Race and a Check Box

 Race has a lot to do with the way people treat one another, and also it has a major impact on how far you get in this country. Race is defined by http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/Race-and-Ethnicity-Defined.topicArticleId-26957,articleId-26884.html as groups of people who have differences and similarities in biological traits deemed by society to be socially significant. Race plays a very important role in our life’s because it determines where and how far a person can get. It is used to define who you are to others and categorizes what people you belong to. We see this when filling out applications, for jobs, scholarships, and other government documents. Most of us have seen the section where you have to check a box or fill in a little square were you determine what ‘race” you classify yourself as. It used to be you were one of three races; either you were black white, or Native American. Well we are well aware that there are a lot more races in America than just three races. The U.S. government has had a very difficult time determining which exact terms to use, for instance the term Hispanic was a used to define anyone who was not black, white, or Native American. After a while Latinos in America were no longer viewing themselves as Hispanic, and accepted terms like, Mexican American, Chicano, or Latino. 

And according to the economist at http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21571487-how-should-america-count-its-hispanics-some-other-race the term Hispanic is not a race but an ethnicity, therefore anyone of Hispanic ethnicity can view themselves and check themselves as being  white, black, or even Asian. It seems that in America Latinos are hard to be defined because we do not see each other as one single group but a variety of groups that are close in skin color and language but not equal. It is not until we get to America where the government tries to define us all as one group. Dealing with race in America can be very difficult, people do not like to think that we have a race issue, but that’s because unless you are brown, black or even Asian you will be treated like a second class citizen. Race makes or breaks you in America, most people like to think that there is equality among all races, but in reality there is not, and we can see this with many people who live in communities were the dominant race is not white but Latino, and black. Many cities in Illinois like Chicago, Aurora, Elgin, and Carpentersville have a very large Latino influence. Because of this influence, surrounding communities are making sure that the influence does not poor into surrounding areas where it is still a predominately white. You can see this from the way that authorities treat the people of the Latino communities. Not only is race unfortunate for Latinos but also blacks in America. We have seen this throughout America’s history, where blacks are treated less than human and less than American for being darker.