Racial Autobiography Essay

Queens is one of the most diverse boroughs in New York. There is just about every ethnicity living in it. Growing up in Queens I adapted to the diverse environment at a very young age. Living in a diverse environment impacted my way of thinking and the way I act towards others. Public schools depending on the area are typically very diverse. Although I lived in a predominately Caucasian area the schools that I attended from K-12 were very diverse. Along with diversity my public schooling treated everyone fairly disregarding gender and sexual orientation. Before I moved to queens I lived in Washington heights which mainly had people who were of my race. Schooling in Washington heights compared to schooling in my neighborhood

Even in our preschool years, we are exposed to misinformation about people different from ourselves.” From an early age, we start to pick up certain stereotypes of different races other than our own. We over hear these stereotypes from everywhere. Being in such a diverse environment and having attended very diverse school’s I am aware of all the different stereotypes but I learned to not judge anyone based on what is said about them. People who do not live in a culturally diverse area may be ethnocentric. Tatum also suggests that “the unexamined prejudices of the parents are passed on to the children. It is not our fault, but it Is our responsibility to interrupt this cycle.” Prejudices of other races based on what your family believes is something that should not be carried on because it is ignorant to assume certain things about someone’s race that you may in reality know nothing about. I agree with this quote because every race in some way will almost always feel superior to another race. Instead of feeling this sense of ethnocentrism and agreeing with the prejudices that were told from our generations we should be more open to learning about other races. What drew my attention reading Tatum’s first chapter was the fact that she addressed stereotype and