CHARACTERISTICS OF RACE, ETHNICITY & CULTURE

Most of people in different countries have already familiar with the words race, ethnicity and culture, and also their various derivatives. The concepts of race and ethnicity are used and critiqued in sociology, and they are linked to the idea of majority and minority groups, as well as social structures of inequality, power, and stratification. People can identify “race” as the physical differences that groups and cultures consider socially significant whereas “ethnicity” refers to shared cultural characteristics such as language, ancestry, habits, and beliefs.

RACE AND ETHNICITY

Race is frequently used in society to categorize people based on their skin color, as well as other physical, social, and biological characteristics. For example, some census identify the race as a person’s self-identification with one or more social groups. When we are filling out official documentation and are asked to tick the box for our race, these personal identifiers are the terms we will see the most. So when we are considering about the different types of races, usually we can find out many options like White, Black of African, Asian, Native American, Latino and Pacific Islander.

While many people choose their race to describe themselves, they can also use their ethnicity for that purpose. Unlike race, which is mostly determined by physical characteristics, ethnicity is determined by traditions, language, nationality, or cultural heritage. When we consider our ethnicity, we consider attributes that we share with the culture around us in addition to our physical characteristics. While race is identified by the color of someone's skin, ethnicity is generally identified by his or her cultural background. For example, someone might has a Sri Lankan ethnicity because his great grandmother or grandfather came from Sri Lanka, he speaks the language Sinhala, and he follows Sri Lankan cultural traditions.

RACISM

Racism can take a lot of forms and can happen in many situations. Also, it may include prejudice, discrimination or hatred directed at a person because of his or her skin colour, ethnicity or national origin. Many people typically associate racism with acts of abuse or harassment. However, they should know that racism does not need to involve violent or intimidating behaviour. For example, consider racial insults and jokes, or circumstances in which people may be excluded from groups or activities. Then we can recognize these people face with such problems because of their origins, in other words where they come from. Racism can be seen in people's behavior as well as their attitudes. It can be seen in some organizations and institutions as well. However, it is possible that it will not be revealed at all. Racism isn't always obvious. For example, someone may review a list of employment candidates and decide not to interview those with specific surnames. Racism is a complex phenomenon that encompasses more than just words, beliefs, and behaviors. Also, it has many barriers that may involve to prevent people from enjoying dignity and equality because of their race.