Diversity's Impact on Society - Term Paper Example

Diversitys Impact on Society Diversitys Impact on Society Introduction Diversity is nowadays a common term, appearing several times be it in the media, trade books, magazines, as well as scholarly literature. Nonetheless, no single all encompassing definition for the term “diversity” has ever been established. This is because different people perceive and define it differently, as some relate it to acceptance, tolerance, or attitude. Others see it, in terms of the needs for affirmative action. Yet again, others see its relation to numbers, inclusion, gender, and ethnic or cultural differences. According to English dictionary, diversity refers to a state of being different or a state of unlikeness (Essed, 1996). This implies the different composition that makes up society. That is the cultural, ethnic, racial, and religious differences. However, in the U.S. context, the term diversity will be used to mean the racial and ethnic composition that makes up the country. This paper will describe the diversity and inclusion concepts in the context of U.S. and global society and culture. The paper will mainly focus on African-Americans and the Spanish-Americans in terms of their cultural diversity. It will also discuss how the two diverse cultures and the events contributed to the US society and culture by describing their origins and contribution to the development of the U.S, and how the events that they experienced led to their inclusion into the US society by 1870s (Graen, 2003). The world is a diverse society made of different cultures, ethnic, religious, racial and languages. This is eminent in all parts of the world be it Africa, Asia, America or Europe. The diversity exists mainly due to the different characteristics, beliefs, and religious affiliations. For instance, Muslims poses certain beliefs that are very different from those of their Christian counterparts. Different people are also different in their own way due to their ethnic and cultural background, while in some societies, diversity exists because of racial difference ((Essed, 1996). The U.S. is one country that is highly rich in diverse cultures. It is imperative to state that diversity in the context of the U.S. mainly refers to the racial and ethnic diversity. The U.S. Census Bureau statistics for 2000 reveals that the population of ethnic and minority cultures in the U.S. accounted for over 30% of the U.S. population (Graen, 2003). This translates to more than 100 million diverse racial and ethnic groups. Richard Rodriquez attributes this high number to the high rate of immigration, which began a long time ago in 16th century. In fact, report reveals that the U.S. is the most diverse country today with people drawn from almost all cultural backgrounds in the world. This increase is projected to continue even in the new future especially after the government softened the immigration rules of the country according to Essed (1996). The softening of the rules came because of the contributions and benefits that the immigrants have brought to the country. African-Americans African-Americans, sometimes referred to as African Negroes are U.S. citizens of African descent majority of whom came from Sub-Saharan Africa. Also referred to as or Black Americans, this group of people forms the largest part of the racial minority group in the U.S. African-American history can be traced back to 16th century during the slave trade in sub-Saharan Africa in which most of the African-American ancestors were forcibly taken as slaves to the US to work in white settlements and farms. It is said that this slavery continued unabated for centuries even after the US had gotten their independence. They were perceived by their white counterparts to be inferior and as a result were subjected to many forms of injustices. Among the injustices noted during this time, include being segregated from the white Americans due to the perception that they were inferior and primitive. In fact, they were seen as people who cannot think for themselves or reason at par with the white Americans. It is also reported that African Americans were being excluded from participating in American politics, as well as being excluded from attending white schools (Painter, 2006). The injustices continued for centuries until the African Americans felt that it was time for them to liberate themselves from slavery. As a result, they started advocating for equality and recognition through civil right movements. After realizing that the majority of whites were not willing to heed to their quest, the country was plunged into a civil war , which has ever since changed how the African Americans are seen or handled in the society. The civil war led to the abolition of slavery as well as the end of social exclusion based on race in the country. For instance after the civil war, African Americans began contracting schools for themselves, as well as forming community and civic association. Jim Crow is one of the African Americans who made a remarkable contribution, which saw the end of African-Americans exclusion in the American society. Today, despite there being some elements of racial discrimination, they are valued as a vital component of the society. In fact, the latest census put their population at 42,020,743, which translates to about 13.6% of US population, which is quite significant (Boyd, 2008). Today, one cannot talk of US politics, economy, sports, and entertainment without the mentioning of an African-American. This shows how much they are vital to the US as a country. For instance, the current US president, Barack Obama is of African descent, something that no one could have ever imagined a century ago. Even before, Barack Obama became president; Douglas Wilder had become a governor, which shows how important the African Americans are in US politics. Now, Massachusetts is headed by Governor David Patrick. African’s contributions are also seen in the corridors of justice as the US has had an African-American appointed to the Supreme Court justice to serve the people of US. An example is Clerence Thomas (Painter, 2006). Maya Angeluo, an African American, is also credited for having contributed greatly in the American society through her poetry and publications. She is among the African Americans who studied under extreme difficulty and attended a segregated school located in the country’s south. Nevertheless, her contribution in transforming the lives of Americans remains to be told for several years to come. African Americans have also been remarkable in the world of science through their inventions. One such is Lewis Temple, the inventor of Temple Toggle or Iroon, Ganville T Woods, the inventor of Synchronous Multiplex Railway Telegraph, and Lewis H. Latina, who invented the electric light bulbs just to name a few. Currently its is no secret that African American dominate the entertainment scene, a few example being Byonce, Jay Z, Neyo, Oprah Winfrey, and Chris Brown among others. In sports, we find the likes of former boxing champion Mohammad Ali, Michael Jordan, and currently great athletes like Sanya Richards Ross, Tyson Gay just to name a few (Trish, Monea and Tiffanie (n.d). Hispanic-Americans Hispanic or Latino Americans are U.S citizens whose origins are traced to countries such as Spain and Portugal. They are though to have arriiived in the States in the early days of 16th century, which makes them the second group to arrive in the US after the Native Americans. Hispanics are said to be so diverse racially, making them to be considered as an ethnic group rather than a race. As such, the term Hispanic is used to refer to those who hailed from Spain and as such Spanish speaking. The latest US census conducted in 2010 put the Hispanics population at about 45 million translating to around 16%. This makes them rank second largest minority ethnic group in the U.S. and is the fasted growing ethnic according to census. They reside mainly on the eastern part of the country (Kasturi, 2009). Like the Black Americans, the Hispanics are also said to have faced a lot of discrimination mainly from Native Americans. Hispanophobia is said to be the main challenge that they have been facing ever since they arrived in the US. In addition, they are said to be among the ethnic groups that have faced many problems such as poverty, education, and unemployment mainly due to the exclusion since time memorial. It is for these reasons that they took an active role during the civil war by teaming up mainly with their African counterparts and the like-minded Americans as a way of liberating the country from social, political, and economic injustices. It is after winning the civil war that they began getting significant recognition from the government and citizens, thereby breaking away from exclusion (The National Academies, 2006). Hispanics like their African counterparts have also contributed hugely to the development of the American society. There first contributions were witnessed through the roles they played during the Cuban War, Vietnam War, American Independence wars as well as during World War I and II (Eparza, 2010). Their contributions are also being felt in other fields such as science, politics, art, literature, business, sports, and technology. For instance, about 1.6 million businesses are said to be owned by Hispanics in the US according to the 2002 economic survey. Still in business, the likes of Robert Goizueta, the head of Coca Cola Company are of Spanish origin. Other prominent Spanish businessmen include Arte Moreno, the owner of Los Angeles Angels baseball club, Linda G. Alvarado, chief executive of Alvarado Construction just to name a few. In American politics, the likes of Bill Richardson, Joe Baca, and Ken Salazar among others feature prominently (Kasturi, 2009). Conclusion It is beyond dispute that the U.S. is among the most diverse nations globally with people drawn from diverse regions of the world. It is also evident that long before, the issue of diversity used to be a very big problem, which led to the exclusion of certain races and ethnics groups like the Africans and the Spanish people. As such, they had to fight very hard to get recognized by the Natives. This has seen the U.S. make remarkable progress in the country both economically, politically, and socially. In fact, it is because of inclusion that the U.S. can now be led by a black president. This serves as a teaching that people should be tolerant of other cultures, races and ethnics, and religions since everyone is uniquely created and has the potential of making positive contributions to the country’s development. References Boyd, T. (2008). African Americans and popular culture. Westport, CT: ABC-CLIO. Eparza, C. (2010). Hispanic contribution to the United States of America. Retrieved from: http://www.hispaniccontributions.org/pManager_E.asp?pid=home_E. Essed, P. (1996). Diversity: Gender, color, and culture. Boston, MA: University of Massachusetts Press. Graen, G.B. (2003). Dealing with diversity. Hoboken, NJ: IAP. Kasturi, S. (2009). The history, culture, and importance of Hispanic Americans. 6 Sep. Retrieved from: http://transpanish.biz/translation_blog/the-history-culture-and-importance-of-hispanic-americans/. Painter, N.I. (2006). Creating Black Americans: African-American history and its meanings, 1619 to the present. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. The National Academies (2006). Hispanics in America. Vol. 6 No. 2. Trish H. Monea B. & Tiffanie P. (n.d). Contributions of African Americans To American Society. Retrieved from: http://www.cyberlearning-world.com/nhhs/project/justus.htm. Read More