Personal Reflection on Race, Ethnicity, and Health: An Essay

This essay presents a personal reflection on the impact of race, ethnicity, and health. The author shares their experiences with racial discrimination and marginalization, highlighting how these factors have shaped their worldview and life choices. The essay discusses the author's early awareness of racial disparities, influenced by observations in their childhood and educational experiences. It also explores the subconscious biases that can influence individual choices, and the author's observations of racial inequalities in education, employment, and housing. The author emphasizes the importance of equal opportunities, regardless of racial background, to foster societal progress. The essay references academic sources to support these reflections, providing a comprehensive analysis of race, ethnicity, and health.

Running Head: RACE, ETHNICITY, AND HEALTH 1
Race, Ethnicity, and Health
Name:
Institution

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My awareness of race and ethnicity happened in two distinct stages of awakening and
reawakening. Having being born in Nigeria in a black family, I understood through an
awakening that the white people tended to have more than us. This happened sometime back
when I was in middle school, and the white students tended to be doing much better than us from
the black background. It was at this point that I believed that race and ethnicity mattered, but my
reasons were purely based on the belief that it was the natural way of things and it has always
been like that. I believed the white students had more because that is how the world was. I did
learn a little history of Jim Crow South and the black segregation and black enslavement, but I
understood them as history and not a continuous order of things (Black & Fernando, 2014).
Additionally, I studied about discrimination and racism and I would mindlessly think of the idea
of the white man keeping the blacks down, but this was more of a pose than the actual
understanding of the real world. It took me some time to gradually grasp the reality of things.
Back in grad school, I read a lot of articles and books on ethnicity, racism, black marginalization
and discrimination and this become apparent as more of a historical process than an academic
process. I tend to understand how black communities have been marginalized because of their
skin color, and that the whites did better than us blacks because of the structure they created for
their advantage.
Ethnicity and race have largely influenced my life. I am living with the discrimination of
belonging to a group of marginalized societies based on my skin color. Worldwide, people have
been known to make subconscious decisions based on the racial group they belong to. Most
people have preferences of the ethnicity they belong to over other ethnicities (Fairlie, Hoffmann
& Oreopoulos, 2014). Practically, regardless of a high level of education among many people in
the world, there is inequity based on the racial group one belongs and as much as there have been

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calls against racism and protest against the same, we still cannot stop being racists. Racism is
practiced subconsciously all around the world. My race has made me rely more on choosing
black people like my friend since we mostly practice the same culture and same beliefs, and they
are more likely to understand my perspectives. I have experienced some instances of racial
discrimination in my life. Having being educated, I am sure my fellow students and members of
academic staff and faculties highly oppose racial inequalities but some consciously practice
racial and ethnic discriminations which is very saddening and inappropriate. Sometimes I find it
hard that after meeting all the requirements of a particular thing, I failed to make the requirement
just because of my skin color. The society has labeled an ideal racial group and this affects
employment, education, and housing with the white majorities mostly being favored among other
racial groups. Base on my experiences, has informed the choice I make and I believe everyone
deserves equal opportunity regardless of racial incline and that’s how progress can be made.

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References
Black, D. S., & Fernando, R. (2014). Mindfulness training and classroom behavior among lower-
income and ethnic minority elementary school children. Journal of child and family
studies, 23(7), 1242-1246.
Fairlie, R. W., Hoffmann, F., & Oreopoulos, P. (2014). A community college instructor like me:
Race and ethnicity interactions in the classroom. American Economic Review, 104(8),
2567-91.