Blog Entry 9: Racism and Ethnicity.

Chapter 10 was mainly about what race and ethnicity. Race is described as a category of people widely perceived as sharing significant physical characteristics. These characteristics are often referred to as skin complexion. Ethnicity is shared cultural heritage which comes from common ancestry and homeland. Race and ethnicity are both social constructions. By categorizing people into different races and/or ethnicity group dynamics of majorities’ vs. minorities become part of the social structure and demonstrates the inequalities associated with the power the majority have. Through history, race has been used to justify slavery and inequalities upon "minorities." Racial and ethnic discrimination were diminished slightly with the civil rights movement which helped transform society. Diversity was then introduced allowing other races and ethnics groups to migrate to the country, mostly Asians and Latin Americans instead of Europeans. Regardless of the civil rights movement, inequalities of race and ethnicity still continue to occur at different levels of society which varies from attitudes, behaviors and structural barriers implemented by social institutions, racialization of the state. Racism, discrimination and prejudice still occur due to the differences between cultures or by the goals certain groups want to achieve. All these are possible by the color-blind theory, a form of bias in which the promotion of race neutrality helps to maintain existing racial and ethnic inequality. Race is social constructed to benefit those in power and help them remain in power.

The article which I read was “The Hispanic Dropout Mystery,” by Susan Headden. The article's main idea was about the percentage of high school drop outs of Hispanic students. The article underlines the idea that 30% of students who drop out are Hispanic, which is far greater by three times than whites and black students. The causes of this problem varied from economic problems (students having to work to support their families), language barriers (43% of Hispanic drop outs are foreign born), and being marginalized by public school system (students' cultures are disrespected and their language problems are often neglected.) Another main cause is the peer pressure. Some Hispanic groups consider doing well in school to be "nerdy". The society these Hispanic kids are in expected them not to do well, to drop out and to become low lives. Another point addressed in the article, which in my opinion is very essential, is the parental influence. Hispanic parents are often not well educated or illiterate. Their children often don't attend preschool and they do not read to them probably maybe they are too busy working to provide for their families. The article states that a way to prevent this drop out rate to increase is to have more courses in Spanish, have more Hispanics role models, smaller classes to accommodate students’ work hours and tutoring to help them succeed.

The video "Race: The Power of Illusion," was about the differences between human beings of different races. Most of these differences were appointed as being physical, such as skin color, eye color and shape, hair and body form etc. These differences have been use to classify people into races which is what divides us. People can be identifying by their phenotype. Assumptions about the physical are made about the abilities of one because of their race such as athletic abilities, musical aptitude and intelligence. The video went on to showing experiments done by students to find the similarities and different students had with each other. As expected those of the race stated that they would have more similarities with each other than those of different race. Race is NOT biological, but an idea ascribed to it. Many assumptions are tied to the abilities of different races, like blacks having an extra muscle in their bodies. Race's definition benefits those who want its definition to mean something else. Bottom line is that genetically there is only one small amount of variation.

I remember not to long ago walking into Walgreens in my neighborhood and as I walked down the aisle I experienced something that will forever stay with me. A Hispanic mother was with her baby girl and a Jewish mother with her son, who was about 5 years old. As the boy's mother looked at items on the shelf the little boy walked over to the Hispanic mom and her baby and started playing with her. The baby girl was laughing so much that attracted boy's mother attention. For a moment both mothers looked at each other and I looked at them and the son said something to his mom and the mother said in English "yes, she's a beautiful baby." I was shocked at this remark not because the baby wasn't beautiful but because I had never experienced something like this. I was in awe. Racism does not only occur outside the different races but within races as well. As you may know I am Dominican. I was born in the Dominican Republic, but grow up in New York. My fiancée is Puerto Rican. These two ethnic groups have a constant battle with each other of whose better than the other in every single way possible. There are times when he and I are conversing and he'd say something like "You Dominicans", or "Your people" and my answer is always the same, "if you don't like it get yourself a Puerto Rican girlfriend." This usually shuts him up. Although we are the same race, our ethnicity is different.