I believe that over the last one hundred years in America, the gap between race and culture has closed completely. Why i it that today when I white woman sees a black man walking toward her she feels the need to duck out of the way or go around him? What has happened in this country where race became the face of culture? If a person wears his pants on his butt, a sideways baseball hat, and Air Jordans we assume that he is a black man in the lower middle or poor class. If I described a man who wears a suit and tie every day you would automatically think of a white man in the middle to upper class.
Every day we assume that race defines culture. The traits I mentioned earlier of a “typical” black man make him who he is. This is not because of his race that he dresses the way he does, but because of the culture that he was brought up in and probably still lives in today. Why is it that we are so quick to judge people based solely on their appearance? To look at the other side of the spectrum, why is it that when a black person sees a well-dressed (khakis and collar shirt) white man the thought automatically is, “He must be rich, probably has a better education than me too.” When did that become true? In that scenario, the black man is judging the white man based on his skin color. Who’s to say that the white didn’t earn every penny he has? What if he grew up in a poor home with little to no money? He still worked for his living and success.
The ultimate question is, “What defines a person, race or culture?” A person’s skin tone is not the deciding factor in who they are going to be. I persons culture makes them who they are. We can’t generalize people based on what we see at first glance.
