Ethnicity and Race

Ethnicity is a term used to describe a way of categorising people based on a range of different characteristics, ranging from the geographical region they are from, their faith/religion, as well as the language they speak, heritage and customs.

Race is a term used to describe a way of categorising people based on various physical characteristics such as skin colour and ascribing social meaning and significance to that group. People’s perception of Race in society is heavily influenced by internalised biases - by how we are taught from a young age to perceive people of races different to our own, by society and the people around us. Equally, it is important to acknowledge the negative effects that racial prejudice and discrimination/racism has. We as allies should all work hard to educate ourselves to be aware of why and how other’s life experiences may be different to our own, and how this can impact the way that people move through the world.

(See: Biracial/Multiracial and Racism)