I am a female from the black race in the USA, a country whose population is composed of different races from all over the world. The largest race in the country is made up of the white population who are over 75% of the population. The second largest race consists of the black community often known as the African Americans who are about 13% of the population. Other races in the country include the American Indians, the Asians, Native Hawaiians, mixed races, as well as the Hispanic or Latino community (United States Census Bureau, 2016). In this regard, the African American race has its origin in the black races of Africa mostly the survivors of the Middle Passage which involved an amalgam of mostly Sahelean cultures and sub-Saharan Africa. As such, many practices, beliefs, and values survived regardless of the slavery restrictions, and these cultural practices have now incorporated some elements of European American culture. Currently, the black race in America has adopted the American ways regarding different cultural practices including language, religion, mode of dressing, food, as well as intermarriages.
Furthermore, different life experiences have informed my racial attitudes and beliefs significantly. One life experience was when nine black Americans got killed in a black church in South Carolina by a white American. This act affected my attitude towards the white race and made belief that racism is increasing and is affecting the relationship and interaction between the black and the white races. On the other hand, other experiences such as attending the same school, church, and hospitals with the white Americans has influenced my beliefs as a black American since we learn their cultural practices and beliefs (Barry-Jester, 2015).
More to the point, my level of interaction with the other races in the country is not very high since most of the people interact with members of the same race. In school, students form groups with fellow community members while most people attend church services where most of their community members go. Even though different races share some social amenities like hospitals, most of them prefer places where they will be served by their same races. As such, racism has affected my level of interaction with other races and mostly the white Americans even though I have several friends from all other races in the country including the European Americans (Richeson & Trawalter, 2010).
More to the point, my life has enabled me to interact with members from other races in that my place of residence is composed of all other races with the white and black Americans making the largest population in the region. This has enabled me to make friends with members of different races. More so, as a student and attending the same school with members from all races, I have been a team member of class research groups that consist of members from all races whereby we interact during our research in class and field work. Furthermore, the teachers are also of different races and we do interact with them in class and outside school work (McWhorter, 2016).
One aspect of my life that has held back my interaction with members of other races is religion and family beliefs. My family is from a minority religion whereby some of our beliefs and practices differ from most of the other religions in the country. For instance, my religion prohibits me from eating some types of foods, wearing some dressing codes, among other practices that may be allowed in other religions. This hinders me from attending some functions and visiting some places with my friends where we could interact more with members of all races and religions (McWhorter, 2016).
References
Barry-Jester, A. M. (2015, June 23). Attitudes Toward Racism And Inequality Are Shifting. Retrieved January 04, 2017, from http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/attitudes toward-racism-and-inequality-are-shifting/
McWhorter, J. (2016). What's Holding Blacks Back? Retrieved January 04, 2017, from http://www.city-journal.org/html/what%E2%80%99s-holding-blacks-back-12025.html
Richeson, J., & Trawalter, S. (2010). African Americans’ Implicit Racial Attitudes and The Depletion Of Executive Function After Interracial Interactions (3rd ed., Vol. 25, Publication).
United States Census Bureau. (2016). Population estimates, July 1, 2016, (V2016). Retrieved January 04, 2017, from https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/PST045216/00
