Discussion Questions

  1. What does the term “race” make you think of? Are you comfortable talking about race with your family or friends? Why or why not? What is your race? How do you see race as similar and/or different from ethnicity?
     
  2. Racial categories have real social consequences. Imagine you were born a different race. How would your life change? Would you have gone to the same schools? Would your parents have the same occupations? Would you have dated the same people over time? How would this influence the goals you set for yourself personally and professionally? Explain.
     
  3. There are thousands of individuals living in the United States who crossed borders without documentation and who continue to reside within the borders of the United States. How might the status of lacking documentation amplify feelings of marginalization within their communities or society more broadly? How do you think this might influence their sense of racial/ethnic identity? If it were possible for them to “pass” as white, do you think they should? Why or why not?