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Race and Cultural Identity
The impact of race on cultural identity is a subject that prompts extensive research by anthropologists. Culture is referred as the customs, beliefs, values, attitudes and behavior exemplified by a certain ethnic or social group. It is through culture that one group differentiates itself from another group. An individual’s cultural identity is influenced by various factors among them class, nationality, race, sexual orientation, institutions, rituals, art, religion and gender. Race influences the economic, political and social structure of a nation (Prograis, 6). Race is a major national issue in the current progressive world. Racism has a significant negative impact on people and affects cultural identity, which impacts professional and personal lives.
The modern world is characterized by a multiplicity of cultures such that many ethnic, race, religious and cultural communities live together. Many of these diversities originate due to culture, hence people who identify with a particular group can develop or change the identity or belief based on what the cultural identity expectations or norms of the group dictate. Incidences of racial discrimination continue to be reported in the modern world, signifying the severity of this subject. Historically, these incidences were few, but have increased due to racial interactions and the diversity in the interpretation of cultural identity. In America, Native Americans, African American, Latino Americans just to mention a few has complained about the negative social construction made against them. Race influences cultural identity leading to the creation of certain social constructions which impact on overall identity. On February 201, Lakota students protested via video of how unhappy they were with the negative portrayal of Native Americans in the media (NPR, 2014). This incident is a representation of the many cases of racial discrimination that...