Is ethnicity still important to white ethnic racial groups in the 21st century?

Someone previously posted saying that America is considered a 'melting pot' and I personally agree with this statement; without people bringing their own, different cultures and traditions, America wouldn't be the place that so many immigrants were once dreaming of. 

During the Superbowl yesterday, Coca-Cola had a commercial that ended up being pretty controversial. Different people sang "America the Beautiful" in different languages and a lot of people were offended by this. This shows how some things don't really change: some 'true' Americans believe that only English should be used here and that if you don't speak 'our language,' then you need to get out. 

That being said, I think that ethnicity is important to white ethnic racial groups, just as long as it's what is considered the right ethnicity. 

"Is ethnicity still important to white ethnic racial groups in the 21st century?"

   An overall answer to this question would probably be, no, ethnicity is not as important to white racial groups in the 21st century as is was to those people who were immigrating to the United States many years ago. If you were to ask most white people today what their exact ethnicity is they would more than likely not know or simply say white. I think that it has lost its importance to many people because the traditions and pride associated with the different ethnicities seems to be fading. I also think that many people do not understand the true difference between race and ethnicity, but will claim that they are white often because they feel that it may give them more privileges over other races or ethncities. Luckily though there are still some white ethnic groups in the 21st century who still carry on their individual traditions to keep their ethnic racial group thriving.

Jacobson, Chapters 6, 7,and Epilogue, Images, & Video Clips

Some main points of Jacobson (6,7, Epilogue)

1. 1840-1920 was a time of expansion, especially in regards to land (pg. 204)
2. The discourse of "savages" is used to justify hierarchy and racial distinctions; American and those deemed American asserted as the antithesis to "savage" (page 205)
3. The term Anglo Saxon extended to differentiate between Anglos, Mexicans, and Celts (the Irish) (pg. 206)
4. Chinese Exclusion act furthered the idea of those deemed others not being "fit for government." (211)
5. Republican Ideology laid the groundwork for which "others" would be understood; created anxieties about those who were seen as undesirable (pg. 220)
6. Courts acted as a barrier to citizenship and by association whiteness (pg. 223)
7. Being fit for property status was added to being fit for government in legal rhetoric about who was afforded citizenship (224); courts created authority through their rulings on who was designated "white" (225; 244)
8. Racial dissonance, class antagonisms, and at times, ethnic revival, arose in the 20th century (276)
9. Some groups profess not to "feel" like a part of a racial group; race as a disadvantage arises in the discourse
10. Transcauscasia a possible solution (280)

Blackboard Jungle (1955)

Ethnicity and Class Presented as Undesirable, Unruly, Unfit for Government?:
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Over-characterizng Difference & A Discussion of the Cultural Work and Havoc of Epithets
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How do these "cartoons" present various ethnic groups and their immigration to the US? What signs of difference are used to denote the ethnicity of characters and nationality? What do you think would be the result of the dissemination of such images? What does our author say about the use of such images?

"Is ethnicity still important to white ethnic racial groups in the 21st century?"

I think that to a degree it is still important, but on a more personal level with individuals. Since people who are cast as "white" or  Caucasian, an individuals background or ethnicity ins't as upfront as it was 100 years ago. In the past, someone who was white or Caucasian may have been labeled more with their ethnic background. Instead of "white," you may have been Irish, German, or Polish. In the world today, if you were to ask the same question, most would probably say white or Caucasian. 

When I say it is more personal in todays world I am relating it to family history. This is even important to me because when I've been told about my family history, I am always told of our strong German background and that relatives are still continuing the family tradition back over in Europe. I think this same idea applies to others whether they may have great grandparents who immigrated from Poland, Germany, Ireland, or even Russia. So is it still important? In the regard of family history and background, I say yes.

Ethnic Racial Groups 

    I think that ethnicity is not very important to white ethnic racial groups as much as it was around 100 years ago.  Nowadays we tend to use ethnicity as defining a race.  Back 100 years ago typical "white" ethnic groups such as the irish, english, and germans would not associate themselves with each other and being white.  Nowadays if you put a person of irish, english, and german descent side by side and told any American to describe their race, the most likely answer would be white.  In conclusion, I think it is not important to ethnic white groups as it was in the past and that the term "ethnic" is becoming a new definition for the term Race in the United States.

Is Ethnicity Still Important?

I believe that ethnicity is important to some people of white ethnic racial groups, but not the majority of them. When I come across people who ask me what my ethnicity is, I reply back with the fact that I'm Kazakh. And yet, they are so surprised that I speak English very fluently and "act American," making them question if I am "Americanized" or if I actually speak the Kazakh language. I, along with many people I know of European descent, do take into account our ethnicity in this country and consider ourselves, Kazakh-American, or Polish-American, or Norwegian-American. We eat food/meals that are considered traditional foods from our home country, and we can speak the language to communicate with family members. However, there are many Americans who don't necessarily care which country they are descendants from, and could care less, which is very unfortunate. When I ask what their ethnicity is, they either respond back with "I'm American.. well, I mean, I'm white" or "I actually don't know.. ask my parents haha."

In regards to the political cartoon above, as a Kazakh-American myself, I end up celebrating New Years twice a year; January 1st and March 21st. :) 

Ethnicity as tradition, not identification

I believe that ethnicity is still very important in the 21st century to white ethnic races, however, it is important to the continued practices of each ethnic group's heritage and tradition, not for identifying them racially.  As Jacobson points out throughout Whiteness of a Different Color, the early 20th century was filled with discrimination based on "race," but in reality it was based on ethnic background.  The "white race" was made up of Anglo-Saxons who instead of seeing Euro-ethinic groups as one white race, saw them individually as several different races.  Fast forward to the 21st century and the euro-ethnic groups that were discriminated against, now fall under the same general category of "caucasian." This is important because as Jacobson points out in chapter 4 "One set of racial perceptions does not clearly give way to the next"(142).  This also goes along with the "race as a conceptual category" vs "race as a perceptual category" argument.  In today's society, we can look at anyone and get a pretty good understanding of what race they are.  However, we can not tell a person's ethnic background based on observation alone.  Understanding a person's ethnic background can help us get a better understanding of their beliefs and behavior. So, to reanswer the original question, yes ethnicity is still important in the 21st century because it can explain a person's interests, actions, and character better than "race" can, and it is those factors that the early settlers should have used as a basis for a person's "fitness for self-government"(42).

Below is a picture of soccer star Mario Balotelli, an Italian citizen of African descent.  Clearly, he would fall under the "black" racial category, but he was raised as an Italian by his Italian adoptive parents.  I feel that he is a perfect example of how ethnicity is still important in today's society because even though he can only be perceived as "black," his ethnicity is reflected through his soccer playing career, being that soccer is a huge tradition in Italy.