Post-Reading Week Two: What is Race?

Race to me should not separate individuals because the appearance the color of skin you are in. In my opinion there is only one human race not various different categories. A person race is a cultural aspect of the person you are and the environment you grew up in.  Many common racial classifications we use in the United States today are African Americans, Hispanic, Asians, Hawaiian, Filipino, Chinese, and Whites. African Americans are also known as Native Americans, who originate from Africa. Mexicans are known as Latinos, who originate from Mexico or Latin America. ChicanAsians have many classifications such as Filipino, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean. Hawaiians are known as Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islander, and Samoan. Groups who share the same “race” share their cultural together as a union and understand the meaning of what their ancestors sacrificed in coming to the United States or leaving their home land in search of a better future. They also share the same language, skin color, physical features, and some characteristics. Religion in a race is a huge aspect shared in all racial classifications because it give a sense of comfort for a belief. Another common characteristic shared are morals. Racial categorizations vary from society to society because in the United States, we categorize a race to a specific group rather than just assuming they are Americans. In the other countries individuals do not categorize a person to specific race group they accept them for who they are. Ethnicity in my eyes is where a certain person ancestors originated and their beliefs. There are very few differences between race and ethnicity. For example, race is distinguishing characteristics between groups such as the skin on their bodies and cultural background. Whereas ethnicity is the origin of one’s ancestors and their homeland they were born in. I would characterize my race as Hispanic (Mexican) from Mexico. I chose these characterizations because my family migrated to the United States from Mexico. My grandparents came to the United States hoping for a better future. The struggles my family faced in the beginning only knowing Spanish and not an ounce of English. My grandparents started working in the fields to make money, always looking over their shoulder for immigration. I have been mistaken for being a Brazilian or Puerto Rican.  I believe the misunderstandment is because most Latin American ethnicity is very similar.

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