How does my cultural identity intersect with the cultural identity of people who are different from me

However growing up I was able to interact with more people who were more different than they were alike to me and I initially felt threatened. Here I am in a society I considered familiar and suddenly there are people with a skin color that is different from mine, culture that I do not recognize and who wordship a different God than I do. I have had the liberty to personally interact with African Americans, Indian Americans and Hispanics, three social groups that have provided me with a whole different view to social, cultural and ethnic identity. I must confess that I initially had biases and stereotypes towards the said groups but after getting to interact with them I understood that the diversity was not meant to be a threat but a beautiful factor that should be embraced.

The essay discusses how my cultural identity as a 46 year old white middle class female intersects with that of Indian Americans, African Americans and the Hispanics in America. I realized that the group had a tougher time trying to figure out their personal identities since the society had already provided them with one that was unjust (Morgan, 2013). However deep down inside we are all the same, humanity binds us more the color of our skin tears us apart (Idea of Race, 2016). Hispanic The Hispanic are more of an ethnic group than a race and this has allowed them to better thrive despite the social and economic discrimination. I had initially associated the Hispanic group to the low class economic bracket and for a long time this has been my take.

However after research and personal interactions I realized that they are just like the other groups whereby an individual’s hard work is what determines their social status. They have over the years been stereotyped and discriminated against because of the color of their skin. Personally, my view of the African American individual was that of a loud, rowdy and ill-mannered individual who most times I considered a criminal. It is sad that as a child that was the picture that would come up in my mind when I thought of an African American. The African Americans gained social, economic and political liberty after end of the civil war and the 13th Amendment. However that was just written freedom as the discrimination is still evident, putting into account the mentality I had myself.

What drives them? Why don’t they practice their culture anymore? African Americans • The religion of the African Americans especially Christianity is different from that of other Americans. I have often wondered if they add aspects of their traditional African culture to the religion. • I wonder how the African American families work and with all the biases put against them, how a child gains his or her identity without being influenced by the society? Hispanic • I still do not fully grasp the differences that are there in the groups that claim Hispanic descent. Are they similar or they also differ? What sets them apart culturally? • I have always considered Hispanics to be illegal immigrants and I realized that most people do.