Racial and Ethnic Groupings in America (Essay Sample)

Racial and Ethnic Groupings in America
Sung Oh Bang
Professor Ward
28/2/2015
Racial and Ethnic Groupings in America
Diversity has led to greater cognizance and understanding both of self and others in the society leading to increased efforts to avert prejudice, discrimination and stereotyping. In America, back in 1961 marriage between a white and a Black African was illegal CITATION Sch12 \l 1033 (Schaefer, 2012). A society that observes prejudice, discrimination and stereotyping flops in using the resources of all individuals in an optimum way and this worsens social problems such as poverty, delinquency, and crime. According to CITATION Sch12 \l 1033 (Schaefer, 2012) the burden of solving these social problems among the inferior group is transferred to the dominant group and it remains as a financial burden. This justifies the efforts by the American government and higher education to bring everyone together into an integrated whole with no dominant or subordinate groups. This has created information that has helped people to understand each other and has shaped the way people relate. Schaefer finds out that this understanding of each other has resulted in good results in that group names that were applied segregate people has changed with time. For example, group labels like Blacks have changed from Negroes to Blacks to African Americans (2012).
The immigration Act of 1965 has created a notable growth in the number of Korean immigrants in the United States making Korean Americans to increase rapidly. According to a research done by CITATION Weo01 \l 1033 (Rupnow, 2001) Koreans follow their culture a factor that present hurdles that make Korean immigrants to adjust to American mainstream culture. Decision making for example, is influenced by the opinions of other members of their family or community a fact that conflicts with the American emphasis on individualism CITATION Weo01 \l 1033 (Rupnow, 2001). Koreans fear making decisions based on their own individual preferences and taste as they are likely to be labeled selfish according to their cultural practices. The other notable thing about the history of their culture is the role of religion among Koreans. Many Koreans get their strength and support from religion. Statistics indicates that most Koreans have a religion with 49 percent being Christians, Buddhist, 47 percent, Confucianist, three percent and others one percent CITATION Weo01 \l 1033 (Rupnow, 2001). Important to note is that Confucianism is taken more a philosophy than a religion as it dictates the way Korean people thinks and behaves for the last five to six centuries CITATION Weo01 \l 1033 (Rupnow, 2001).
United States continues to receive large numbers of immigrants both legal and illegal. According to CITATION Sch12 \l 1033 (Schaefer, 2012), immigration is projected to reach almost 50% of Americas’ growth from 2005 to 2050. The immigration trend has remained consistent since the country acquired its independence and the presence of the immigrant has been felt everywhere including the streets as people speak in different languages. A strong factor contributing to rampant immigration in America is chain immigration. This refers to a situation where an immigrant in America sponsors several other immigrants who, upon arrival end up sponsoring othersCITATION Sch12 \l 1033 (Schaefer, 2012). Another factor contributing to rampant immigration is the increased number of illegal immigrants. By definition illegal migrants are in the country illegally, the actual number of these is undocumented but about three-quarters of these immigrants children were born in America making them citizensCITATION Sch12 \l 1033 (Schaefer, 2012). Another factor shaping the population in America is that of foreign students who from different parts of the world are in the country legally to receive their doctorates in sciences and engineering. These students fail to return to their mother countries after finishing their courses. Therefore it is genuine to conclude that immigration will continue to shape the demographics of United States.
Even though we cannot underestimate the benefits associated with diversity in America, it is evident that there is a sizeable section of the population that does not want to integrate with others. As indicated by CITATION Sch07 \l 1033 (Schonfeld, 2007) the dominant group dislike working or be led by someone from a different or inferior race. This has escalated to a point where members of a dominant race discourage their relatives from marrying outside their own group. Prejudice has a long history in the United States and poses one of the challenges United States face due to the diversity of its people. According to CITATION Sch12 \l 1033 (Schaefer, 2012) Prejudice entails disliking people because of their racial and ethnic grouping even if one had little or no contact with that group of people. This is influenced mostly by the way one has been brought up and the teachings done early in life. Another challenge that United States face due to its diversity is discrimination. It entails depriving the inferior people their rights, privileges and opportunities CITATION Sch07 \l 1033 (Schonfeld, 2007) .Unlike prejudice it involves behavior that excludes people leading to unequal treatment by the dominant group. Another challenge that United States face related to its diversity is stereotyping. This entails taking unreliable generalization about members of a particular group. According to CITATION Sch12 \l 1033 (Schaefer, 2012), it causes people in America to view Africans as superstitious and whites as uncaring. Although our focus remains in America, these challenges to diversity remain to be a common problem to many nations and pose a great threat to integration.
It is important to have a diverse population, not only for reasons of having a realistic setting but also to encourage people to grow beyond their original boundaries. In the United States, cultural pluralism is one of the benefits associated with a diverse society in that groups in a society have mutual respect for one another’s culture CITATION Sch12 \l 1033 (Schaefer, 2012). This respect allows minorities to express their own culture without fear of being subjected to prejudice and discrimination. Individuals have increasingly accepted and appreciated biracial and multiracial identity. This is evident by the transformation that group names have undergone in America from the twentieth century. CITATION Sch12 \l 1033 (Schaefer, 2012) Alludes that labels that were applied to minority and inferior groups has changed from Negroes to Blacks to African Americans, this is a sign of how dominant groups in America has grown beyond boundaries. This appreciation and acceptance among individuals from different cultures and origin cannot be underestimated as it has positively transformed to academic success and long term attitudes and behavior CITATION Sch07 \l 1033 (Schonfeld, 2007).
Cultural pluralism is a situation whereby the subordinate group within a dominant group maintains their unique cultural identities as long as they are consistent with the laws and values of the dominant society. For this to succeed, it takes the dominant group to accept their fellow inferior group to continue living with their cultural practices without interference. According to a research done by CITATION Sch12 \l 1033 (Schaefer, 2012), in the United States, cultural pluralism is more an ideal than a practical reality and the rules has been for the inferior groups to assimilate. This calls for the inferior groups to initiate the following process. First, to have resistance efforts aimed at promoting change that will bring more equality and privileges. CITATION Sch12 \l 1033 (Schaefer, 2012) Clearly states that resistance can be seen as efforts by the subordinate groups in maintaining their identity. Second, the subordinate group should lobby the host government on their own behalf to come up with laws that mandates the dominant group to accommodate the cultures of the inferior. Thirdly, way to foster a climate of acceptance and cultural pluralism is by taking Afrocentric Approach. As CITATION Sch12 \l 1033 (Schaefer, 2012) indicates, it is a perspective that puts emphasizes on the customs of African cultures. Afrocentric counters Eurocentric and works towards a pluralist orientation in which the views of both superiors and inferiors in the society are taken into considerationCITATION Sch12 \l 1033 (Schaefer, 2012).
Media has perpetuated prejudice and stereotyping amongst people in the society by sharing information that propagates inequality amongst people. Examples include both broadcast and print media. According to a research done by CITATION Sch12 \l 1033 (Schaefer, 2012) today, 40 percent of all youths in America are children of color, but few of the faces they see on television don’t reflect their race or cultural heritage. This is contributed by underrepresentation of the minorities in key decision making positions for example directors, producers and casting agents. Mostly television programs that doesn’t show a balance of ethnic and racial groupings are mostly aired in the evening especially when young people mostly watch television. The implication of this is that young people end up acquiring significant amount of stereotyping and prejudice in their minds. Print journalism is nearly the same as articles make readers develop prejudice and stereotypes. CITATION Sch12 \l 1033 (Schaefer, 2012) Gave an example of newspaper articles describing a string of armed robberies with black or white suspects and the subjects were quicker to shoot the armed suspect if he was black and had no willingness to shoot the armed white criminal. This emphasizes that crime is done mostly by th...