Race Within a Race

What associations come to mind with the phrase “race within a race”? Many relate it to the subdivision that has been created amongst many races. Others relate it to the obstacles that an individual might personally face. I heard a young lady proclaim her ethnicity the other day. Verifying the fact that she was Caribbean seemed to be an imperative part of her. Maybe it was just the circumstance she was in at the time but nevertheless, it made me wonder. Why is it that most people of color usually state their ethnicity or their nationality instead of their actual race? When conversing about race, why do people look for specific differences that make them stand out from the rest?

On January 20^th, 2009, our nation swore in its very first African American President. With the support of many, history has now been altered in a myriad of ways extending its hand out to open possibilities of change and renewal. This occurrence has recently given me a better understanding of the potential our people have. We look around and sometimes all we see are bits and pieces of an action being enforced instead of the whole thing together. This also goes for the way we think as a whole. We constantly see subdivisions being the main focus these days. It has led me to believe that at this most crucial point and time, many races, whether it by Black or white, have created division within their ethnicity. Without realizing it, we have individualized ourselves in so many ways dealing with race just so that we can stand out in any way possible. For instance the young lady I mentioned seemed to think it was important that she declare her ethnicity as a Caribbean woman.

Every day you see people distinguishing themselves from their common race and it’s not to say that this is wrong but the real suspicion I had about this subdivision is does it hurt races as a whole instead of pushing them forward in these rough times? Through seeing this joyous occasion of having Barack Obama as our president, we have come to understand how important sticking together as one has impacted our lives. It is mentioned in newspapers about how much of a change President Obama will make in developing this country. Then you hear all of the hopeful remarks about his strength and how his victory will one day smash out all of the many stereotypical remarks made about colored people. The phrase “race within a race” can be taken negatively.

          
          A novel I read last semester entitled Bodega Dreams by Ernesto Quinonez presented how much of an impact categorizing a race can have on society. In a section of this fictional novel, the main character spoke about how segmented his Latino culture was. The way Cubans looked down on the Puerto Ricans opened up the theme of isolation. This theme showed the intense difference Cubans and Puerto Ricans thought they had. In a short quote of the book Quinonez inserts an argument to push the theme of Isolation. He wrote “Dejesus, the shorter and therefore fatter of the two officers showed his nails. You and me have nothing in common, he sneered. I’m Cuban, you’re Puerto Rican.” From this quote you can see the agonizing separation that the Latino culture had to deal with and this conflict also goes for other colored people.
          
        The way many Caribbean people see themselves different from African Americans is another example of this “race within a race”. Will it take the coming of an African American president to change the way various races think? Even though we want to stand out amongst others like ourselves, will isolation further push us away from our goals? Its up to those who think it wrong. As for now, we can only hope.  

--Originally published at CCNY in The Paper (The Black History Edition), Feb, 2009