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Living in a world where African Americans are judged because of their skin color, while whites are passed by with no other thought is confusing. What do people think when they see me? I am biracial, and because of this, I’ve faced the struggle of having to explain my races to those who can’t tell, or just make an incorrect assumption. It’s not a bad thing, having two races and two cultures, because I’ve been open to multiple traditions my entire life, but sometimes it’s hard not being considered a whole person because I’m not considered one race or the other. Being biracial has shaped my life experience and the way I see the world in countless ways.
As a child, I never really knew that there was anything different about having parents of two different races because that was the norm for me. But as I started getting older, there was confusion when my dad picked me up from school because friends had seen my mother the day before and she was white. There was never judgement, but they just sort of made me feel weird for something I’d never even considered a problem. Being biracial has shaped my life experience in many ways. It’s given me insight to the theme “don’t judge a book
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by it’s cover”, because although my races aren’t very clear at first glance, when people assume them incorrectly, I get somewhat annoyed. Being biracial has taught me not to judge based on just skin color necessarily, but to judge a person as a whole. This is because I know what it feels like when people see you and immediately jump to conclusions, and I, myself understand the frustration when you try to figure out why this aspect of you even matters. Being biracial has also taught me to be more open-minded, culture-wise. This is because both sides of my family do things very differently, whether it be celebrating a birthday or, having Thanksgiving dinner. An example of this is Thanksgiving this year. My mom, dad and I, go to both sides of the family’s houses for Thanksgiving every year. Besides the fact that I get an extreme amount of food, I have also noticed and embraced how each side celebrates.This year my dad’s side of the family celebrated at my great-grandmother’s house. We watched The Chase and ate turkey, ham, mac and cheese, dressing, greens, pound cake, sweet potatoes, and sweet potato pie. Meanwhile, my mom’s side of the family celebrated at my cousin’s house. We watched football, played card games, played the piano and sang, and ate turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potato casserole, pasta, and five different types of pies. Although both sides of my family celebrate differently, being biracial has allowed me to participate and enjoy them both equally. Being biracial has also shaped the way I view the world, or rather the way I don’t view the world. Since I’ve acquired the ability to not prejudge, I don’t see the world as just a group of people made up of different races and religions because although that is what it is, in my opinion, race and religion don’t define people as a whole. Because it isn’t completely obvious that I am half black and half white, being biracial is not the first thing that comes to mind when people see me. This is the reason categorizing people based solely on religion or race is unimportant. It may impact the way certain people view the world, but not how I feel the world should view them. My closest group of friends is made up of a lot of different races. Everyday at lunch we sit together and one day we just started talking about how diverse our group was. Even though there are only five of us, we counted how many of each race there was. At the end, the count came up Hispanic: 2, Black: 1.5, and White: 1.5. Crazy right? How can there be half a person? Well that’s where I come in. I wasn’t mad or anything, I was just confused. Earlier this year in Language Arts we learned that in the South, if they could trace back 222 years to find just one African-American ancestor, you were considered black. Yet now, I’m just considered half a person. I don’t acknowledge one race more than the other, but I do get offended if I’m not looked at as either. Being biracial has affected my life in many ways, more and more as I grow older.
When I was younger, and didn’t realize that being biracial was something different, friends made me feel like I didn’t really belong. I know now that that is not the case, and that being different is a good thing. I’ve learned that I am not half a person, and this has taught me not to “judge a book by it’s cover”, because the way people look doesn’t define who they are. I’ve also learned to be more open-minded to new cultures because that is what I’ve been exposed to. Even though two races make me unique in some ways, I am not any different from anyone else and shouldn’t be viewed that way. I may not look the same as someone who is entirely black or white, but being biracial does not make me less than one
person.
After reading Alsultany’s “Los Intersticios: Recasting Moving Selves,” I realized that there are many misconceptions among those who have single or mixed racial background. For individuals who have more than one races, it may seem that they are at an advantage since they have luxury to take side with which ever race they choose. However, it actually results in a constant aggravation when one is constantly questioned about their race. Alsultany was asked by her classmate about her racial background. It was apparent that her classmate confirmed in her mind that Alsultany was different from her since she didn’t supposedly fit the description of a typical American, despite mentioning that she was born and raised in the U.S. This further strengthened
Thesis Statement: Society often forces biracial and multicultural people to identify themselves with one ethnic group by denying other part of their ethnic background. An analysis of the many scientific studies, literature, and art reveals the complexities of growing up with parents of different races. The American tendency to prefer lighter skin effects how biracial children form their identities and often causes them to deny their black heritage.
Race and ethnicity is a main factor in the way we identify others and ourselves. The real question here is does race/ethnicity still matter in the U.S.? For some groups race is not a factor that affects them greatly and for others it is a constant occurrence in their mind. But how do people of mix race reacts to this concept, do they feel greatly affected by their race? This is the question we will answer throughout the paper. I will first examine the battle of interracial relationship throughout history and explain how the history greatly explains the importance of being multiracial today. This includes the backlash and cruelty towards interracial couple and their multiracial children. Being part of a multiracial group still contains its impact in today’s society; therefore race still remaining to matter to this group in the U.S. People who place themselves in this category are constantly conflicted with more than one cultural backgrounds and often have difficulty to be accepted.
In America, essentially everyone is classified in terms of race in a way. We are all familiar with terms such as Caucasian, African-American, Asian, etc. Most Americans think of these terms as biological or natural classifications; meaning that all people of a certain race share similarities on their D.N.A. that are different and sets that particular race apart from all the other races. However, recent genetic studies show that there’s no scientific basis for the socially popular idea that race is a valid taxonomy of human biological difference. This means that humans are not divided into different groups through genetics or nature. Contrary to scientific studies, social beliefs are reflected through racial realism. Racial realists believe that being of a particular race does not only have phenotypical values (i.e. skin color, facial features, etc.), but also broadens its effects to moral, intellectual and spiritual characteristics.
Due to their immensely different pasts, the two races have a hard time relating to one another, which keeps us apart as people. I have had to deal with a lot of racism in my lifetime, more so from my family than anywhere else. I have been disliked and not "accepted" by my grandparents and great aunts and uncles, some of whom I have never met, due to the color of my skin. My first-hand experience with racism and dealing with it effectively has made me a better, more complete person. The point of my writing this essay is to hopefully open one’s eyes to realize EVERYONE is equal.
I wanted to wear brand clothes/shoes they did, I wanted to do my hair like them, and make good grades like them. I wanted to fit in. My cultural identify took a back seat. But it was not long before I felt black and white did not mix. I must have heard too many comments asking to speak Haitian or I do not look Haitian, but more than that, I am black, so I always had to answer question about my hair or why my nose is big, and that I talked white. This feeling carried on to high school because the questions never went away and the distance between me and them grew larger. There was not much action my family could take for those moments in my life, but shared their encounters or conversations to show me I was not alone in dealing with people of other background. I surrounded myself with less white people and more people of color and today, not much has
Queens is one of the most diverse boroughs in New York. There is just about every ethnicity living in it. Growing up in Queens I adapted to the diverse environment at a very young age. Living in a diverse environment impacted my way of thinking and the way I act towards others.
I was late for school, and my father had to walk me in to class so that my teacher would know the reason for my tardiness. My dad opened the door to my classroom, and there was a hush of silence. Everyone's eyes were fixed on my father and me. He told the teacher why I was late, gave me a kiss goodbye and left for work. As I sat down at my seat, all of my so-called friends called me names and teased me. The students teased me not because I was late, but because my father was black. They were too young to understand. All of this time, they thought that I was white, because I had fare skin like them, therefore I had to be white. Growing up having a white mother and a black father was tough. To some people, being black and white is a contradiction in itself. People thought that I had to be one or the other, but not both. I thought that I was fine the way I was. But like myself, Shelby Steele was stuck in between two opposite forces of his double bind. He was black and middle class, both having significant roles in his life. "Race, he insisted, blurred class distinctions among blacks. If you were black, you were just black and that was that" (Steele 211).
Our daily lives are affected by race whether we are aware of it or not. How we live different aspects of our lives depend on the colour of our skin. From the types of jobs we have, the income we earn, where we live etc. In societies fundamentally structured by race, it is important that we do not abandon the notion of race, but instead pioneer a revolution in the way that races are understood. In this paper, I will examine how the dominant groups in society define race in terms of biology, which leads to the notion of white privilege, which is their advantaged position in society, at the expense of other racial groups.
In conclusion, “When Race Becomes Even More Complex: Toward Understanding the Landscape of Multiracial Identity and Experiences” evaluates the multidimensional approach to understanding multiracial individuals by looking at their own experiences, the way the world views them, and how those two factors impact each other. “At both individual and societal levels of analyses, this issue provides a long overdue understanding of the landscape of multiracial experiences”(Shih, M., & Sanchez, D. T.
Reflecting directly on the cultural attitudes and sociocultural messages explained throughout this course, it is clear that race, gender, and sexuality are all socially constructed in one way or another. Contrary to popular belief, race is actually almost completely socially constructed, it is not biological. Further, a human’s DNA does not differentiate at all to create any specific race. However, society has categorized certain things, such as skin color, to determine the race of individuals. In simpler terms, there are not specific genes that parents pass on to their offspring that determine their race; society categorizes people into specific races when they are born based on their
In today’s society, it is acknowledgeable to assert that the concepts of race and ethnicity have changed enormously across different countries, cultures, eras, and customs. Even more, they have become less connected and tied with ancestral and familial ties but rather more concerned with superficial physical characteristics. Moreover, a great deal can be discussed the relationship between ethnicity and race. Both race and ethnicity are useful and counterproductive in their ways. To begin, the concept of race is, and its ideas are vital to society because it allows those contemporary nationalist movements which include, racist actions; to become more familiar to members of society. Secondly, it has helped to shape and redefine the meaning of
Race and ethnicity are two terms that are constantly used in today’s society. Understanding these terms can help people to recognize that color of skin or color of hair does not define a person. These terms connect with history, social interaction, and the overall make up of a person. However America is constantly obsessed with labeling people by the way that they look or the way that they act. America seems to encourage the terms race and ethnicity and continue to divide people into categories. It is interesting to comprehend these terms because they are not going to disappear any time soon. Race and ethnicity are apart of America’s history and will be a part of the future.
The oppression that African American individuals endured for years, is still being practice with racial discrimination and prejudice. One strength of identifying as African American is the increase of belongingness that gave me the ability to share and live amongst individuals with the same physical appearance and in some cases, the same obstacles. However, this was not always the case. Growing into an adult gave me the advantage to travel and meet other African Americans that I believed shared some of the same historical and ethnic background. In this time period I was introduced to what is called within-group differences, which is the differences among the members of a group (Organista, 2010). Wanting to be around individuals that I believed to have a common core with was one of my flaws, but while traveling with individuals that I thought was like me I experienced that I had nothing in common with some of my travel friends. One of my friends stated that we had nothing in common with each other, because of our different social economic status, education and employment. At first I was offended, however, after taking psychology of ethnic groups in the United States there was a sense of understanding that not all individuals that look alike, are alike. This assumption that all groups function
Rebecca Malek, the “token black friend”, the girl who talks “like she’s white” (how do you talk like a color?), and “the adopted girl.” Those are just a couple of labels I’ve reluctantly accepted, but in the sense that I let them go in one ear and then quickly try and pry them from the other. The classic thing I’ve heard all my life is “you’re adopted?”...yes, I was adopted, but no, I am Rebecca. I was adopted by a wonderful, caring family, who love me unconditionally. However, so often I felt as if I were the odd one out. Physically and emotionally, life hasn’t always been easy. I’m bi-racial,