National, Ethnic and Racial Heritage - Essay Example

Ethnic groups easily change their cultural beliefs to match that of the majority. Racial or ethnic heritages are socially constructed and lead people of the same heritage to act and undertake activities in a certain way or have a common way of life.

The national ethnic or racial identity of people of color is more likely to change than that of white people. Though ethnic or racial identities are socially constructed, they are more flexible for people of color than they are for white. People of color make up the minority ethnic groups in America and therefore for them to attain the American nationality, they usually need to make changes to the group’s specific way of living and beliefs. They also need to adopt the whites’ ways and be assimilated into the white culture (Benshoff and Sean 60). They, therefore, adopt the white culture losing their ethnic identities though the physical characteristics remain. The physical identities include skin color and others like surnames. Read More