the Cherokee Nation

• The term Cherokee comes Creek word meaning “people of a different speech”
• They call themselves the “real people” or the “principal people”
• They are location in Oklahoma and western North Carolina
• Population in 1674 was 50,00 and 308,000 in 1990
• Language is part Iroquoian, because they conquered them

Pre-content

• The confederacy has about 200 towns and shared a common language and cultural
• Originally there was no chief but each group had their own ceremonies and wars
• Each town had a red chief and white chief
• The red chief the leader during the wartime and the the white chief was for the peacetime
• Each governed with the consultation with a town council, which had both male and female villagers.
• They were organized into 7 clans that were basic on their mother’s blood line
• Language is from the southern branch of the Iroquoian and it very different from the northern Iroquoian languages, like Mohawk
• 50,000 people owned 40,000 square miles of land, including parts from Alabama to west Virginia
• It is known as the largest tribe of the 5 civilized tribes

History

• Were believed to have migrated from Mexico, Texas and the great lakes region
• They had conflict and wars with the Iroquois and the Delaware tribes 3-4,000 yrs old
• They relied on 3 ways for food: farming, gathering and hunting
• Some of the crops were corn, beans, squash, sunflower, melons, tobacco, nuts, roots, and fruits
• Food was preserved for winter by drying it out
• Cherokee women did most of the farming, men were the primarily warriors and hunter
• They hunted deers, bears, buffalos, raccoons, rabbits, squirrels, opossums, turkeys, and other types of birds
• Traditionally the Cherokee people never wasted a part of a hunted animal
• Deer was the most important game for the Cherokee
• They were use blow guns to hunt them down from about 60 feet away

Religion

• In the 1600’s the tribe was divided into two groups
• Most people belived that the world was created by the “Being from above”
• This group worshiped different heavenly bodies, animals, and fire
• The 2^nd group believed in “three beings who were always together and of the same mind”
• Religion was part of the Cherokee’s daily life
• Each town’s white chief served as a chief preiest
• There is a cycle of 6 annual festivals
• The most important one was the harvest , it was a celebration of harmony and renewal
• Now days most Cherokee are protestant Christians, but they do have services in the Cherokee language.

Random facts

· A Cherokee townhas a council house, a plaza, and 30-60 private homes.

· The whole town is surrounded by a protective fence

· The circular council house is large enough to hold all 400-500 townspeople for meetings and religious ceremonies.

· Wall were formed by weaving saplings support posts then plastered with mud over the framework

· In 1995 164,000 cherokee claimed to be members of the Cherokee nation of Oklahoma

· While 10,500 belonged to the eastern band of Cherokee in north Carolina

· In 1990 the u.s census recorded that 308,132 people claim themselves as Cherokee, the lasgest native tribe in the United States

· Cherokee is the most completes and different language to learn

· It was created by Sequoyah his father was white and his given name was George Guess.

· It took him about 12 years, he developed 85 systems, which represented all the sounds of his native tongue

· Literary quickly separated among the Cherokee people, once then trust it

Current Tribal Issues

· A big problem for Cherokee today is their lack of tradional culture

· They lost a lot their history, and culture beucase they tried to assima with the white.

· They thought it would help them keep land and it was new and whites had mew technologies

Politicians

Wilma Pearl Mankiller was the chief of the Cherokee nation of Oklahoma from 1985-1991. her name comes from her antserter who was named that to protect the people in a town. She was the first full blood Cherokee female to be chief in about 200 years. Initially the people of the nation didn’t want to be lead by a women, she was threat, her car tires were slashed. But it didn’t take long for Wilma to win over the respect of the people and she has left her mark on the nation. With her mission to restore the Cherokee cultural and to teach the next generation.

Benjamin Nighthorse Campell is an American politician. He is a senator from Colorado from 1993 till 2005 and for a while was the only native American serving in the u.s. congress. It was the 3^rd native American to service in the us.s senate in history, he was also one of the 44 members of the councils of chiefs of the northern Cheyenne Indian tribe.

He was a democratic but later changed to a the republican party in 1995.

Mother was a Portuguese immigrant, and his father Albert Campbell was from the Northern Cheyenne but he was raised in Crow Agenct boarding school.

Wionona LaDuke is a native American activist, environment, economist, and a writer. She ran as the vice president for the green party in the 1996 and 2000 election with Ralph Nader. But in 2004 she supported John Kerry and is currently supporting Barack Obama. She is the current executive director of both the honor the earth and white earth land recovery party. Her father was part Chippewa and from a reservation of Minnesota. Her mother was jewish artist and was a professor at southern Oregon university.

Stepping Stools to Finding a True Self

Here's JAYA4PLRA, making up some work from last semester:

This course has helped me battle some critical issues concerning my own identity, as well as bringing to light the issues of Race and Ethnicity. Experiences shape our lives and create an individual through common existence. Throughout the winding paths of adulthood I have faced many experiences that have shaped my personality, character, and overall identity. This evolving process has leaded me to reflect on not only my individual placement within the world but also my commonality with American and world culture. This second phase of the identification project is designed to elicit a more in-depth look at Race and Ethnicity, while analyzing our growth throughout the semester. My life has been a constant search for truth and I believe that my experience at college, and abroad has lead me to find some answers.

“My father is from Ghana” is the first thing I say to most people I meet. This shines a light on a crucial aspect of my collective identity. When asked in seminars and classes to say something special about yourself that’s what I usually reach for. This truly is the “Me” generation, focusing on individual achievement rather than group success. The honor that I have come from a distinctive background has been lost in a sea of common identity. This was clearly presented by our various outside of class research.

In the summer of 2007, my personal identity was changed drastically, with the visit to my father's native land of Ghana, West Africa. The experience was faulty at first with an uneasy feeling in the air about the trip. Whether it was money, our age, or the fact that the trip was long overdue in general, my older brother Addaie and I were worried. We described this tension feeling as “the stars are not aligned, or something.”

The trip to Ghana opened my eyes to what I have been preparing for my whole life. A world of stories and what I believed to be fairy tales now began to take physical form. The whole flight over I was sick with worry and anticipation, forcing me to spend much of my time in the cramped airplane bathroom. Landing in Ghana I was able to smell the hot moist air and see the moist green grass. To be honest, I was upset by the level of development, in terms of infrastructure. I always believed that the cities would be more developed than the stereotype of “backwards” African nations. It seemed that this country had not made as much progress as I previously believed. Upon the first time of arrival my identity was immediately in question. Being of lighter skin tone than most native Ghanaians, I would have to revert to offering my middle and last name, almost as an offering of acceptance. My experience in Ghana brought me closer to what it was like to live in this culture, while giving me physical evidence into my genetic makeup.

Our long rides to various destinations across the American landscape gave my father and me a chance to reflect upon, and learn about our common ancestry and identity. That is were he would tell me tales of Ashanti Kings draped in gold, powerful Gods, and personal tribulations. I was one of those children who never got sick of hearing the line “You know, when I was a kid....” I could learn about American identity and culture talking about the full gambit of race, religion, and politics. I reflect on the car rides as a modern parental seminar, instilling in the child the necessary skills for survival. The issue of race came up often and sometimes was followed by a demonstration. By demonstration I mean flashing sirens signaling our vehicle to pull over. Every time we got pulled over going fishing, on vacation trips, or just around our rural neighborhood, the issues of race, identity, and class were ingrained into my psyche. Growing older has given me the opportunity to realize that racism is real while granting me the opportunity to accurately confront racial issues.

As youngsters it is not hard to tell what is different about each other. I believe this instinctual observation is a natural evolutionary process. Looking around the room in the small rural classroom my peers were all so similar, but rather also uniquely distinctive. You learn early to relate your creation with the direct source of your creation, your parents. Looking at my father's nose, and my mother's hair I began to piece the body parts I obtained in the birthing swap. It was all too similar to my Mr. Potato Head. During those confusing times, I often went to my parents for spiritual and life guidance. I remember my Grandma telling me that I wasn’t “black.” See, I could always count on my Grandmother to tell me how it was, and she has always been close to me in spirit and physical location. Right up the street was all the cookies, popcorn, and “Sunny D” you could desire. It was always a place of learning, reflection, and the occasional gossip. Jovial Grandma was always the connection to my mother’s side of the family or my “white” side. Her unique perception on race, class, and society was mixed with my mother’s often-optimistic approach to labeling.

During our semester we were able to see the confrontation between politics and race and ethnicity. I was immediately able to compare my life and the upbringing of Senator Obama. The obvious clash between his racial identity began to take arise when everyone began there introduction as “No offense but you look just like Barack Obama.” I didn’t ever take offense to this comparison, but it made me analyze our discussion on race and ethnicity. His racial upbringing and experience is so similar to mine, even having similar genetic makeup. It made me revert back to our school's convocation event where we were able to compare and contrast our genetic makeups. This experience has moved my position to believing that ethnicity is real, and race is a flawed human construction based on genetic make-ups. The politics of race and identity is felt everyday in society. The battle is if we want to buy into this designed scheme to rank individuals, or if our stock is already purchased upon birth. There is a struggle between who I have created in society and what society has created of me.

The duality of my citizenship has lead me to be confused and often conflicted. A friendly conversation about perceptions of race lead my roommate and I to a discussion on how you would characterize my race. “Well, I am not totally white, and not black, so what am I, grey?” I sarcastically commented. Through the analysis we were able to relatively construct my race: African American Ghanaian Caucasian black white…American. I guess this may not be scientifically accurate or politically correct, but it reflects many issues in American identity. My mobility in American society is affected by the perceptions of race. These perceptions in many cases can be damaging and often misleading.

I have always claimed that my father is from Africa, and I am not an American “black” brought here from the evils of slavery. I have tried to resist many aspects of formal census categorization and placed my own stamp on myself. I say that I am not black not only from watching Spike Lee’s Malcolm X film but also from rejection of classic societal identification procedures. I know where my “blackness” comes from, and the history of my direct ancestors. The questions is does this make me any more elevated, or distinctive? It all is based on perceptions because I cannot wear the black star on my chest. My mother’s line also: working with the family members we traced our blood back to American civil war veterans, England, and Wales. This “Caucasian” theme is greatly stressed in our readings and discussions. Being able to experience the journey of slavery while visiting the castles of costal Ghana gave me direct insight into this connection and plight.

I have various stories due too my distinctive upbringing. I spent many nights grieving with my hands cradled over my face. I asked myself, could I have been anyone other than me? Compare my identity to the American “melting pot” theory. I always like to do the mirror test. It brings me back to a sense of reality and awakens me from my disillusionment. The image I have created of myself reflected back into my pupils doesn’t reflect the one that I have created in my mind. The common phrase after taking the mirror test is “Oh that’s what I look like” or the occasional “I look weird.” That doesn’t mean that I am excluding the good days--we all have them.

Creating my identity is an evolutionary process. The most turbulent of times was in grade school; I adapted to my surroundings, trapped on the Galapagos Islands of Weedsport Central School. Like a chameleon, I cloaked my personal image to match and imitate my surroundings. Of course there was always my brother, MTV, and seniors around to influence me, but other underlying factors like American marketing, class, and race, all were present. My experience at Fredonia was able to grant me the opportunity to step out of that shell, while reflecting on my personal experience.

My identity is made up of so much more than my race or my biological background. I have found that the things that might be most crucial to you may not be so important to others. The way that I identify myself may not have the same weight with someone less conscious. I often wonder if this created identity or outfit is even noticed in society, but it is. When you walk into a room or see someone in a grocery store you notice a lot about an individual just by their appearance. Your human instincts categorize the person into a specific and trained phylum. It is only natural to identify individuality, but applying specific trained reactions to them is a result of experience.

We were able to challenge this debate with our various guest speakers. One who captivated and even annoyed me was able to leave a lasting impression. He believed that race is real, among many other controversial stances. His ability to debate gave him a tremendous advantage to prove why “blacks were better at sports” or “that whites and Asians were naturally smarter.” I look back at that early morning in discussion, not at his comments, but rather the fact that I didn’t speak up. Being my mother was the Val Victorian and my father achieving his master's degree while knowing limited English and American culture, I wanted to offer my experience as rejection, not to mention my sporting ability is less than par. This professor's conclusion did not prove to me that race was real, but rather that this individual had personal motives for his philosophical conclusions. He proved this to me when he stated “My mother thinks I’m some racist, or in the KKK, and I guess she might be right.” This type of scholarship is evidence in the existence of racism, and the continuation of this discrimination through academia.

That is why my goal is to change people’s perceptions of race, and identity. Growing up in a very racist community I was able to get an interesting look into the minds of these altered individuals, as well as there effects. Our class discussions on perceptions of race have left me with some interesting questions.

To be honest, I have always felt like a fraud. I feel that I cannot accurately claim an absolute connection to my Ashanti heritage without going to Ghana and living there. This summer gave me a better grasp on what it is like to connect to the Akan culture. It seems that when I boast that my father is from this place, the first question asked is “have you been there.” When other individuals with no lineage connection to Ghana, but have visited or lived there speak on it, they are honored and listened, too. My multiple identities are constantly challenged with events like these. Being at Fredonia, with a strong Ghana study abroad program, and a visiting Ghanaian percussionist, furthered my connection and almost sense of ethnic pride. Differentiating my self from the stereotypes was hard, while giving me more insight into my personal journey.

Since taking my first college class, where we watched Independence Day, the issue of what it means to be an American has been debated in my mind. The true American identity has always been hard to find. The truth is that America is truly a melting pot, of ideas cultures, races, and identities. It is difficult to put a finger on how to define your personal identity.

This idea was further expressed when I took an Intro to African American studies class here at Fredonia. I unfortunately was banned from taking the final examination due to my “failure to comply with the project.” Our goal was to take different perceptions and stereotypes of African Americans in society and compare and contrast them. We were asked to do this by studying the classic stereotypes and find pictures that fit these negative images. I thought it would be interesting to choose my various constructed images of my self identity in relation to the stereotypes. For the “black brute” I showed myself in oversized “hip-hop” clothing posing in an aggressive stance. I showed myself as an “Uncle Tom” by wearing Abercrombie clothing associated with upper-class suburban “white” society. I also challenged my personal identity as an African American by showing the tragic mulatto. This tragic mulatto is trapped between a world of black and a world of white, not knowing wear he/she fits in, if they even do. I thought this analysis was drastically accurate and impressive, on showing the diversity of my own identity as well as American society. This shows a person’s identity can change; it can be molded and shaped due to the circumstance. I find myself doing this all the time, finding the right times to apply these characters and painted faces, while learning the right time to challenge the power that be.

Your identity can only take you so far, and it is up to the individual to create and construct a desired personal identity in contrast to society’s theorization. America is a melting pot, or even a salad bowl of different identities. I believe that as you get older, and eventually in death you will find your true identity, not as black or white, Muslim or Jewish, but as a soul and a spirit. The hints of revelation point us towards the direction of commonality as connected brothers (good or evil). My identity was challenged constantly throughout my college experience on multiple fronts, and I believe that this my multiple classes on race and ethnicity were additional stepping stools to find my true self.

Another Course Blog: sf@SF

My science fiction course begins in less than an hour, so I'm officially launching the course web site and course blog right...about...now! Since it focuses on post-W.W.II U.S. writers, it will actually be very much about American Identities!

On Sports, Small Towns, and Stereotypes

The last of the student identification papers from last semester.

***

Identity is a part of everyone. It is what defines us, and makes us who we are. Our identity changes allowing people to behave differently with others. These behaviors can affect our lives. It is the way we look, live, and how we like ourselves. It determines how we treat people. Race and ethnicity have been a part of human history since the beginning of time. It depends on how each individual interprets race and ethnicity because it affects us overall. My identity developed in high school by having playing sports. Growing up is hard for everyone. A small town population can play a major role on how each person looks upon racial issues. It can determine if you believe there is a difference between the races and if you think there is a major diversity between different cultures. When you are growing up you are trying to find out what kind of person you want to become. At the same time, you have to try and fit in with other people in your school to be accepted and make friends. An individual’s identity is determined by many factors. A major influence that can change an identity is based on the environment a person grows and develops in which includes a large or small school district.

My identity is defined on how I see myself and how people view me. I consider myself to be an average Caucasian male. My ethnicity includes Irish, Dutch, and German. The blend of these nationalities only defines the way I look. I inherited light skin, blonde hair, blue eyes, fair color, and height, but I feel that I really am an American person. An American is what really defines me as well as a lot of other people who live in the United States. My identity, how I live my life, and the outlook of life is related to my family values. I was taught to always be open-minded and respectful of everyone regardless of education, race, or cultural backgrounds. It does not matter where they came from or what they look like, but how I felt about them. I value people who are kind and exhibit traits of goodness. I am drawn to people who share these values and promote these values. My identity comes from what I do and less from my nationality. Knowing more about other ethnicities can make you change how you feel about your own.

I am a very unique person in the fact that I like a lot different things. My choice of music that I listen to defines me. I like Xbox 360 and my choice of playing games with different opponents is a way of expressing who I am and my competitive side. I like to win. Since I was young, my older brother and I enjoyed gaming. Growing up in a small town, I have been extremely close with my family. I have a stronger relationship with my family and have established a strong bond with them which will last for my lifetime.

Family plays a huge role on how you identify yourself. Family members will encourage, support, educate, and give you ideas on how to socialize and behave in society. Parents can play a large role on how they introduce you to people when you are young. A lot of the ideas you have come initially from your parents and how you look at life. As an individual, you learn to select behaviors and replicate them from your parents, while at the same time decipher what you want to believe and what you do not want to. As the youngest child in the family, I have older brother and sister to look at in times of need so they can help me to decide on what actions to take when I am not sure of which decision to make. Older siblings have previous knowledge from experiences therefore are an asset to the younger sibling. There are advantages to having siblings because you have close ties with them but at the same time you can also go on your own road to be the person you want to be. Siblings all have similar foundation however each of us has encountered different experiences that identify who we are. For example, each sibling having the opportunity to attend different colleges and visiting one in other broadens your knowledge base. Each sibling has the opportunity of participating in different events. My sister had the opportunity of participating in the Walt Disney World College Program where she was able to meet people from all around the world. It enabled her as an individual to broaden her knowledge of people ethnicities but also become more open minded. My sister’s opportunity to participate in this program and share her experience with me has enriched me with new ideas about different places.

The media is also a factor on how you look and see your identity. These include the TV, newspaper, and the internet. Each of these plays a major role on how you see life. There are certain television shows that are considered to be reality and staged. However, many individuals become disappointed when they discover what is real and what is not real. It is presenting a false reality. Individuals will find certain shows that they will relate well to. The newspaper provides articles that teach you about situations and problems in the world. Each person has to decipher the viewpoints because they can be sensationalized to sell the papers. Majority of people use the Internet as a resource, which can teach you almost anything you want to know. For example, people can find out where you come from or facts about your ethnic background. This will contribute to ideas and teach you how to feel about yourself. It influences a person by finding out information about your genealogy by showing you new facts about your personal life that you did not know about.

My experiences with race and ethnicity have changed throughout my life. My experiences began when I started school and where I grew up. I live in a small town in the Finger Lakes Region called Penn Yan. The diversity of the town is really small. Most people are Caucasian and middle class. During high school, every school year a new person was introduced to the school from overseas and everyone in school would attempt to meet this new person. Through sports, I was able to socialize with the foreign exchange student and learn more about him. I feel I gained a lot of my social experience through playing basketball for a long time. When playing, I had the opportunity to travel quite a bit. I was able to see a lot of different city/towns, which allowed me to view more than just living in one place. One social experience that I remember is when you would first observed the team. Often other players would stereotype people. For example, if the players were an all African American team, our less experienced team members would get scared and express their feelings that our team would lose because they are all African American. The inexperienced players on the team would articulate there believes that these African Americans players can jump higher and are faster athletes. I never let this non-essential stereotypes effect my mind set as a played during a basketball game.

My living environment in small town consisted of everyone knowing everyone. If something happened to someone everyone would know in less than a few hours. The size of my high school was about 150 students per class. I was identified as the tall basketball player. For everyone that has lived in a small town knows how much different it is compared to living in a large town with a large school. School size has a large impact based on a person becoming friends with many of their peers and how you are identified as being with whom. Small towns may make it more of a challenge to find the friends you want to be with because of the school population. In Penn Yan, if people do not fit in the stereotype of being a “normal” person you could have a hard time finding friends. Change rarely happens in Penn Yan. People become comfortable with their surroundings and tend to oppose change rather than embracing or trying anything new. Change could be a good because it can change the views of other people. With a limited about of change taking place, people may live a couple of generations in the small town and still having the same views from 30 years ago. These people become acquainted with their routines and living there for so long that they may have a hard time accepting anything new. These people may immediately reject new ideas/believes because they do not know anything better. People get set in their ways. Many people believe if it is not broken, then why fix it in regards to change. They feel that if people do not like the way they are than they should not come here and they can move elsewhere.

Basketball from now to when I was in high school has changed a lot. I came from a team of all Caucasian teammates to a team that has a more mix of African Americans. From my team in high school I was considered to be the best person on the team. I consider all my teammates to be my friends because we share social similarities and interests. The only difference between my teammates is our dialect. This is really not a problem with me. I feel as a team that everyone brings something to the table. You get a mixture of people on and off the court, but when you are on the court it does not matter what your race is because we are playing as a team.

There are many unrealistic beliefs or ideas that are not true also known as a stereotype. High schools have a lot of stereotypes. It can be from what color your hair is to the style of clothes you wear. People automatically think that if you are tall you must play basketball, which is not true. That if you short and play basketball you do not have a clear advantage. Another big stereotype is if you are African American, majority of them play basketball and not hockey. Only Caucasian players play hockey and African Americans do not participate. All of these stereotypes are not true and have been around for a long time.

School size in high school can play a role in your life. School size can be considered as a major part of establishing identity. It depends on how easy it is for an individual to find the friends that fit you the best based on living in a large town with larger school districts. Larger towns usually have more diversity among the school. Diversity in schools helps you find out who you are going to become from how you feel about other people and what you learn as well as think about them. There is a big difference of someone telling you about a different race compared to actually knowing them and observing how they really are. These experiences can help get rid of people articulating racist comments and people believing them just because you do not know for yourself. Overall, the role and views of ethnicity can change if you have a wide range of diversity in school which enables students to become knowledgeable rather than being ignorant. Schools play a huge role on how kids look at life and how they feel about other people because it is the foundation of their lives. They can come out of school with a wide range of background knowledge of other people and start their life knowing more about how people act and live their lives.

Now that I am attending college in Fredonia there is a larger population of diverse students. There are people from all over New York State that come here and also some that can be from all over the world. Majority of student attending Fredonia are Caucasian students, but have a wider ethnic background. People come with their diverse backgrounds and intermix with other students. I have observed students being able to find the friends they want to have based on similar interests and backgrounds. There is a wider range of people’s ethnicity in this school. Students have the opportunity to join groups and clubs to be able to meet other people. I have learned from my experiences at two different school settings that being at a larger school, people are very similar, but have different ideas on what they choose to do and what they consider to be enjoyable.

My future goal after attending Fredonia is to become a history teacher. As a history teacher I plan to incorporate a multitude of diversity into the classroom curriculum through texts, guest speakers, and technology. I hope to make a difference in a child's live through knowledge of the content as well as being a successful citizen. I would like to model an open minded goal so that each individual is equal and does not have preconceived notion about people before learning and getting to know them as an individual. An open minded environment will allow each individual to be comfortable and considered equal. Where the student will be able acknowledge his/her ethnicity and have a voice for who they are. Many teachers have preconceived believes that students who have a dialect or from another ethnicity are not intelligent because they do not speak proper English. These teachers are being ignorant because all students have the ability to learn. Each student has strengths and weaknesses. The teacher’s role is to address their weaknesses through differentiating learning while incorporating their strengths for success. With this it will help the students learn and become better people in the long run.

The concept of race and ethnicity is a mind-set. The fact is that when we stereotype people we are attributing certain behaviors and expectations of people in groups based on race and their ethnic background. The government had to change the past and present to accommodate basic needs of people, but also comprised group of people daily in the United States in order to provide social services, immigrations, laws, and order in our country. People throughout history have change their behavior and accepted ethnicity. In the past different cultures, nationalities, and races have been looked down upon, but now are more accepted in segments of the country than in the past. If we stop searching for something wrong and try to find the something that is good within everyone, than this simple value and behavior would help the world. It would then create change that is beneficial because positive views would be the focus, which would make society a lot different.

When people identify themselves as an individual in order to define who they are and what make them unique so they are different from everybody else. This can be considered both positive and negative. It is a way of identifying how a person is distinctive from another person. The race of a person is given, but the ethnicity can be altered based how the individual feels and believes about themselves. People can not choose where they live when they are young. It also does not mean that you will not be a good person if you live in a small or large town. Seeing people for who they are is the most important. It should not be viewed as if they are wrong if they look at life in a different view then you. People also need to learn about different views before they judge them. For example, “an individual puts themselves into somebody else’s shoes,” portrays how the person feels about their ethnicity as well as learning from their particular believes and viewpoints. Learning is the key to advancing who we are as people and determining what actions we take. Change also helps people learn new ways to think about life. Change also allows people to adapt because you are not always able to control your environment. The strength of your character and identity helps influence your decisions in positive ways to guide yourself as well as help others.

I Am American?

Here's the next-to-last of the student papers from last semester!

***

What is my ethnicity? Instinctively, I would answer that as confidently as I would answer to “what is your name?” That answer being, “I am American.” I was born in America, I am an American citizen and by all common stereotypes I am the typical American girl. However, upon further reflection I have found myself at a crossroads. I am stuck in a place that is confusing and yet, incredibly intriguing.


Over the last few weeks we have been discussing our own identities and how we claim ourselves and our ethnicities. This has always been a very simple topic of conversation for me. Well, the simplicity of this conversation came to an abrupt halt during our last class.


During our in-class writing I confidently explained that my ethnicity is indeed American and I further went on to explain why, most of those reasons being stated above. A few minutes later I found myself sitting in my seat completely stunned and quite honestly, disgusted and disappointed in myself. This was the first moment in my life where I realized that I don’t know who I am. I no longer know how to identify myself.


Professor, you stood up in front of the class and explained how some people might consider you Jewish because of your family history. That story is exactly where my confidence in my ethnicity ended, not to at all imply that is a bad thing. I am very happy to be confronted with my mistake, if you will, and I am excited to now delve into my history and find my true identity.


I can no longer say “I am American” with such confidence. My mother was born in Canada and spent a lot of her upbringing there. My father was born in Rochester, New York but he grew up Jewish.


This is where my confusion begins. My father was Jewish all of his childhood. His parents and siblings were very much into their faith. At some point down the road my father stopped being Jewish, if you believe that is something you can stop being. He doesn’t talk about his upbringing at all with me, or my siblings, so that is really all I know about it. His father died right before I was born and his mother, “Bubbi” was alive until I was in middle school and passed away in a home, so I didn’t know her that well.


His parents lived and died Jewish, and his brother and sister stayed with their religion. I remember back in high school when I had a debate with a group of my peers over whether or not I was Jewish. I believe we came to the conclusion that I was not. Was it in my father’s blood? Of course, it is his history, but does that mean it has to be mine? I would not at all be ashamed to be Jewish, however, I almost feel as though I am an imposter. I have no right to claim myself as Jewish. I eat anything I want, I don’t separate certain silverware from other silverware because you use that fork for one particular thing. I don’t celebrate Hanukkah or any other Jewish holiday, I celebrate Christmas. By every definition, I am certainly not Jewish. I feel wrong claiming myself as Jewish and I feel like if I don’t acknowledge that part of me that I am turning my back to it. I have thought about this and then thought about it some more, I cannot come up with an answer. When it comes down to it I guess I still just see myself as American, hopefully throughout this semester I can gain a better grip on my understanding of myself and my history.


I think a lot of the reason why I feel bad claiming myself as Jewish is because of my history with it. I have been to one Jewish wedding, my Aunts, last year. It was interesting and surprisingly not as different as I thought it would be. The only thing that stuck out to me as incredibly different was that the man and the woman stand on opposite sides at a Jewish wedding.


Mostly, I feel a lot of guilt because of the one Jewish funeral I attended. It was the funeral of my father’s mom, Bubbi. I think I was maybe twelve when she died. I have four sisters: one is five years younger than me, one is less than a year older and the other two, at that time, were approximately seventeen and twenty-two.


We walked into the funeral home and had no idea what to expect. No, rather, we walked into a funeral home and expected a funeral. My sisters and I were all sitting together, behind our parents, when the Rabbi walked up front and suddenly started singing in Hebrew. My sisters and I were in shock. No one forewarned us about any of this. Our immediate reaction was to laugh. We had never heard Hebrew before, especially someone singing it. We were young and ignorant and naïve.


I laughed for a short time until I heard people in the back crying. I think that is when I came back to reality and remembered where I was, and for what reason. I have never forgiven myself for that brief moment of incredible ignorance and just a horrible flaw in my character.


As much as I still think about that and feel guilty I attribute that experience to helping me become the person I am today. I believe myself to be an extremely open person. Just last night someone said to me, “Why do you always try to like everyone? Sometimes someone is just not a good person.” That’s just who I am now. Nothing bothers me more than pure ignorance. That experience made me realize, at a very young age, that everyone is different and just because someone is different than you doesn’t mean they are a bad person. I can look at most any person and any experience and try to find the good in them. As much guilt as I have always carried around for that experience I am grateful that it happened.


When this class first began I had no idea what the difference was between race and ethnicity. I don’t think I have a confident answer down yet but I have made progress and I plan to have it down perfectly by the end of the semester.

My understanding of race is that it is something which is socially constructed. I think of race as either you are white, black, hispanic, etc. As much as people say race shouldn’t be about physical characteristics I have to disagree. I don’t understand how you can determine race without attributing characteristics or skin color to it.


Ethnicity to me is how you would describe yourself, e.g., American or Canadian, etc. Also, some would argue that being Jewish is your religion. I disagree. While I do understand that it is a religion I think it is much more than that. With that said, I think you could use any religion in that category. For example, someone could describe themselves as American and Christian. I don’t think there should be too many boundaries when describing your own identity, and that is precisely what I think ethnicity is. Your ethnicity is your identity. No one should be able to tell you the correct way to describe yourself.


Part II

When I originally wrote this paper a few months ago I thought I had a pretty good handle on it. However, no matter how well you think you have your mind wrapped around something there is always something else you can learn.

I have learned a lot in this class throughout this semester. I have learned that I can consider myself both American and Jewish and I can do so without holding back because of any guilt over picking one or the other. I have also learned, mostly through reading The Social Construction of Race and Ethnicity in the United States, that people of every race and ethnicity struggle with their identity. Originally, I thought this struggle was a sign of immaturity and a need to venture out into the world and find themselves at a young age.

Quite honestly I feel as though I learned the most and grew the most from my experiences in this class just recently over the last week or two. It was one article in particular that opened my mind. This article was titled, “Apologizing for being a black male” which is in The Social Construction of Race and Ethnicity in the United States.

This article describes the experience a black man goes through before coming to the realization that he no longer wants to apologize for being black. Before this realization this man would constantly attempt to change his persona while around others whom he believed could be intimidated and/or feel threatened by him, purely because he was a black man. “At times I’ve actually gone so far as to adopt what I consider a less threatening posture whenever I encounter a white woman, especially an older one, in places where we are alone together” (Dawkins 68.) This man was consistently worrying about how others felt and concentrated only on making them comfortable. He completely abandoned his identity to feel more socially accepted.

When I first read this article I was floored. I didn’t know what to think. At first I was angry because I feel as though his example of finding women uncomfortable in his presence while alone in a parking lot was a stretch. Do I think a lot of people, men and women both, could be more intimidated by a black man than a white man? Probably, yes. However, I think this man jumps to blaming this uncomfortable behavior on him being black before considering the alternatives. It is very believable to think any woman would feel uncomfortable with a man approaching a neighboring pay phone to hers while alone in a parking lot at night. That is how we are brought up, to constantly be aware of our surroundings and the potential dangers lurking, especially in parking lots and parking ramps.

With further thought however, this article is what essentially helped me to realize that you cannot feel guilty about who you are. Whether we’re talking about your race, ethnicity, your career or whatever. You are who you are and people should embrace their own identity.

I decided that from that point on I would not edit my actions. I forgot about my neighbor and completed my call in the same way I would have if a white male, black female, or Hispanic male had been using a nearby phone. I determined that life was too short and that my self-respect was too valuable. (Dawkins 69)

Whether or not I agree with this man blaming this experience on the fact that he was a black male, over the fact that he was simply a man, this paragraph hit me stronger than anything I have read in any of my classes: respect who you are and be proud of it.

In the beginning of this semester my goal was to find answers to the above questions. Throughout this paper I have realized that I have not reached my goals. Through that realization has come hope. Ultimately, I have learned a greater lesson, one that outweighs my goals. If I have learned anything this semester it is to not hide who I am or who I want to be. I don’t have all the answers. I am still not sure if I should or want to consider myself Jewish and I don’t know if that is something I will ever have an answer to. My future path and experiences I am sure will help me to determine more answers, and I look forward to them.

Work Cited

Dawkins, Paul Andrew. “Apologizing for Being a Black Male.” The Social Construction of Race and Ethnicity in the United States. Second Edition. Eds. Joan Ferrante and Prince Brown, Jr. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 1998.

Evolution, Social Construction, and Race

Writing a paper in which I must talk about myself, and my own personal beliefs about race and ethnicity, is a very sobering thought. I am so lucky to have the life I have. I can attend a college, have parents who are financially stable enough to support me, worship without fear, and speak freely about the government. This puts me in the minority on the earth. It seems to me that nature chooses our race, society chooses the culture we get raised with, and as we get older we choose the ethnic group that we want to identify with. Society then chooses whether or not to accept that self-imposed identification.

There is a quote I like from my animal behavior textbook that reads, “The pervasive effects of our cultures on our behavior obviously make it especially challenging to apply evolutionary theory to the human species. But because human cultures are the product of an evolved brain, it seems highly likely that an understanding of our evolution would cast light on why we do what we do” (Alcock). I like this quotation because I do think a small percentage of why we behave the way we do can actually be traced back to evolution, though I also believe there are many things that are definitely learned behaviors. Nevertheless, I am beginning to think that maybe the issues of race and ethnicity are a tad more instinctive than I had previously thought.

During Neanderthal times, humans had to stick together in order to survive. Our species survival in many cases depended on the hard work of the family group (hunting, gathering, protecting, navigating, etc.) In many cases, these groups would consist of mainly extended family members, so assimilating and forming troops with those that looked similar to you makes sense, because normally they were distantly related. However, I would imagine problems would arise when two groups came into contact with each other for the sole reason that they would be competing for the same resources. The issue then would be making sure that the other group was not related to you as well, before things got violent and one group was forced to fight or flee. But during these times, I would imagine populations were pretty spread out and there was little contact between family groups. However, as time progressed and people of different cultures began coming in contact with each other, I believe a sort of survival-racism came into play. When two groups of people that looked very different from each other stumbled upon each other, there was no longer the question of whether or not they were related. Now, they each were clearly a potential threat to the survival of the other group. Therefore, I do not believe that race or ethnicity are solely socially-constructed terms. Furthermore, I reject the argument some have proposed that people would not judge others based on appearance if the words race or ethnicity were never invented. Instead, I think humans since the beginning of our existence have always judged those that looked and acted differently from them because early on, different people were perceived as a threat to the survival of a group. Now, I am not arguing that racism is absolutely instinctive either or that society cannot overcome it. The beauty of the human species is that we are a species of great intellect and have the ability to combat instinct; the question should really be whether or not we have the will.

In a book I recently finished cleverly titled, I Can Read You Like a Book, authors Gregory Hartley and Maryann Karinch discuss non-verbal behavior and simple cues everyone can read to better interpret the real messages people are sending. An example I find very interesting is one Hartley states as a tactic he uses when interrogating two criminals who claim to not know each other. Therefore, one can infer that even if both criminals recognize each other, they are consciously trying to behave like they do not in order to support their stories. Yet, there is one facial movement that is very difficult to suppress and it revolves around the eye brows.

I encourage you to try this next time you are walking through an area where there is someone you will see and know. The moment you see a familiar face, upon the initial realization, your eyebrows will raise slightly even if just for a split second. Yet, this behavior does not occur with strangers. Therefore, it is a good indicator when bringing together two criminals who claim not to know each other to watch their immediate eyebrow reaction. If no reaction, they are probably telling the truth. If the eyebrows raise, then a red flag should go up because they probably know each other and are lying. But what does this example have to do with race and ethnicity?

This example simply shows that though humans have certain behaviors that are acquired through learning in their environment, there are still some ultimate behaviors that are instinctual and difficult to suppress no matter how hard a person tries. These instinctual behaviors exist in modern humans and cannot be consciously controlled without great effort. I believe a similar deeply ingrained instinctual tendency occurs in humans in regard to racial association: Humans like to associate with other humans of the same race. It’s only when these associations become exclusionary that we have racism.

With that said, there are indeed traits in humans that are not adaptive. An adaptive trait would be something that helps sexual reproduction and ultimately the overall fitness of a species. But for instance, the use of birth control, circumcision, or not eating certain foods (that are perfectly alright when consumed by others) based solely on religious views would not really advance a person’s fitness. Therefore, I would submit that these non-adaptive traits would best be described as “ethnicity”. Your race is not something you can choose to be or not because it is your biological make-up. Ethnic and culturally driven behaviors can be changed at will. For instance, you can learn the customs or language of a certain ethnicity and you can practice their traditions. You can then adapt to whatever ethnicity you would like to be classified in, no matter what race you are.

Therefore, I believe evolution can provide an explanation for race but not for ethnicity, because they are different. Race, to me, is the biological, adaptive composition of the human where as I believe ethnicity is the cultural aspect.

Strangely enough though, race cannot be determined through genetics, even though I am referring to race as a person’s biological composition. You cannot measure someone’s genes and expect to find a certain gene that only African Americans have. Even sickle cell anemia, a major problem for blacks, for example, shows up occasionally outside the black community. An interesting statement I found on the Radford college website said that “there is no genetic basis for mutually exclusive racial categories, simply because features and characteristics are distributed along a continuous distribution.” It further stated that the Human Genome Project found that there is actually more variation within a group than between groups and that seventy five percent of all known genes are present in all people and the remaining twenty five percent differ in forms, but all forms are found in all groups of people. It turns out that the same way our ancestors determined race hundreds of years ago is actually the same way we determine it today, through physical appearance.

Ethnicity, on the other hand, I believe to be different. Since I think people can choose their ethnicity, I think there is a higher sense of comradery for people of the same ethnicity. I read a story in The Social Construction of Race and Ethnicity in the United States that spoke of a girl from Korean parents who was adopted and raised by an Italian family. The girl was racially categorized as Asian, but she identified her ethnicity as Italian because she spoke Italian, ate Italian food and did not know anything about Korean culture or practices. This choice of where you want to fit in ethnically is why I think people seem more proud of their ethnicity than their race. This choice might also be why the terms ethnicity and race are used so interchangeably in today’s society and why they can be so confusing when addressed.

As I was growing up, we always had house guests from far away countries. At an early age, my brother and I were surrounded by wonderful people who looked different and spoke different languages. In fact, I may have tied race and ethnicity to foods (e.g. Mexicans made great enchiladas, Asians made sushi, Greeks made great hummus, etc…) so I learned to appreciate other cultures and races thanks to the wonderful dinners associated with those visits.

Come to think of it, race was never really a hot issue in our household. As a child, I played with black-skinned dolls because I thought the facial color was prettier. My parents probably said “everyone looks different, we are all the same species, it is just skin color, but more importantly have you seen the new National Geographic issue yet”? Race was not something that needed to be discussed because it just existed. There are dozens of different dog breeds though they are the same species. No one breed is better than the other and a good dog depends on the individual. As well, I learned that species looked different because some of those traits were beneficial to the environment that the animal inhabited. Therefore, it made sense that people looked different for similar reasons. This does not imply that a certain bee species with an elaborate dance for finding food is any more sophisticated than a bee species without a dance. It simply means that different species evolved different traits and behaviors that were beneficial enough to get the individuals and their offspring to where they are today. This may sound like a languid endeavor, but when considering that 99.9 percent of all species have gone extinct on this planet, being alive today is a big deal and all the organisms you see alive today are the surviving .1 percent! Therefore, everything alive today has earned its place on this Earth and it probably has a lot to do with the physical differences of certain species that gave them a benefit over their competitors. As a result, the human species that exists today was spread throughout the land masses of this planet and the people alive today are here because they adapted physical and mental capabilities that allowed them to excel against others in shared environments. Therefore, differences should not only be encouraged, they should be celebrated! Physical attributes should be more like trophies than inhibiting factors because it might have been the specific shade of their skin that protected their pigment from cancerous cells derived from the suns harmful rays. Anyone with that characteristic should be proud to sport it because it may indeed be the sole reason you are here today.

With that kind of mentality, my experience with race and ethnicity has been pretty uneventful. I have never gotten in a big disagreement with someone of another race over racial differences or preconceived notions. Though I am sure I consciously notice the color of someone’s skin upon meeting them and I probably categorize them in some way subconsciously, I really think that is as far as my racial profiling goes. If someone rubs me the wrong way, it is because I disagree with the individual, not the race.

This past summer I had the opportunity to backpack in Belize for a month and a half and study the different ethnicities there. Everyone I met in that country was unbelievably friendly and it was amazing how different native Belizean’s look from each other. There are five cultural groups in Belize (Mayans, Garifuna, Mestizo, Mennonite, and Creole). Mayans look Mexican, Garifunas look Sudanese, Mestizos look Spanish, Mennonites look and dress like white Amish people I’ve seen in Central New York, and Creole’s look like light-skinned African Americans. Yet all of these people are Belizean. Their ethnicity is Mayan, Garifuna, etc…but their race would be very hard to pinpoint. It seems our society has decided you are Latin American, Asian, Native American, white or black and everyone must just squeeze themselves into one of these categories. But, that is not the case and I cannot imagine how frustrating it would be to choose a race you didn’t identify with, but perhaps resembled, so you could fill out some Government paperwork.

After all, it is these physical differences that allowed these different groups of humans to out-compete other groups consuming their resources. People look different because traits evolved throughout our existence that allowed our ancestors with those distinguishing features that are still present today to benefit and survive. These differences bring together the most fit of our species to comprise homosapiens.

As a species, I think we have a lot to be proud of. The latest medical achievement that I am excited about is the successful regeneration of a human thumb! Can you imagine the possibilities if we can regenerate any organ, limb, etc… Our species has even found a way to clone ourselves! We invented cars and planes as a more efficient way to motor around and now that we are finding the problems that these fossil fuel emissions are causing for the environment, we are actually finding alternative methods to not only stop but fix the problems we have caused.

It bothers me that as the human race we have achieved so much, yet when we are broken down into sub-categories, especially categories as simple as skin color, suddenly we have problems accomplishing anything. I cannot believe that organizations like the Ku Klux Klan still exist! Are people really still showing up? I have trouble viewing anyone who would be that concerned with the color of someone else’s skin as being a modern human. If aliens beamed down from space and watched how some races treat other races, they might ask if all people on earth were of the same species. I might tell the space visitors that in spite of the way some races treat others we are all homosapiens, but that some of us are still driven more by primitive instinct than by common sense and intellect.

It is such a set-back when one looks at the beauty of the human species and all that we are capable of. I think of all the achievements that individuals have made through out our existence as a species and the compassion and love we can transmit to others. However, we are still capable of such bitterness and hostility to those who can differ from us in something as simple as skin color. The fact that discrimination still exists today is a sickening stumble on the walk to bettering our race, the human race. Yet, it seems the conception of this “human race” is a revolutionary idea that only one racial sub-group seems to fit…the whites.

I do believe that education is the key to ending the negativity surrounding race and ethnicity in the United States. Henry Steele Commager once said that “change does not necessarily assure progress, but progress implacably requires change. Education is essential to change, for education creates both new wants and the ability to satisfy them.” I hope that by this point, at the very least society has made it not as socially acceptable to be hostile to differences in race and ethnicity, but I believe it is the role of education to provide solutions to fixing the problems. This may sound like an impossible mission for the few that are up to the task in relation to the world as a whole, but there is a quote from Margaret Mead that I try to apply to every aspect of my life for motivation. She said to “never believe that a few, caring individuals cannot change the world. For indeed, that is all who ever have.” Indeed, time will tell.

Works Cited

Alcock, John. Animal Behavior. Eighth Edition. Sinauer Assoc., 2005.

Commager, Henry Steele.

Ferrante, Joan and Brown, Prince Jr., eds. The Social Construction of Race and Ethnicity in the United States. Second Edition. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 2001.

Hartley, Gregory and Karinch, Maryann. I Can Read You Like A Book. Franklin Lakes, N.J.: Career Press, 2007.

www.radfor.edu/~jaspelme/minoritygroups/Race%20vs.%20Ethnicity%20&%20Culture%20handout.pdf.

My Identity

This is another student paper from last semester's Introduction to Ethnicity/Race course.

***

There isn’t just one clear-cut answer in defining one’s identity, race, or ethnicity, because everyone is different. Identity can be defined as characteristics used to describe someone’s personality, ethnicity, race, and behavior, in order to understand individuals. There are many perspectives on race and ethnicity. The goal of this essay will be to identify myself as an individual by using my past experiences to explain these concepts of race and ethnicity.

If I asked others to describe my physical appearance and characteristics there are many responses that I would receive. My identity can be described in the following manner, I was born in Syracuse, New York, in July of 1986. The most common way my physical attributes can be defined is that I have dark tan skin, black hair, brown eyes, and I’m five foot five inches tall. From this appearance many people think my race is Spanish, Mexican, or Hispanic, although I’m actually Italian American.

This is a common mistake among people when they try to identify people’s races. Many people think that race is just the physical attributes of a person, or what’s on the surface, such as what color skin someone has, how tall someone is, their facial features, and body type. This is a mistake that I made before I first started looking at race and ethnicity in a closer manner. At first, I just considered myself to be Caucasian, because I thought that I’m white not dark so Caucasian would be correct. Also when looking at others, I assumed when looking at a black person, that they were African American, or that a moderately dark person was Spanish. I realize that race is so much more from just being white or black. Race isn’t what someone looks like, or what color their skin is, it’s defining where they came from, or who they identify with. This can be seen from looking at two perspectives, a biological one and a socially constructed one.

Let’s first examine the biological perspective on race. When looking at this view it’s important to know what we mean exactly by explaining our race in terms of biology. Dr. Lee, a biology professor at SUNY Fredonia, recently presented information on this perspective. A biological perspective means that race isn’t important except in terms of medicine, because certain races have certain genes carrying diseases, like Sickle Cell Anemia and Cystic Fibrosis. But for other areas our genes explain who we are, where are ancestors came from, and when it comes to diseases doctors will rely on your individual genotype and not your racial history. Examining someone’s DNA allows geneticists to trace his or her maternal ancestry by mitochondrial DNA, and his or her paternal ancestry by the y chromosome, which is only present in males (Lee 2007).

One argument against the notion that race is biological can be seen by looking at the relationship between physical features and a person’s genetic makeup. If you look at a person’s genes, and you know what diseases they have this doesn’t tell you anything about their physical features or race. Likewise, when you look at someone’s skin color or eye color this doesn’t tell you what their genes are. This is saying that the biological perspective doesn’t support race, because there’s no direct relationship between someone’s genetic makeup and physical features (Brown Jr. 2001).

I have problems with believing this biological perspective for several reasons. One is that people don’t just have one kind of genes defining their race; often times, they have many. This can be seen by looking at evidence from the article, “Why Race Makes no Scientific Sense: The Case of Africans and Native Americans,” by Prince Brown Jr. Brown argues in the case of Africans and Native Americans, many times their genes are interchanged. In that 500 years ago when ships were present in Asia, and Africa, there was an immediate exchanging of human genes between these two cultures. Therefore, the science behind this biological perspective isn’t the best one to use when referring to race, because it isn’t always accurate. So let’s now look at the socially constructed perspective on race (Brown Jr. 144-151).

Race based on a socially constructed theory can best be defined by looking at a quote by Prince Brown Jr. “Perhaps the strongest evidence that race isn’t a biological fact but a social creation is the different rules for classifying people into racial categories across societies and the shifting rules for classifying people within a single society” (Ferrante and Brown Jr. 115). The quote is describing society in America throughout history, and how we can see how society has changed its view of race over time. This can be seen by the categories in the census in recent years.

Society viewed race early on in broad terms as either being white or black; then this notion of race was transformed over time. The census of race reveals this change from 1790-2000. This view on race changed over time because the American society changed as well. Early on we only had whites and slaves in this country, then through our Independence movement, Civil War, and Industrialization periods we saw changes in our society. These changes were the immigrants that came from Africa, Asia, and Europe, and they shaped the world we live in today. The way these immigrants transformed America life, at the same time transformed our notions of race and these notions became more complex. This is a trend we are going to see throughout history; our society will continue to change, and with it so will our race (Ferrante and Brown Jr. 115-117).

This is why I believe that race is socially constructed and not biologically based. For one, are genes are all different, no one’s is the same, and it is impossible to trace our race from our genes. Another reason is that our society shows how are race is being constructed. Over time both of these concepts have changed, which explains the different races that are occurring in America. Race can be seen as being physical attributes of a person or groups of people as viewed by our society, and how these views have been changing over time because of the changes of people in society.

Another piece of evidence that explains race as being socially constructed can be seen by looking at the question, “Does race matter?” Yes, I feel that race does matter. Why? Race is one of the defining characteristics of our identity. Race is important and matters to me because it allows me to discover who I am as a person. Without paying attention to race, I feel like I wouldn’t care about who I was. I think that race is socially constructed because it allows a person to designate themselves as being insiders, or outsiders, which reinforces their social, political, and economic environment (Ferrante and Brown Jr. 113-114). I agree with this because I do it on a daily basis. The environment you live in for example is likely to be with who you identify with. Many communities today have large homogenous areas that are, predominantly black, white, or Hispanic. We are more likely to interact with others that we can identify with. In a day to day basis we see this in our friends, school, and work settings. Because if you are hanging out or interacting with others who look differently from yourself, often this makes people in these situations feel awkward and out of place. Therefore, they will try to identify with groups of people with similar physical traits like themselves.

One way I have seen race as being socially constructed in our society or environment is based on my experience in the neighborhood I grew up in and my past work experience. I grew up in a neighborhood where the majority was middle class and Caucasian. This neighborhood formed, like many other suburbs largely because whites wanted to get out of the cities and could afford to move. Our society has been changing in that more and more people, predominantly whites, have moved to suburbs because of the poor conditions in the cities. We see a larger racial minority in the cities, from Blacks to Hispanics, because they can’t afford to move. This supports the notion that people in society identify with people similar to them, whether it be economically, socially, or racially.

I have also seen race being socially constructed in a part time job I worked over the summer at a grocery store in Syracuse. Since this store was located on the edge of the city, there was a diverse population of customers. From my viewpoint as an employee, these customers would come at certain times of the day. Usually, early on or during the day the majority of customers would be Caucasians, but towards night time you would see more African Americans and Hispanics come into the store than Caucasians. This is because these racial groups identify with each other in society; they go at the same time because they don’t want to feel out of place if they go at a different time. They want to go shopping with who they identify with. With these diverse races in our society today we can see that the world is bigger than we think, and there’s more to someone’s race than meets the eye.

Since we have established what race means, and how it can be viewed in our society, let’s look at the issue of ethnicity. When looking at Ethnicity we are looking more at someone’s heritage, nationality, culture, background, or where they came from. Initially when I started exploring this concept of race and ethnicity, I thought that my ethnic background was just Italian. However, the more and more I researched my ethnicity, the more I realized that this wasn’t the case. Like race, someone’s ethnicity is more than what meets the eye.

Let’s start by looking at my Italian ethnicity. My grandparents on my mother’s side both came from Italy, and so did the one’s on my father’s side. On my mother’s side, my grandma came from the town of Compobasso, by Rome. My grandpa was from the northern part of Italy, and grew up in the town of Trento. Living in Compobasso, my grandma spoke the Italian language, and didn’t come over here until after World War Two in 1948. My grandfather from Trento in the North was located by the German border. Here they spoke the Italian language, but they also spoke a dialect of it in the form called Tyrolean. So I think my grandfather identified with both German and Italian culture. He fought in World War Two under Mussolini, because he was still in Italy at that time. This was a hard experience for him because he didn’t like fighting under Mussolini; he didn’t agree for what he stood for. He also came over to America after the war in 1948.

My grandmother and my grandfather on my Dad’s side were both born in New York, and were Italian. Their parents both came from Sicily, and as can be seen from my skin color I have a lot of my Dad (Sicilian) in me. Also, by looking at my families’ ancestry, I have a multiethnic Italian identity, because I identify with different parts of the Italian culture, Sicilian and Tyrolean.

My family is very Italian, and I have experienced the sense of being Italian growing up. The way that I have been accustomed to my Italian, Sicilian, and Tyrolean heritage throughout the years has been with my grandparents, mostly my grandma and grandpa on my mom’s side. Whenever I would go over to their house, I would always eat, it was a ritual, and I couldn’t go over there and escape without at least eating one cookie. Throughout the years I have eaten a lot of Italian and Tyrolean dishes especially. One of the traditional Italian desserts my grandmother always prepares are pizzelles. These are waffle cookies that can either be crispy or hard depending on how you like them. A Tyrolean dish that I also have often is called Polenta. This is made from cornmeal and is a popular dish found in northern Italy still today. Growing up this is how I mostly experienced my Italian, Sicilian, and Tyrolean heritage, with my grandparents by tasting my Ethnicities. Even though I have multiple cultures or ethnicities that I identify with in Italy, I feel like in order to keep my ethnicity simple, I’m multiethnic as being an Italian American.

One article that really helped me find my ethnic identity as an Italian American was, “Are Italian Immigrants Just White Folks?” by Rudolph Vecoli. The article describes Italian Americans in America, and how there seems to be a loss of ethnic identity, in that many Italian Americans are forgetting where their ancestors came from and identifying themselves as purely Americans. An example the author uses is that many younger Italian Americans don’t even recognize their Italian names. A main reason that this is occurring is because of the older generations of Italian Americans. They aren’t doing their jobs of passing down the Italian culture to the younger generations, and therefore causing a disappearance of Italian Americans in our country today (Vecoli 264-271).

This is a critical issue that has to be addressed and something must be done in order to recover our Italian ancestry before it’s lost. I think the older generations are doing this because they want their offspring to identify more as being American and not Italian. This is a valid point because many immigrants that come here (Europeans anyways), tend to try to assimilate into the American lifestyle, and in this process they forget where their roots come from. This isn’t necessarily because they want to forget their roots, but its because they believe that forgetting them leads to a better life in America. They want their children to have better lives than they had, and if they don’t teach them their Italian roots they think this will help them to be more successful in America.

This isn’t the case though, because without all of these immigrants, there would be no America. What makes America so attractive to immigrants is its diverse population of different ethnic groups, and the chance for opportunity and a better life. It’s the older generation’s job to pass on their cultures’ traditions to the younger ones, because that will promote the younger generation’s ethnic identities of being Italian, and if this doesn’t happen Italian, and other ethnic identities in America could be lost for good.

My definition for ethnicity can be associated to what Vecoli’s, which he defined as being “a form of memory” (Vecoli 270). I think what he is saying with this statement is that Ethnicity is based on our experiences, our memories of our culture. This makes us who we are.

This statement really made it seem valid to me, because growing up my memories of going to my grandparents’ house and hearing my mom tell me of my Italian heritage have helped me to identify myself as being Italian. Also, being around my grandparents has helped to become more identified with the Sicilian and Tyrolean cultures as well. As weird as this will sound I never considered myself being an Italian American, because I always thought of myself as being one or the other. One example is I often tell my friends that, “Man you won’t believe how much food I just ate, my grandma made me eat until I couldn’t anymore.” Their response is that, “She must be Italian.” When it comes to family issues I always identify myself as Italian. Citizenship and where I live in my community, and the customs and traditions I have learned growing up can mostly be associated with me being American and not Italian. This article showed me that I’m not just Italian or American, I’m both and I have to support both of my ethnicities (Vecoli 264-271).

By looking at what I have learned throughout my research on race and ethnicity we can go back to the beginning of this essay and explain why people thought I was Spanish, or Mexican. One of the reasons this is the case is due to my skin color. I have naturally dark tan skin, and people usually associate this with being Spanish and not Italian. This is the case because based on most people’s stereotypes of being Spanish is that they have a dark tan skin color. Also, when people think of Italian, I think they listen to their language, or what they eat, more than what they look like. This is typical of people who don’t see race as more than someone’s skin or remember that race is more than what meets the eye.

Also, in terms of my Ethnicity many people think I’m Greek and not Italian based on my last name being Costa. Often time this name is considered a Greek name. However, Costa in Greek is usually spelled Kosta, not Costa. I didn’t realize my name was considered Greek sometimes until last year. One of my friends asked me, “Are you Greek?” I replied, “No, why?” He said, “Because there’s a Greek restaurant in Buffalo named Kosta’s.” This surprised me because I always assumed that my name was always considered to be Italian. But, this just goes to show, never assume someone’s ethnicity or race without exploring the possibilities first.

I think that this research on race and ethnicity has helped to prepare me to become a better teacher. My major is Social Studies Adolescence Education, and in the classroom you don’t always have a homogenous class; often times you can be placed at a school that’s diverse racially and ethnically. This class showed me that you have to be aware of who you’re trying to teach as a teacher. How are you going to be an effective teacher, if you don’t even know who the audience is that you’re teaching? I have a better knowledge base of the diversity I can expect in the classroom thanks to my research I have done on race and ethnicity. For example, knowing my students cultures and understanding their ethnicities I will be able to apply learning strategies in the classroom that they, thanks to their ethnicities or races, can better identify themselves with.

So here is what I have learned up to this point towards the end of my research on Race and Ethnicity. Race isn’t biologically based; it’s socially constructed through our experiences with others in a social, economic, and political way. Race is our physical attributes, what we look like, but also is related to how we are viewed by society. Ethnicity is based more on our experiences as individuals, with our families and what we learn about our cultures, all of which helps us to define our identity.

Now that we have redefined the concepts of race and ethnicity, let’s redefine my identity. Racially, I’m a Caucasian male. My ethnicity can best be described as a multiethnic Italian American. When it comes down to the issue of Race and Ethnicity there isn’t just one way of looking at it, as you can see these concepts can be looked at by different ways. People don’t think twice about race or ethnicity, which is sad about our culture today. It’s very important to know your identity; without it you will become lost in life.


REFERENCES:
Brown, Prince Jr. (2001a). “Biology and the Social Construction of the Race Concept.” in The Social Construction of Race and Ethnicity in the United States, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, Prentice-Hall, 144-151.

Brown, Prince Jr. (2001b). “Why Race Makes no Scientific Sense: The Case of Africans and Native Americans,” in The Social Construction of Race and Ethnicity in the United States, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, Prentice-Hall, 332-337.

Ferrante, J, and Brown, Prince Jr. (2001c). The Social Construction of Race and Ethnicity in the United States, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, Prentice-Hall, 113-337.

Lee, T., (2007). Presentation on Race from a Biological Perspective. Race and Genetics. SUNY Fredonia.

Vecoli, Rudolph J. (2001). “Are Italian Americans Just White Folks?” in The Social Construction of Race and Ethnicity in the United States, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, Prentice-Hall, 264-271.