Changing the discourse on immigrants, culture, race and ethnicity among family scholars | NCFR

http://www.ncfr.org/ncfr-report/changing-discourse-immigrants-culture-race-and-ethnicity-among-family-scholars

Great article exploring the root of perpetuating continued bias among minorities.  I think Dr. Gibbons is right on point with where the change needs start. Race and culture are important, but as they relate to each individuals' perception. To generalize and try to quantify data based on race alone, and then rope that into a specific culture is completely ignorant of the fact that each person interprets their culture and race in their own way.  Socio-economic status seems a better indicator of group mentality/perception (culture) than race. 

Most of those stereotypes are going stem from a select portion of a socio-economic group, irregardless of race, and they're just as bias as any other form of discrimination. The problem remains that these are accepted biases, accepted prejudices....being perpetuated, dangerously, in the same forum where we're also striving so hard to get rid of them....higher education.  It does make sense that this is the place to start, though I would say it has to trickle quickly down to primary education as well, where cultural education starts.  From a humanity perspective, race and culture are irrelevant, human rights are human rights, and we're all equal, and obviously we as a society have to look out for racisim and other mentalities that threaten those rights. But, how race and culture impact an individual, their family, and their community, and society as a whole all will vary irregardless depending on so many other factors.  Are they still important to consider?  Yes, but as it relates to the individual.  I loved the example in the article regarding story telling as a teaching tool, and the examples and the need for prequalifing minorities with their politically correct ethnic label: "Pedro is a latino who's parents are from south america", this introduction gives us a stereotypical slant which we are now imposing on Pedros experience.  This "moniker" doesn't give any true background if this is is his actual story: "Pedro is of Brazilian descent, but has a hard time relating to the hispanic culture, even though he is of "latin descent" since his parents were both educated professionals in Brazil, and he was born in the states raised in an affluent neighborhood, his portugese speaking parents are proud of their Brazilian heritage and are quick to clarify that they speak Portugese and English, not Spanish. Pedro prefers to be called Pete outside of his home, and since he has never visited Brazil himself, he respects his parents and their pride, but does not relate to his heritage in the same way, and he doesn't relate to the "latino" classification that people want to tag onto him, as he neither speaks spanish, nor has ever experienced his inherited Brazilian culture for himself."  It's obviously different, if you're talking about Pedro's perspective on something, important to consider.  If not, and it's just a story about an experience that Pedro had that had nothing to do with anything culturally specific, it's irrelevant.

It's so much easier to generalize, but doesn't help to breakdown stereotyping, which essentially exacerbates the problem.  If race/culture is going to be identified, there's much more to it than meets the eye, the thing is there ALWAYS is, for everyone.  We need to NOT put people in a box, let alone lumping whole races into one.  Until we see this practice as just as ignorant as the ideology behind racism itself, it's hard to make real progress.