Is Ethnicity still important

When I think about whether or not ethnicity is important in the 21st century I would say yes. Even though the American idea of ethnicity has been watered down it's still important to know ethnicities so we don't always judge people by their race. Knowing disparate ethnicities will help us gain people's history, culture and perspective on life easier. For example I knew a lady who looked African but I had asked her ethnicity and she told me she was Nigerian. We began to talk about her family and her brother's wedding and she said that in order for a marriage to follow through both the family members of the groom and bride must agree on the marriage. I thought this was interesting because I never heard of this practice before, but she went on to say this helps prevent divorce if your family doesn't agree on the spouse. I learned something new that day but only because someone wasn't embarrass to announce their ethnicity. I think people should take pride of who they are not just for self-esteem, but to challenge Jacobson idea of the racial barrier that we encounter still in the 21st century. I think if people express their ethnicities more it can break down this white vs. color barrier that we see or tolerate around us.
One thing that should be noticed is the fact that a lot of immigrates that look and claim to be white are actually still minorities if you break this majority Caucasian race down in today's society. In other words, showing how were all different will actually strengthen how we identify on an individual level to strengthen our humanity towards others.