Defining Race and Ethnicity Essay

The term â€Å"race† means to me a group of people with the similar backgrounds and cultures. Race can also be defined as a species of people. Society defines race as the color of your skin but this is a myth. Race is more than the color of your skin; it is your lineage and heritage. It is who you are. The term â€Å"ethnic† means belonging to races or nations based on distinctions of race or ethnological. Ethnic is when you relate to a sizable group of people and share a common and distinctive racial, national, religious, linguistic, or cultural heritage. When I hear the word ethnic, I associate it with the race of black people. I’m not sure why but somewhere in my life, this was instilled in my mind. I have read somewhere that this word means heathens. I don’t agree with this analogy of the word but society has labeled this word to mean something bad. Ethnic has also been defined as a group of people who denounce Christianity. These concepts are important in today’s society because of the issues of racism and prejudice. People should not be classified by the color of their skin but by their citizenships. All people that were born in America should be classified as Americans alone, not White, Blacks, Latinos, Mexicans. These terms border on the issue of prejudice and racism. This is a very touchy subject and one has to be careful not to offend anyone when addressing these issues. It is important that when people are classified by race, that the proper terms are use when identifying these groups. Some black people prefer to be called â€Å"African Americans† rather than black and vice versus. Prejudice is a big issue in our nation and needs to be overcome. No one wants to be discriminated against no matter what their race or ethnic background is.