Culture Transcends Race

in #race7 years ago

The Hispanic culture is an example of culture transcending race, color, and ancestry. This culture was imposed upon the natives and slaves of Central and South America by the oppressive Spanish conquistadors and was adopted later by the many immigrants from Italy, Japan, China, Portugal, etc. Many of these people of different races identify with a common ethnicity which comprises a common religion, language, similar customs, and traditions and has its roots in Europe. This is not to say that all Hispanics have the same culture, nor there an absence of racism. There are variations based upon country, educational attainment, economic class, etc. If race or color was a prominent cultural variable we should not entertain the possibility of people other than whites of Spanish descent being Hispanic.

Some of the more popular examples of the cultural transcendence of race are the Hispanic baseball players from the Dominican Republic and Panama and the former president of Peru. The first is of African descent and the latter is of Japanese descent. They may be of different races but are Hispanic in culture. Closer to home there are many people of Irish, German and Scandinavian descent but very American in culture - a culture that has been shaped and continues to be shaped by the contributions of people of different races and ethnicities.

Yes, many people of Irish descent celebrate St. Patrick's Day, wear green clothing, eat green colored foods, have shamrock plants and designs on their personal possessions, own a symbolic representation of the Blarney Stone, etc. and similarly, many people of Norwegian descent may eat lefse, klub, lutefiske, krumkake, and rommegrote, share Ole and Lena jokes. But this does not make them Norwegian nor Irish; they are Americans. Those who have traveled to the places of their ancestors regardless of race are identified by most of the citizens not as long lost brothers and sisters but as Americans.

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I read your article and I am thankful for this post. I see the need for us to build and develop a greater understanding of race and how we approach it in our everyday life. Please follow my page and share! Keep steeming

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