Eth 125 Final

Race and Your Community

ETH 125

September 4, 2011

Carol Agurs

I was raised in Southern California, specifically the cities of Diamond Bar and Glendora. I now reside in a very small community located in the Sierra Nevada foothills with an extremely small population and number of minority groups. Total population of the county I live in is 38,091 as of the 2010 census (U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts, 2010) and the population of the city I live in is 4,320 (Welcome to Jackson, 2011). I have been exposed to many different people from many different backgrounds because of living in both Southern California and Las Vegas, NV. I have had African American, Asian American, Native American, and Hispanic American friends. The lack of ethnic diversity in the area I reside has led to the reduction in the number of ethnic groups I am currently exposed to. The majority group in the county is White at 87% and look like me. The next most populous ethnicity is Hispanic at 12.5%. Other minority groups represented in this county include African American with 2.5% of the population, Asian American at 1.1%, and American Indian and Alaskan Native with 1.8% (U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts, 2010). This ethnic diversity is very different from the diversity I was associated with while growing up. While cultural diversity was a normal part of my early life, the community I now live in is a white majority with few other ethnicities represented. Even though other races do live in my town, my community is not culturally diverse because I rarely see people of other races or cultures than mine; White.

Lack of interaction between minority groups has led to a community feeling of unity. Leaders of the community are involved in the promotion of tourism with little mention of culture or race. Although this could be considered an incorrect view of the different cultures, the outcome has been a community working together to improve the economy with an emphasis on tourism. The relative few in number...