Definitions of race and ethnicity and the relationship between the two. How they differ

1. Dr. Marquita L. Byrd
Communication Studies Department
San Jose State University
Copyright ByMar Diversity Training
dr.byrd@earthlink.net

3. 1. Race is a social construct
2. All humans have the DNA of the same woman found in
the mitochondrial portion of the cell
3. Race and ethnicity overlap
4. Race most unreliable method of identifying people.
5. Racial classifications are used to divide and conquer
6. Racial designations are used by the federal
government to allocate funds.
7. Racial designation depends on who the group or family
say that they are, who the individual says he or she is,
who the government says you are and who society
says you are.
8. Ultimately the effective communicator asks people
about their racial and ethnic background, not inform
them of “who they are.”

4. Remember race is a social construct designed
to talk about something that varies in the
population. It does not actually exist.
 Slavery: that history overshadows interracial and interethnic
relationships even today
Blacks, Amerindians, Asians, Mexicans, Pilipinos and poor whites
from Ireland and Great Britain were enslaved in the United States
 The dominate culture used racial categories to keep people of colour
and poor whites from forming coalitions
 Racial categories determine who gets what: land, jobs, education
 Difference between slaves coming from the UK and people of colour in
slavery is that poor whites looked like the power dominant and over
generations have been able to outlive the chains while people of colour
continue to be distinguishable.

5. RACE ETHNICITY
 Biologically determined
 Transmitted by DNA
 Based on anthropological,
religious and political
motives
• Hair, skin colour facial
structure, etc.
 Distinguishable by things
that are learned
 Language
 Values, traditions
 Worldview
Race EthnicityOverlap

6. Tonga Chinese
Indo Korean
All
Asian/Pacific
Islanders
Hispanic
Mexican
Cubans
Puerto
Rican
Dominican Honduran
Each group has Black, Brown
and White people

7. General guidelines used by the US Census Bureau

8. People with origins in the Sub-Sahara
On the continent of Africa or 1 drop of Black
blood

9. People originating on the Pacific Rim

10. People originating from any of the European
countries including Great Britain, Spain,
France, Germany, Italy
Ethnic Whites: Europeans that
maintain original cultures
including Italian, Irish, Polish

11. People conquered in the New World by Spain
First language Spanish
Last name Spanish
Does not include people from Spain
Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Pilipinos,
Latino, Chicano, Castilian (conquers in the New world,) Mestizos (mix of
Castilian and Amerindian)

12. Americans identifying self and group by tribal
affiliation or recognized by the Bureau of Indian
Affairs
Cherokee, Apache, Oneida, Dakota,
Comanche, etc

13. 1. Race is a social construct
2. All humans have the DNA of the same woman found in the
mitochondrial portion of the cell
3. Race and ethnicity overlap
4. Race most unreliable method of identifying people.
5. Racial classifications are used to divide and conquer
6. Racial designations are used by the federal government to allocate
funds.
7. Racial designation depends on who the group or family say that they
are, who the individual says he or she is, who the government says
you are and who society says you are.
8. Ultimately the effective communicator asks people about their racial
and ethnic background, not inform them of “who they are.”