Is Hispanic a racial or ethnic category? Explain. How might this impact the status of the African/Black group, for example, in terms of whether it is the largest or second largest minority group?
Many people confuse racial and ethnic categories when it comes to the Hispanic group. But that is because many people do not know the difference between one’s race and one’s ethnicity. Unlike with ethnicity, one can only belong to one race. See, race is your biologically engineered features. It can include skin color, skin tone, eye and hair color, as well as a tendency toward developing certain diseases. It is not something that can be changed or disguised. People can however change or impersonate ethnicities through choice and principles. Ethnicity is about tradition, learned behavior and customs. It is about learning where you come from, and celebrating the traditions and ideas that are part of that region.(difference between ethnicity and race, n.d.). Thus, Hispanic would fall more into the ethnic category because the Hispanic group has no permanent physical characteristics, language or cultural norms. So a person of Hispanic decent can be Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race. Since Hispanic is not a racial group but an ethnic group, the Hispanic group comprise the largest minority group and the African/Black group comes in second as the second largest minority group. (cultural competency for the health professional)