Race Essay, Research Paper

Race ? a sense of identity

What is the definition of race? We divide people into groups by their skin color – black, yellow and whites. Maybe it is time to change this. The Swedish population and other populations as well, are nowadays a mixed group of people. White people are black people’s neighbors, doctors and friends. With a growing unity between the all races, why does racism continue? The answer is because of prejudices. Racism and stereotyping are issues that date back to many years ago. Some prejudices come from experience, such as unpleasant or baffling encounter with someone from another ethnic group. Many prejudices are passed along from parents to children, sometimes without either generation having ever met the object of their dislike. Some come from the images that the media convey. In fact we are not different, instead we are judgmental and we discriminate and segregate. Racism is a word that means a lot of things to many people. To some, that word is the description of a way of life, to others it is a repulsive term that represents closed-mindedness.

What is race? The biologically answer is easy, the other answers are not. You can be black in your heart or mind even though your skin color is white or yellow, or the other way around. You do not necessarily have to act white because that is the color of your skin. You can choose how you want to be viewed and who you are in a sense of identity. On the other hand people can not choose their background or culture, what you have inherited is there to stay. This is important to remember. We are all unique individuals among races and we are also equal.