Concept of Race

Race
I am an African- American (because that is how I am defined within our social construct) who is of Blackfoot Indian and Irish decent (and probably many others which I do not have the pleasure of knowing). Its interesting to me that when we begin to consider the concept our race
having been born and raised in Cincinati, Ohio, USA, my subconscious constant is White. So even though I am "African-American", my perspective or standpoint when discussing race or making the comparison is that of my own race (because I am me) but truly that of my own race as it relates to the White race. This isn't exclusive to African-Americans...I think that all races do it. At least in the area where I am from. I think that race provides a lens through which we are categorized, be it wrong or right. Keeping in mind my 2ndLife Avatar was damn near exactly like me...for the most part (excluding a few direct sexual advances) my experiences and interactions weren't that out of the ordinary for me. Come to think abt. it I've had quite a few inappropriate advances in RL too. LMAO. But, I digress...If we have learned that peoples initial perception of you is determined in less than 30 seconds after seeing you then Race has to play a factor. We all have been guilty of re-telling a story to a close friend or family member and either volunteering or having them ask, when inquiring about the story characters..."What color was s/he? Why? Because we have learned that it means something in terms of the context. It lends to the complete understanding of the story. There are prejudices that we all project on one another based upon what we see... one of the things we see being race. Within the university setting...despite having been here from 1992-1997 and again for the past year, I know that when I hear the wheels of the custodian's trash can rolling down a UC hall...there's a 99.99999999% chance that they are going to be African-American. I know that when I go to one of the many computer labs on campus, theres an 80% chance that the lab attendee is going to be of Indian decent (and male) the other 19%+ will be white males. I know that UC invited students to test their 2ndLife world for pay a few months ago. Now, while I couldn't figure out enough about 2ndLife to immerse myself into college life online because I was unwilling to pay, it would have been interesting to see if these specific positions were available and to see how the 2ndLife employees compared to the RL employees.

What this means to me
I have been very fortunate to have had an exposure that has allowed me to be all of who I am and as a result have a firm, sound grasp on Race, what it does and doesn't mean to me but more importantly what it does and doesn't mean to others. I grew up in a middle class mixed race neighborhood (Silverton, Ohio), went to a mixed race school (The School for Creative and Performing Arts) where all genders, races, talents and forms of expression were not only welcomed but learning about one another was not only welcomed but encourages. However, II went from this experience to Brookhaven, Mississippi to spend each Summer on my grandparents farm with all of my other cousins. This was a place where as a child I have a vivid memory of my grandmother (who at that time was well in her 60's) was referred to as "girl" by the White store clerk who appeared to be all of 18 years old if that. I noticed how my grandmothers posture and tone would change when engaging Southern whites and didn't quite understand at that time, but now I get it. While there is nothing that is real about the social construct of Race because we have all seen individuals myself being one of them who do not appear as one or more of the Races that they are...it becomes "real" because we acknowledge it to be so. With this acknowlegement comes the pre-determined adjectives that determine how we define it and results in how we deal with it....wrong or right. Moving beyond our own concepts of Race will foster our own growth that will hopefully lead to a collective progression beyond....what we think we know to what it fact and actually known.