Preview

Defining Race and Ethnicity

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
280 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Defining Race and Ethnicity
Whether this definition is accurate or not, this is what the terms “race” and “ethnicity” mean to me:
Race is a term that describes a group of people with similar descent. I believe race is determined physical specifications such as color, language, eye shape, or even things such as blood types. Human beings as a whole are described as the “human race;” I believe this to be an accurate definition as human beings (despite color, language, or any other physical characteristics) are all the same. Genetically speaking, we are all made up of the same “parts.” The term “race” is an all-encompassing statement used to define a large group, overall.
Ethnicity defines the background of a particular person or thing. This term encompasses many backgrounds and associations. Foods can be “ethnic” if they originate or are commonly consumed in a specific country or region. The same applies to human beings. One’s ethnicity may be determined by his or her birthplace, religion, of beliefs. Ethnicity does not define physical characteristics, but rather backgrounds and traits.
The United States is a melting pot. This country is made up of thousands and thousands of different people from different places. The USA is home to many ethnic backgrounds; however, the population (in my opinion) is a single “race.” We are all humans, as I have previously stated. Although our ethnic backgrounds may differ in many different ways, all in all, we are one race. This is important to bear in mind. Heritage should always be recognized, as it typically is in the United States. But acknowledging the vast backgrounds that exist in this country is the most important concept of

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Through out Germania, Tacitus used ethnicity and race to define sets of people. Ethnicity is a social group of people that share common aspects of their life, such as religion language, and culture. Race, is a group of people who are similar and have distinct physical characteristics that they commonly share. In today’s times, race and ethnicity is how we often categorize people.…

    • 497 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    According to the google dictionary the term race signifies, “A group of people identified as distinct from other groups because of supposed physical or genetic traits shared by the group.” Basically, race is identify on how someone looks, and how their DNA are form. For example, if someone has dark features, big nose and nappy hair these individuals are considered as Black. If you had light features, long straight hair and nice fair tone color you considered as White. No one really knows how biology fits into all of this, but apparently for some individuals race is base on biology.…

    • 1091 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Eth/125 Week 4 Appendix D

    • 466 Words
    • 2 Pages

    A group set apart from others because of its national origin or distinctive cultural patterns…

    • 466 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Ethnicity is a group that is set apart from others because of its national origin or distinctive cultural pattern. Ethnicity also factors in ancestry and belief such as religion. A great example to demonstrate how ethnicity is different from race is how an African American culture is dramatically different from an African from Africa. I am a Black American Christian who can not relate to any of the culture that originated in Africa including their traditions and language.…

    • 373 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    - Race: people who share physical characteristics, such as skin color and facial features that are passed on through reproduction…

    • 1326 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    At one point in time the U.S. Census defined someone as a "negro" if they were one-sixteenth black. That is, if one of your sixteen great-great grandparents was of African descent (and the other fifteen were of "white" European descent), you were defined as "negro". In Jamaica, people believed to be of "pure" African descent are described as black. People who are bi-racial are usually described as "colored". In Brazil, there are even more differentiations of those believed to be of African descent. The point of all this is that our definitions are culture-bound and socially constructed. They are, therefore, not particularly scientific and change over time. This does not mean that race and ethnicity have no real meaning. They have meaning because we give them meaning.…

    • 818 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    First we are going to define the concept of Race; Race is something which is biologically in humans. Such as color, cuts of faces, color of hairs, and other such type of similarities in a group. For example, black people, white people, skin color people etc.…

    • 151 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Race In Society

    • 489 Words
    • 2 Pages

    When first learning about the term Race it was hard to pin point the actual definition of race in my own terms. We had several readings, all which played a vital role in me; further understanding race and what factors it plays in our society today. In the article Sports in Society by Jay Coakley, Coakley defines race as, “a population of people who are believed to be naturally or biologically distinct from other populations…”…

    • 489 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The distinction between race and ethnicity is important because ethnicity can be displayed or hidden whereas racial identities are always displayed. Race and ethnicity are important in the field of sociology and have great role in every day human interactions.…

    • 229 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Racial Formation

    • 732 Words
    • 3 Pages

    What is Race? This hasn't be a issue since the European explorers discovered people who looked different that themselves. Those people who looked different them European challenged the concept of humanity. "Race" is a term that people used to distinguish European and people looked different than themselves. The purpose of it is to distinguished rather a people should treat as a property or a human, should it be free or enslave. Or more basicly to distinguish "superior" and "inferior".…

    • 732 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Definition Of Race

    • 269 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Race. Definition: A term used to define people by their pigmentation or location of origin, reaching into facets of society such as mass prejudice or the suppression of other said races. Slavery is the first human construct to develop from racism, and by far the cruelest, systematically breaking the spirits of supposedly different men and women so that they would feel fear to stand to their masters of a different creed. During the turn of the 20th century, slavery was outlawed in nearly every modern day country. But then came the prejudice after it. Desperate to cling to the power, former masters looked for the government to create Jim Crow laws, which would segregate and deny African Americans from services accessible to white men. After the…

    • 269 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    When I hear the word “race”, the first thing that I think of is a person’s skin color, facial features and the texture of their hair. Although I am colorblind, I can’t help but to think of this when I hear the word race. This is due to the fact that the majority of the time when we fill out an application or any paperwork of importance the question of race is raised. I’m not sure why it matters, your experience and education seems more important to me. It seems as if some people still want to separate us depending on the color of our skin. Being that there’s so many races mixing, there’s no such thing as a pure race. Race seems to be unimportant to me. Ethnicity is a word that I prefer and enjoy when speaking of culture. Ethnicity makes me think of everybody’s struggle dating back from their ancestors to the present. Where did your ancestors originate? Where did you come from? Ethnicity is ones background and cultural differences. For example just because I am considered black doesn’t mean that I am from Africa; which means that I will be considered an African American. I thought for years that I was an African American till an African man that I was friends with broke it down to me and gave me some knowledge to read. He is considered an African American because he’s from Africa and now resides in America. I am considered to be a black American because I’m from America. This is weird being that my ancestors were American Indians. Your ethnicity is the group that others place you. I do have my personal opinion on all of this and why America still tries to identify us by race. Since my opinion was asked I felt the need to tell the truth on how I feel. Race and ethnicity are important in America because some people in the government still strives for division and don’t want us to come together as one. It seems as if the government gets more powerful when we separate ourselves from each other. If we all were to come together I…

    • 390 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The term “race” is used to define a single human being. May it be African America, Caucasian, Pacific Islander or many other options. On job applications, doctor and dental forms, college applications and many other forms of documents, society is forced to check a box that identifies them. The question of the matter is what does it matter? The term “race” came from racism itself. Dating back to the 16th century segregation has played a key role in history. Not only for the United States, but worldwide. When societies began to see differences in cultures, such as having that different skin color, different foods or different languages, the different communities formed hatreds for others who were labeled as “different”. This began the racist movement that we still see today. Groups began having different names or titles which is now considered a race of people.…

    • 1054 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ethnicity: ethnicity defines people and groups who share characteristic such as language, religion, dress, and origin. Discrimination can happen when people consider the ethnic characteristics of other people inferior to their own.…

    • 785 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ethnicity and race has had a big influence on peoples' every day life choices. In some way or another, most people will be judged according to their color of their skin or their ethnic background. We live in a society full of different races and cultures affecting the way we interact with each other, as well as influencing our views on equality and differences among the many different races in our society. Often influential media groups and social standards shape our beliefs, also affecting how we interact with cultures different from our own, and how various groups interact with each other. Race and ethnicity may be defined as a type of grouping or classification based on a persons origin of birth and includes their racial appearance, language, religion and culture. Ethnicity can be defined as a social construction that indicates identification with a particular group who share common cultural traits, such as language, religion and traditions.…

    • 806 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays