Racial Identity in America

 

We are a nation of communities... a brilliant diversity spread like stars, like a thousand points of light in a broad and peaceful sky.

George H. W. Bush

The United States is a multicultural nation. People of various race, ethnicity, cultures, and beliefs reside in this beautiful land of the free. Racial and ethnic identity is at the forefront of American society and it affects the ways in which Americans interact with each other, the world, and vice versa. Race is a mere categorization of people with shared physical traits and it is socially constructed. Its social impact is monumental albeit it has little scientific standing today. In fact, humans are more genetically similar than their racial classifications indicate. A 2008 report about race suggests that race is not a fixed characteristic of one's birth but a "changeable marker of social status.”

Synopsis: The following documentary segment discusses racial identity in American society. 

According to a 2011 estimate from the U.S. census Bureau, the US population is approximately 311,587,816. This estimation comprises of various racial and ethnic categories. Based on that data, 78.1% of the population is white, 13.1% is black, 16.7% is Hispanic or of Latino Origin. Also, 1.2% of the population is identified as American Indian and Alaska Natives, 5.0% is Asian, and 0.2% is reported as being Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islanders. Of these, 2.3% of the population is reported as being of two or more races and 63.4% is reported as being white and not Hispanic.

1. Knowing these facts about race and ethnicity, how do you think racial identity is perceived and promulgated in American culture?
2. What are some of the stereotypes about race and ethnicity? 
3. How is race important to your sense of self?  
4. How does race affects American politics?