Shanna Lehman

Cultural Identity Reflection Paper

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Cultural Identity Reflection Paper
Who I am; my beliefs, values, morals, and views on diversity are shaped based upon my
upbringing, the values within society, and the norms adopted by our culture. However, I cant
only thank these sources for whom I am; my own personal experiences and feelings have had a
huge impact on my cultural views. My biases; I am aware of them (good), but they exist, and to
some may seem bad. I want to take you on a journey inside my path to cultural identity.
I think I was a pretty easy going teen growing up; as long as I had my eye liner and my
eclectic group of friends by my side, it was going to be a good day. I went to school (preschool-
12th grade) in a small community, predominantly white. There were maybe a handful of African
Americans in my school, but one of my closest friends, Shilo, was bi-racial. Hartford is a small
town, and is segregated to an obvious degree. Over by Stop n Rob (actually Stop n Go, but
because of the area, it got a nickname), is the ghetto of town; the low income housing, and
where most (and not much at that) of the crimes happened. These facts aside, I never grew up
thinking the White race was above any other; I dont remember any acts of racism occurring
within my community growing up.
Americas had an impact on my cultural views; both good and bad. Good: I never had
much exposure to the gay/lesbian culture growing up, yet I always admired and supported their
fight for equal rights. I think America has shed light upon the idea of equality among gay
marriage, and has only strengthened my already supportive view. The bad: September 11, 2001. I
dont need to go into details about the tragic events that took place that day, but that did
drastically change my views of different cultures. As America started to fear them, I started to
look at Afghans and Palestinians differently. It opened my eyes to the bigger picture: unknown
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cultural differences. To the bombers of 9/11, they were getting a one way ticket to a pleasant
after-life; to me, they are cold blooded murderers that deserve nothing but the worst.
The schools I attended growing up always promoted equality; I saw nothing different. It
wasnt until college that my eyes opened even wider to the differences among cultures. When
trying to apply for scholarships, I found several scholarships for single African American
women, and African Americans in general, yet I found no White scholarships; nothing given
specifically to my race to help us better our futures. Within college, I notice a very liberal
attitude; equal rights and happy endings. I DO NOT consider myself racist (liberal in certain
areas), but with my views and opinions differing in areas of cultural diversity, I find myself
feeling like I am wrong for having the feelings and attitudes I do; I shouldnt as they are mine to
own.
Growing up in a smaller town, my grandparents being very set in their traditions and
beliefs, I was raised hearing things that I disagree with today. My grandma, bless her soul, has
told me since I was old enough to date, that if I ever brought an African American man home,
she would disown me. In the bible, according to her, it is a sin to date outside ones race. Even
today, I have to defend my openness to cultural diversity to her. I dont take offense to her
words; I know she was raised in times when that mind set was considered ok. I guess one
could say that I feel I learned how NOT to view the world from my family. My family traditions
I hold dear to my heart, and I feel those traditions showed me the importance of family and
having a sense of belonging.
As stated prior, growing up, I never saw any racist acts take place; I never saw America
as being racist. As I am growing up, I am seeing things differently. Starting with 9/11, and the
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effects that followed that day, scholarship hunting, presidential situations, and now the idea that
the White man is to blame for racism (and all the problems that has caused), I feel like my own
cultural experiences have done more than enough to shape who I am today. While I dont have
many different cultural experiences, I would like to take the time to consider my culture run-ins.
I have already described 9/11 and scholarship issues, but I must say that I was shocked when the
2008 election took place. I have NEVER voted republican, but during the 2008 election, I felt I
had no choice. Here was a man (Obama), running for president, when he had no real political
experience, and to me, had no real promise of a better future, but he won. Headlines swarmed
with the fact that people were voting for Obama (for racial reasons) that have never voted in their
life. I was disappointed, but what put the final stake in the coffin was when I was considered
racist because I didnt vote for Obama. The fact that I had to defend myself against racism in a
presidential election infuriates me (to this day).
As far as us white people go vs. racism: it is a two way street! Are there White racists
out there? Yes. Are there African American racists out there? Yes. I do not feel comfortable
going into all of my views in this area because I feel like if I say what I feel, I will be considered
racist, and be doomed in the counseling field. What I am going to say on this topic is this:
slavery happened many years ago; was it awful? Yes. Does that warrant a race their own
magazine, TV channel, award show, and college funds? Ummm no.
My cultural and family biases that shaped who I am today? Well, my family feels the
same way I do on many issues surrounding cultural diversity, so I guess maybe I did get some of
my views from them. I never really thought about this, but they have always made it clear that
African Americans still cry slavery and oppression, yet they have the same rights, and in some
aspects, more than we do. My family is very pro-closed American borders (as am I); they feel
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immigrants come into America, and get the world handed to them (housing and food assistance
at the least). I want to say thank you Mr. Lotto for asking this question. It has opened my eyes to
the idea that family and cultural biases are handed down generation to generation, and some may
not even be aware of it. While I dont see it as a bad thing, I understand.
My own cultural identity and biases could probably consist of a small book, both good
and bad. I have been as honest in this paper as I feel comfortable being, but to sum up my biases,
I will say this: I think people need to stop crying victim, and start making an honest lives for
themselves. Color aside, everyone has their own struggles; not everyone cries discrimination.
My biases are mine, and mine alone. I respect others opinions, as long as they are not
saying those White people (I feel they are generalizing). I think, just like values and morals,
there is a time and a place to voice my feelings, but when working with a client, that is not the
time or place. I think I would struggle if someone came in and cried victim due to racial
discrimination issues. I could see myself trying to help them see that rather than looking at the
situation as being victimized, look at it as an opportunity to overcome a hurdle in their life. I
dont know if this is good or bad, but I would try and empathize with their situation, while not
giving sympathy.
I think there are benefits to having cross cultural relationships. Every culture has their
own beliefs and ways of thinking; by having an open mind to others perspectives, you open
your eyes to opportunities. An opportunity to see the world through anothers eyes; maybe
helping you see things differently (better or worse), and making changes within yourself/actions.
Keeping an open mind to others is very important if you want to be able to understand, and
empathize with culturally diverse situations.
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There are a vast ore of opportunities from which someone can gain cultural diversity
understanding, and determine any biases. I think it is important that people become aware of
their feelings toward diversity, as well as acknowledge the positive and negative. I am not going
to sit here and say that I have no biases; I am both aware of them, and understand where they
stem from (this paper helped). In a world full of cultural diversity, it is more important now than
ever that people come to grips with their feelings/attitudes towards others of different ethnicities
and cultures. I do hope to gain some type of understanding as to what/why different cultures feel
discrimination from White people. I dont see it, and in certain aspects I feel it is the other way
around, so hopefully Diversity in Counseling will shed some light for me (I just need to keep an
open mind and try not to get defensive).