural Diversity: A Primer for the Human Services. Belmont, CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole, 2011. Print.
McDuffie, E., S. Sojourning for Freedom: Black Women, American Communism, and the Making of Black Left Feminism. Durham: Duke University Press, 2011. Print.
Richard, E. and Barnett, D. The population of the United States. New York City: Simon and Schuster publishers, 2010. Print.
United States Census Bureau: http://www.census.gov/2010