Arguably, racism and ethnic inconsistencies are among the leading issues facing most countries in the world. Stable and powerful nations, such as the United States, have ethnical challenges as much as any other country across the globe. The United States particularly, is comprised a mixture people of nearly every ethnical background in the world, a good number of them being blacks and Hispanics among others. According to McWhorter (2004), “modern America is home now to millions of immigrants who were born in Africa”. McWhorter also argues that, the culture of this particular people is a mixture of the United States and Africa. For instance, most immigrants have their last names such as “Senkofa” and “Onwughalu”. This paper seeks to describe the complexity of American ethnical background, as well as how crucial it is to the nation.
There is no single definite description of what ethnicity is. However, even though various scholars have described ethnicity in different ways, most of these definitions tend to focus at the same meaning (Goshgarian, 2010). Generally, ethnicity is described as a common characteristic, which is shared by a group of people be it cultural activities, language or even religion among others. As much as race and ethnicity has been associated to be one and the same thing, there is a wide range of difference between the two. Race is distinguished using biological features and characteristics such as skin colour, while ethnicity means a shared form of practice.Racial components can be evident in an ethnical group, but they do not define that particular ethnicity (Goshgarian, 2010).
In the United States, ethnic identity is a very crucial element among its people. It is important to note that, since the slavery period, the American people were divided or rather categorized into two major ethnic groups: the Whites, and the Blacks. Thus, there has been a struggle between these two classes for a long time. While the Blacks and other minority groups were fighting for recognition in terms of freedom and rights, the Whites on the other hand were struggling to maintain their status quo. As McWhorter asserted, “the living descendants of slaves in America neither knew their African Ancestors nor even have elder relatives who knew them” (McWhorter, 2004).
In the past century, ethnical crime especially against black Americans was the cornerstone for the emergence of powerful symbols in the nation. At this time racial minorities were prosecuted in an all-white courtroom; thus, increasing the hatred between different ethnical backgrounds in the United States. Thus, ethnicity is a very sensitive issue in America, given that it has some relationship to a healthy cohesion of the modern American people. Additionally, ethnicity is a source of pride for the various groups forming the American nation. For instance, McWhorter argued that among the African-Americans, knowing and respecting their origin gives them pride in America. That is why he asserted, that the special value of "Black" is that it carries the same potent combination of pride, remembrance and regret that "African American" was designed for (McWhorter, 2004).
In addition to this, upholding ethnicity has also played a monumental role towards upholding family values and parenting criteria for most American families. Most racially discriminated minorities are known for enlightening their children about the ethical and racial disadvantages or challenges in the society.In 1980 African American parents were being advised to instil social teachings amongst their children so as to boost their racial pride and high self-esteem in schools (Goshgarian, 2010). Due to the racial segregation, which was experienced in the United States during the early 20th century, by 1980 scholars had started conducting racial and ethnic socialization processes in order to enlighten the general population. These studies were crucial for most parents to analyse and know how to introduce their offspring into schools for the first time when there is no racial prejudice ( ). The United States government emphasized the importance of immigrants’ children attainment of their cultural values and beliefs. This brought about a sense of belonging and appreciation of every ethnic cultural practice.Scholarly work on the importance of racial and ethnic values in the family level has made many parents adopt a balanced and harmonious view in educating their kids about racial prejudice.
In conclusion, ethnicity and racial discrimination differ on the lines of society and biological facts. As much as the two practices are known for bringing biasness and unequal treatment among citizens of the same country, the two also if well applied can be advantageous for socioeconomic and political stability. Complexity of these two issues is by far the most challenging factor for the US government to mitigate in an unswervingly manner.
McWhorter, J. (2004). Why I’m Black, Not African American. Retrieved from
http://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/_latimes-why_im_black.htm
Goshgarian, G. (2010). The Contemporary Reader. Canada: Pearson Education
Kamiya, G. (2007). Black vs. “black”. Retrieved from
http://www.salon.com/2007/01/23/race_in_america/
