Defining Diversity [was Describing Diversity]
From: Sharon Villines (sharonsharonvillines.com)
Date: Sun, 18 Sep 2016 10:56:22 -0700 (PDT)
(I put this in a separate message to the group because I was afraid it would 
get lost at the end of my previous post on race and diversity.)

A very clear source that defines the differences between Race, Ethnicity, 
Nationality, and Culture is on the TheyDiffer.com website that compares things. 
I found it when looking up the difference between culture and ethnicity. 

https://hec.su/eHv7

I think this makes the differences clear and provides language for describing 
diversity in your community. I also want to say that a community can only be as 
diverse as the geographic area. Unless you import people you can only reflect 
your environment.

I’ll copy in an edited version of the distinctions for those not interested 
enough to go to the site, but the website also has a map showing skin color 
distribution, a comparison chart, a video, and links to related pages.

RACE refers to a group of people who possess similar and distinct physical 
characteristics. Originally, it was first used to describe speakers of a common 
language, but by the 17th century it began to be more about one’s physical 
characteristics such as skin color or hair type. In other words, race 
constitutes a human population that is distinct in a way from other human 
groups based on their physical differences, imagined or not.

ETHNICITY or ethnic group refers to a category of people who regard themselves 
to be different from other groups based on common ancestral, cultural, 
national, and social experience. That being said, ethnicity is primarily an 
inherited status. One must share a common cultural heritage, ancestry, history, 
homeland, language/dialect, mythology, ritual, cuisine, art, religion, and 
physical appearance to be considered as a member of an ethnic group. This was 
recognized as such in the 19th century.

NATIONALITY pertains to the country of citizenship meaning it generally refers 
to where a person was born and holds citizenship. It is the legal relationship 
between a person and a sovereign state (A nonphysical juridical entity that is 
represented by one centralized government). It is often mistaken for ethnicity, 
due to the fact that some languages refer to it as an ethnic group that is not 
defined by political borders and passport ownership.

CULTURE is the way of life that consists of the general customs and beliefs of 
a particular group of people. It generally means the non-biological or social 
aspects of human life which is basically anything that humans learn in a 
society. A bit similar to ethnicity, but is often used to refer specifically to 
the symbolic markers used by ethnic groups to distinguish themselves visibly 
from each other.

Sharon
----
Sharon Villines
Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
http://www.takomavillage.org





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