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Tricia Hawkins

English 1050

August 1, 2017

Essay Two: Written

What is the difference between you and I? Is this something that should only be based

off the variation in our skin color? Our background? Or culture? This is a question that everyone

has; a question that unfortunately seems to be the basis of many people political beliefs, and

the source of almost every single form of prejudice. Race and Ethnicity are topics that I havent

really understood the difference between. I have always known that there is a difference due to

the word choices used by others when describing diversity and social constructs, including

persecution. My research for this essay has helped me understand that a persons race is

something very basic, the color of their skin. But a persons ethnicity is the story behind the way

they look and sometimes act. Ethnicity is the fact or state of belonging to a social group that

has a common national or cultural tradition.

The topic of race and ethnicity is something that has been brought up in every single

one of our readings this semester. Whether it had to do with food and culture, language and

immigration, or how ethnicity and race play an even bigger role in the persecution of further

minorities, i.e: women and the LGBTQ+ communities. Race and Ethnicity have been discussed

across the board, and while we all have our own opinions and understanding or lack thereof

before my research of the subjects; I dont believe that any one person can truly say that they
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havent jumped to any certain conclusions about another person or family based on their

background. Something to think about, and hopefully improve as we adapt and learn more

about those people.

In my attached project, I have included several pictures and fast facts about the impact

that race and ethnicity have had on the U.S. facts behind immigration and the effects that

deportation have on families. The picture on my title slide for this project really struck me.

These people clearly come from different walks of life, they have different stories leading up to

the point that the picture was taken, different family dynamics, struggles, interests. The one

thing that connected them all, for me, was the fact that they are different. Because they have

those experiences that make them who and sometimes what they are, they bring a diverse

background that I will never be able to experience or possibly understand fully, and vice versa. I

think that is the underlying principle that we could all stand to learn from any topic of

discussion in this class, life in general. We are all human beings, we are all different but we all

deserve the same respect and benefits that others receive freely. I found a statistic on Time

magazines website stating that in 2015 one in five immigrants in the world reside in the

United States. Those immigrants and their children have contributed an estimated 55% of the

country's population growth during that time; the U.S. population currently stands at almost

322 million. By 2065, nearly 20% of people in the country will have been born outside of

American borders. I included historical facts that explain the exponential growth and diversity

in the U.S. and all over the world. I included pictures on that slide to illustrate that diversity in

various parts of the world. I took the opportunity to allude on the topic, especially the subtopic

of persecution within the different racial and ethnic groups. And ended with a quote that hit
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home for me when we read it at the beginning of the semester. It was a quote from How to

Tame a Wild Tongue by Gloria Anzalda. She discusses how her culture can never be taken

away from her, and that is a trait that many hispanos have in common.

I feel that the most beneficial and long-lasting topics that we have discussed this

semester would be found in week 2, where Anzaldas work was discussed and week 7. The

LGBTQ+ topic is very sensitive, and it is something that is effected by almost all the subjects

that we had covered up to that point. It doesnt really relate to the topics that I chose to do this

essay on, but I felt that it was a module that everyone should research a bit more to fully

understand what each person in that community goes through, even just a little bit. I really

appreciated the comment that I received on my discussion post for that week from Eliezer Lara,

I never realized that two men could feel attracted to each other until I was in 6th grade and I

saw some of my classmates feeling that way. Every time I asked my parents about what "gay"

meant they always distracted my attention. They basically taught me that homosexually was

something forbidden. As I grew up and became more self-sufficient I started to see the world

differently and I realize how LGBT community is oppressed by society for reasons and beliefs

that can't be proven to be true... I felt that this part of his response really helped me to know

that I wasnt the only person that grew up in a Christian home that had this kind of upbringing. I

am so happy that my parents have now shifted their views a little, and are a lot more accepting

of differences, especially those that arise with the LGBTQ+ community.

This semester, I feel that I have learned how social groups exercise power over one

another based on their language, race and gender. I feel that I was able to learn more about

each of the above-mentioned topics, and that helped me to understand and recognize that
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there are differences between cultures, religions, etc. and those are not always good. I feel that

I have gained an ability to synthesize my sources while I write, and cohesively bring together

different facts and points of view to have a full thought of my own that includes the research,

knowledge and insights I have gained. I also think that I have gained an even deeper

understanding and ability to communicate the way that I feel about the different topics that we

discussed. I thought that each weekly discussion topic/idea was something that I could find

some way to relate to, or even just learn from. This gave me an opportunity to not only grow

my understanding, knowledge and compassion but it also gave me a topic on which I feel I was

able to grow my writing ability and critical thinking.

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Works Cited

Basu, Tanya. "How the Past 50 Years of Immigration Changed America." Time. Time

Magazine, 27 Sept. 2015. Web. 31 July 2017.

Anzaldua, Gloria. How to Tame a Wild Tongue. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.

"About ." This is My American Story. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 July 2017.

George, Diana, and John Trimbur. Reading culture: contexts for critical reading and writing.

Boston: Pearson, 2011. Print.