What is the cause of the issue?
Racial identity is a concept which pertains to how individuals develop a sense of belonging towards a particular culture. This is a social construct which results from the disparities that exist among individuals based on different cultural affiliations. An individual could be considered to be black in the United States and yet be viewed as a white person in Brazil (Hughes, Kiecolt, Keith & Demo, 2015). The association of race with certain privileges in the past whereby a Caucasian individual regardless of his economic condition was considered to be superior is also part of the reason why the subject of racial identity emerged. With time, however, intermarriages between individuals from differing races has further shifted beliefs pertaining to racial identity.
Are there any differences in values, communication styles, ethics, etc? Explain
People with different racial identities have differing values, communication styles, and ethics. Such disparities have had some damaging effects on various individuals. For instance, women in Bangladesh do not necessarily speak fluent English (Gaither, Corriveau, Harris, Ambady & Sommers, 2015). When they were hospitalized it emerged that such a deficiency limited access to specialized attention. The hospital failed in their inability to provide bilingual workers who would assist the individuals thus depicting direct and indirect racism in their practices (Gaither et al., 2015). Besides owing to the disparities in racial identity, it is often assumed that some traits such as aggressive behavior results from the idea that such people belong to a group of individuals considered to be aggressive. Such universal generalizations are, nonetheless, not always accurate. In addition to this, what is considered to be ethical in one culture is unethical in other beliefs.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
What power dynamic exists? Who has the power, how is that power exerted.
Power dynamics relates to the manner via which different groups of individuals interact with one another; where one is superior to the other. Based on racial identity, the power dynamic that exists is that which pertains to people from one racial group being viewed as more superior. In the American culture, for example, the Caucasians were regarded as people who had some superiority over the African Americans and other minority groups of individuals. With such power, they were able to dominate politics and other critical aspects which enabled them to exert their authority over other people within the community. Despite this having changed, cases of racial discrimination are far from over.
What role do various contexts (historical, social, political) have regard to the issue?
Historically, racial identity was considered to be a significant factor than it is presently. In the American society for instance, black individuals were discriminated with most of their rights being violated. An African American man was not entitled to board certain means of transport or seat in the same diner with a White person. Racial segregation was at its peak to an extent that a black person could not live in the same neighborhood as a Caucasian individual ( Rivas ‐ Drake, Seaton, Markstrom, Quintana, Syed, Lee & Yip, 2014 ). Socially, racial identity has impacted on the lives of individuals to a point that specific cultures cannot interact amongst one another. White people who dared to interact with the black individuals in the past were considered to be outcasts. Racial identity was also used as a means of gaining political mileage amongst a majority of politicians and is still used presently ( Rivas ‐ Drake et al., 2014) . People have long been known to be biased to an extent that they end up preferring to vote in an individual based on the idea that they belong to the same racial affiliation. Most parties target large populations of individuals consisting of people belonging to the largest racial group, by lobbying for the election of a person from the majority race. In most cases, this guarantees them victory, hence showing how crucial racial identity is in the world.
References
Gaither, S., Chen, E. E., Corriveau, K., Harris, P., Ambady, N., & Sommers, S. (2015). Racial identity flexibility in biracial children: Differences in learning and social preferences.
Hughes, M., Kiecolt, K. J., Keith, V. M., & Demo, D. H. (2015). Racial identity and well-being among African Americans. Social Psychology Quarterly , 78 (1), 25-48.
Rivas ‐ Drake, D., Seaton, E. K., Markstrom, C., Quintana, S., Syed, M., Lee, R. M., & Yip, T. (2014). Ethnic and Racial Identity in the 21st Century Study Group. (2014). ethnic and racial identity in adolescence: Implications for psychosocial, academic, and health outcomes. Child Development , 85 (1), 40-57.
