concepts of ethnic collectivities and ethnic categories.
Ethnic
Collectives and Ethnic Categories
Never
in the course of history has the world witnessed ethnic collective movement
than in the twentieth century. In fact, various ethic movements were present in
both developed and underdeveloped countries such as Canada, Great Britain,
South Africa, Spain, and India among many others. According to scholars,
collective identity of ethnic group is an inherent part of social life. These
identities are constructed based on experiences, traits, or characteristics
that set a group of people distinct from others. Many analysts however, argue
that ethnicity as a phenomenon is socially constructed primarily as individuals
choose a particular part of history as well as focus on their difference from
the others. This means that collective ethnicities are not simply dependent on
inherent traits such as skin color, but rather on shared values and beliefs
which were acquired by choice. This includes religious beliefs and political
ideologies. Often times, these identities are passed on from one generation to
another or at times modified. It is through this process that ethnic status and
collectiveness is achieved. What is more important to point out is that such
characteristics are open to varying interpretations (Kriesberg, 2003, p.1).
According
to scholar, collective ethnicity is shaped through a number of elements. This
includes internal factors within the group (i.e. leadership, past experience,
etc.), relations with other groups (i.e. negative or positive characterization,
violence, coercion, etc.), and social context (i.e. belief system, modelling,
etc.). African Americans for example, have developed a collective identity
based on their race’s history. In this case, African Americans refer to their
ancestor’s history of civil rights struggle and discrimination. As such, an
ethnic consciousness has been formed aligned to this experience. This includes
ascribing the words “negros” or “niggers” as offensive terms particularly when used by someone outside of their
racial group. This is because, as an ethnic group, African Americans have
related the past violence and antagonistic interaction of other races towards
their group (Ribeau, 1991, p.501).
Ethnic
collectiveness is similarly derived from social negotiation in which identity
is aligned with various elements similar to other ethnic categories. This means
that some ethnic group tend to identify and affiliate themselves with another
group in an attempt to establish an ethnic identity. Such is the case of
Haitian Americans. As the number of Haitian immigrants began to increase, many
have assimilated and fully adapted the African American culture. In fact,
second generation Haitians who commonly reside in locations dominated by
African Americans see themselves as one of Black Americans. Their association
with the African Americans includes adapting to group’s ethnological speech
patterns as well as cultural practices, and food preferences among many others.
This process allows them to a part of the group’s ethnic collectiveness (Fisher,
2012, p.25).
On
the other hand, individuals with mixed ethnic background draw their identity by
negotiating between the two ethic groups or category. For example, children
with Haitian and African American parents may adapt the culture of both ethnic
groups although it is likely that the child will identify with only one ethnic
group. Some of the factors that dictate this include the ethnic influence
exerted by the parent and racial socialization. As such a child will more
likely adapt Haitian identity if the parent promotes and constantly exposes the
child to their culture. Alternatively, a Haitian American child will identify
to the African American ethnic group if he or she is brought up in an
environment dominated by this culture (Fisher, 2012, p.1).
References
Fisher, C.B. & Lerner, R.M. (2012) Applied
Developmental Science. CA: Sage Publications
Kriesberg, L. (2003). “Identity Issues”. Beyond
Intractability. Retrieved 27 June 2013, from
http://www.beyondintractability.org/bi-essay/identity-issues
Ribeau, S. (1991). “Sociocultural Roots of Ethnic
Identity”. Journal of Black Studies, 21, pp.501
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