Describe the racial composition of the neighborhood
Personal Inventory – Racing in America
Instructions-
Answer the questions below with the response that comes closest to your experience. If you have moved frequently, answer the questions based on your combined experiences. Determine in each instance whether you were in the racial majority or minority.
1. Describe the racial composition of the neighborhood in which you grew up:
a. mostly European American (white)
b. mostly African American
c. mostly Asian American/Pacific Islander
d. mostly Latino
e. mostly American Indian
f. a strong mix of 2 of the groups listed in a-e
g. a strong mix of 3 of the groups listed in a-e
h. a strong mix of 4 of the groups listed in a-e
i. a strong mix of 5 of the groups listed in a-e
2. Describe the racial composition of your friends from grade school through high school:
a. mostly European American (white)
b. mostly African American
c. mostly Asian American/Pacific Islander
d. mostly Latino
e. mostly American Indian
f. a strong mix of 2 of the groups listed in a-e
g. a strong mix of 3 of the groups listed in a-e
h. a strong mix of 4 of the groups listed in a-e
i. a strong mix of 5 of the groups listed in a-e
3. Describe the racial composition of your parents’ friends:
a. mostly European American (white)
b. mostly African American
c. mostly Asian American/Pacific Islander
d. mostly Latino
e. mostly American Indian
f. a strong mix of 2 of the groups listed in a-e
g. a strong mix of 3 of the groups listed in a-e
h. a strong mix of 4 of the groups listed in a-e
i. a strong mix of 5 of the groups listed in a-e
4. Describe the racial composition of the school(s) you attended:
a. mostly European American (white)
b. mostly African American
c. mostly Asian American/Pacific Islander
d. mostly Latino
c. mostly American Indian
f. a strong mix of 2 of the groups listed in a-c
g. a strong mix of 3 of the groups listed in a-c
h. a strong mix of 4 of the groups listed in a-c
i. a strong mix of 5 of the groups listed in a-c
5. Describe the racial composition of the religious institution you attended:
a. mostly European American (white)
b. mostly African American
c. mostly Asian American/Pacific Islander
d. mostly Latino
e. mostly American Indian
f. a strong mix of 2 of the groups listed in a-c
g. a strong mix of 3 of the groups listed in a-c
h. a strong mix of 4 of the groups listed in a-c
i. a strong mix of 5 of the groups listed in a-c
6. Describe the racial composition of the extracurricular activities in which you participated (clubs, athletics, dance, bowling, debate, etc.):
a. mostly European American (white)
b. mostly African American
c. mostly Asian American/Pacific Islander
d. mostly Latino
e. mostly American Indian
f. a strong mix of 2 of the groups listed in a-c
g. a strong mix of 3 of the groups listed in a-c
h. a strong mix of 4 of the groups listed in a-c
i. a strong mix of 5 of the groups listed in a-c
Personal Inventory – Autobiography on Race and Ethnicity
1. How many generations has your family been in the United States? If you and/or your family do not live in or only recently arrived in the United States, then respond to these questions in a manner relevant to your reality.
2. What continent and/or country did your ancestors come from?
3. Under what circumstances did your ancestors come to the United States? Were they voluntary immigrants, were they refugees or were they forced to come as slaves? Were your ancestors pan of a group or country that was conquered by the United States, such as American Indians or Mexicans?
4. Were your ancestors welcomed when they arrived in the United States? What race were they considered to be? (If your family was Irish, Jewish, German, Polish, or Finnish and arrived in the United States sometime before the early twentieth century, they were most likely considered nonwhite). If your ancestors were indigenous to this continent, were they treated with friendliness or hostility by the European colonizers?
5. Were there any restrictions as to where your ancestors could live or work when they or others of their same nationality or ethnic background arrived in the United States?
6. What do you know of your ancestors’ customs and culture? Discuss what you know of their food, clothing, language, beliefs, and religion. How many of these customs and cultural practices do you and your contemporary family still know about and practice?
7. What kind of work did your ancestors do? Were they laborers, merchants, professionals? What was the race and ethnicity of the people they worked for, their supervisors or Mars or of the people who worked for them? Did the kind of work they did change and improve through subsequent generations or did it remain basically the same?
8. Was your family able to improve their economic situation over the generations since they first came to the United States? What racial or ethnic factors fostered this improvement or acted as barriers to this improvement?
9. Did your ancestors and subsequent generations live in neighborhoods with primarily one race and ethnicity, or were these neighborhoods racially and ethnically mixed? Did they live in these neighborhoods by choice?
10. How were your ancestors and subsequent generations treated by people who were racially and ethnically different from them? Did that change over time, and if so, in what war
11. What race and ethnicity were the adults you knew growing up? Think of teachers, doctors, lawyers, store clerks, laborers, and service people. What was the race and ethnicity of people who owned the businesses and stores in your community? What about the elected officials?
12. What experiences involving race or ethnic discrimination did you have or observe as you were growing up? How were you or your parents involved in these experiences? Were you and your family the target or agent of racial or ethnic discrimination? Or perhaps, were you and your family both the target and the agent?
13. How connected do you feel to your family’s country of origin today? Is the connection strong, blurry, or nonexistent? Does your own sense of identity include your race, ethnicity, and family background? How much are you aware of the history, culture, customs, and traditions of your ancestors? Are these a strong part of how you see yourself and your interactions with others today?
