Running head: CULTURAL IMMERSION

Cultural Immersion: 3 Different Races, 3 Different Experiences

Tiffany Moore
South University

CULTURAL IMMERSION: 3 DIFFERENT RACES

Abstract
This paper will discuss three different races/ethnicities that are different from the counselor. They
will entail a Nigerian woman, Biracial male and a White female. While comparing the three
different races, this paper will discuss how the author has had any biases or stereotypes, as well
as the difference and similarities between the three races and her own. Using three different
sources to support her article, the author will be able to the cultural ignorance of herself and
other races.
Keywords: Nigeria, Nigerian, Racism, sexism, black, white, stereotypes, culture,
ignorance.

3 Different Races, 3 Different Experiences

Besides Darwin's survival of the fitus, "The unifying principle of biology today, is that all
species are related to one another like sisters, cousins, and distant kin in a vast family tree of life
(Pontzer, 2012)." If humans were to go back in time, there will find a link between all species of
animals to themselves. Evolution is a major part of life, and is the foundation of the animal

CULTURAL IMMERSION: 3 DIFFERENT RACES

species that are living on the Earth in 2016. Based on science, it is known that humans have a
close relationship with chimpanzees and bonobos (Pontzer, 2012). Humans have evolved from
chimpanzees to Ardipithecus, Australopithecus, homo erectus and homo sapiens (humans). Not
one human, in science has different base genes. All humans have the same base physical features,
(two eyes, one nose, one mouth etc...), however, throughout life, people have always been
different based not only the color of their skin, or their hair, but also their culture.
Culture plays a major role in everyone's lives. Some people know what their culture
entails, and other deny having a culture because they are mixed with multiple culture. Culture is
not only the ethnicity and race when people are born, but it is also moral, values and family
systems that are instilled in their lives. Everyone's definition of culture is different, this authors
definition of culture, and cultural values differ from others in many different ways. In order to
understand other cultures own backgrounds and different thought patterns, this author had to
immerse herself into their lives. Due to her inability to go to an event, this author interviewed
three of her co-workers of three different races, Nigerian, Biracial and Italian Czechoslovakian
mix. While interviewing these 3 co-workers, she learned about her own biases and stereotypical
thoughts that she had prior to communicating with them, and how to be culturally competent.
An interview with a Nigerian Woman
JN is a 36-year-old Nigerian woman. She is a mother of 2 children and has been married
for a number of years. In her family is very important to get married and have children. Her
family is not complete without children. With that being said, sex should not be done until they
are married, however that does not mean people do not have sex outside of marriage. One should
even show affection in public in her culture. She is only to show affection to her children and to

CULTURAL IMMERSION: 3 DIFFERENT RACES

her close family members when around others. That would mainly be hugs and kisses on the
cheeks.
When it comes to gender, the man in her culture is the primary provider, however that
does not mean that the woman should not help provide as well. The woman also mainly takes
care of the kids and the home. JN takes religion very serious and she practices by going to
church every Sunday. She is Christian and wants her children to grow up with the same values
and religious views. Christmas is a very important holiday and according to JN, it is the best time
of the year.
When meeting with JN, she explained to this author that the pictures that people see on
social media is not how Africa truly looks. She stated that like America, there are buildings and
streets and roads. JN told the author during the interview that Nigeria is a beautiful country and it
is completely different from America. She stated that in Africa people have a misconception that
everyone is poor, starving and in need of Aid. They also think that Africa has a bunch of people
walking around naked while animals roam free. However, to even see animals, you must travel
long distances to see them.
One way that she stated that America differed from Nigeria is that the children are not
disrespectful. JN stated that in America people are selfish and do not care for others. She stated
that this country is very individualized and people do not care for the older people. In her
country, once someone becomes older, they are taken care of by the family and the community.
Even anyone with high status, like teachers or parents must have a lot of respect in her country.
When talking about education and language, her primary language in her country is
English. She stated that there are 250 cultural languages in her country, and she loved to teach
her children about those different languages. She wants her children to learn about the origins of

CULTURAL IMMERSION: 3 DIFFERENT RACES

those languages and also be able to communicate with their extended family members. Education
is also very important within her culture. If you are educated then you can achieve a lot in life,
and achieve success. Education in her culture was not the only time she mentioned teaching
people, when discussing racism, JN described being a victim of racism.
She stated that people assume because she is from Africa she is not educated and has had
people tell her to go back to her country. Some people believe that she is in this country illegally,
even though she has her papers. She stated that if people were educated then racism would not
exist and people will not always believe in stereotypes. She stated, People who have traveled
outside of the United States, met and mingled with other culture always have a welcoming
attitude. Their judgement is not clouded by information in the media. JN stated that she
experiences racism every day and people look down on her and judge her all because of the color
of her skin and because she is African. However, she does not take anything personal because she
knows that it is ignorance.
JN wants people to know that in her culture helping others and having a welcoming
attitude is very important. Also, respect is very important, no one should call anyone by their first
name. If someone were to talk to someone close, they call them brother or sister. If they do not
know the person, they are called Mr or Ms. Respect is highly prominent in her culture.
An Interview with a Biracial Male
When interview KS, he was more reserved with his answers. He did not elaborate on his
answers; however, he was able to answer the questions as much as he could. KS is a 28-year-old
Biracial male (White and African American) born and raised in Orlando Florida. He is a father
and in a long term relationship. In his family, it is important to have children because it gives
people a better purpose in life. He grew up catholic, and wants his children to have a good

CULTURAL IMMERSION: 3 DIFFERENT RACES

relationship with God. Easter is the most important holiday because not only does it celebrate the
resurrection of Jesus Crist, but it is also a great day to celebrate with the children. English is the
primary language in his culture and education is very important. When someone is educated then
they will be able to have success in their life.
When asked about culture and his own definition, he stated that he does not identify with
a culture. When asked why, he stated it is because he is bi racial. Although being bi racial he did
not experience any gender or racial biases, however he has experience police racism. He believes
that with more social interaction, racism will not be an issues, it just takes educating people and
teaching them not to fear others.
In his culture, one of the misconceptions that he has had to deal with his that all bi racial
children have both parents. He stated that like everyone else in the world, some people that are bi
racial do not have both parents, and a lot of people believe that if he is half white, then that
means his parents are still together. His culture physical contact is acceptable, believes in honesty
and respect. Vulgar language towards women is not acceptable. He wants to instill this in his
children, to not only be respectful to women but to also be respectful to others. When asked is
there anything specific that he would like to share, he stated that he did not.
An Interview with an Italian and Czechoslovakian Woman
SH is a 51-year-old Italian and Czechoslovakian woman. She is a mother of two sons and
is also a grandmother. She was adopted when she was 2 months old, and so was her brother.
When discussing what culture means to her, she explained that she did not take on her culture
that she was born into, but rather the culture that she was raised. She states that she is the one
who holds the most status in her family because she is the oldest child, the care taker and the
person who settles all of the problems. In her family, it is important to obtain good academic

CULTURAL IMMERSION: 3 DIFFERENT RACES

standings, however it is not enforced. Her mother is southern Baptist and her father does not
follow a religion. When asked about her religion, she stated she believes in God but does not
follow a certain religion.
SH stated that in her family, Thanksgiving and Christmas are two of the most important
holidays to celebrate. She stated that she loves to be in the kitchen and bake. She has baked and
cooked so much, that it was passed down to her sons, and one of her sons went to culinary
school. With her children she never forced a religion on them, and wanted to instill in them
family values, honesty and good manners. She wants her children to love people no matter their
race and to always be kind.
SH mother and father are both racist. She stated that they will say racist comments at
home, but never say anything to anyones face. When her son had her grandchild with his black
girlfriend, SHs mother stated, oh shes going to have nappy hair. She stated that as she was
growing up she used to follow in her parents footsteps, however after realizing that she has a
choice, she started to create her own path. She has been called a WOP, which is a racial slur
towards Italians. She feels that if people stop being ignorant and start to be open minded and
learn that they have a choice in life, and not follow their parents, racism will be lowered.
SH stated that although she has had a rough life, she is grateful that she was adopted
because not everyone had been able to have a family and be adopted.
Reaction to this Experience
This author has gone through different biases and stereotypes within her cultural. Because
with his of two different background being Black and Puerto Rican, and has been told that she
should know how to speak Spanish. Also, because she is black, she should know that black
people are loud and ghetto, however this author does not act ghetto. It is hard to have people

CULTURAL IMMERSION: 3 DIFFERENT RACES

come to someone and tell them how they should act or how they do not act according to their
race. People have a ignorant mind set, and sometimes even the person who goes through biases
and prejudice also have their own biases and prejudices.
While doing these interviews, this author was amazed about everything she was learning
about these three very different yet similar people. Although they all have differences in terms of
their races, the way that they want their children to be raised. Family and manners seemed to be
one of the things that they agreed on with raising their children. All three have also dealt with
racism in their life, and all believe that education would help with racism.
When talking to JN this author learned a lot about Nigerian Culture. It was interesting to
know that in Africa, there are 250 different languages and animals are not always roaming the
streets. Not once, did this author know that there were so many different languages in Africa, and
when JN told this author about that fact, this author was shocked in disbelief.
Whereas for KS, I found it interesting that he stated bi racial children do not always have
both parents. This author believed that people in bi racial families usually have both parents in
their lives mainly because the media portrays whites and blacks so differently. Even in KS
mannerisms, if someone were to speak to him on the phone, they would not believe that he is
half white.
For SH, this counselor never expected to hear that her parents are racist. The idea that
racism exist and to have someone bring it to light, has really been an eye opener. The fact that
she was able to educate herself and decided that she was not going to continue their racial
ideations is amazing.
The fact that this counselor believed that she understood culture and did not have any
prejudice or biases towards other culture, it shows that she has some cultural incompetence. The

CULTURAL IMMERSION: 3 DIFFERENT RACES

continued growth in the number of individuals and families form diverse background challenges
counselors ability to meet the needs of a growing and diverse society (Ahmed, Wilson,
Henriksen, & Jones, 2011). The fact that the world is constantly changing and people are
evolving, it is important for a counselor to have a cultural competence and research as well as get
involved in different cultures so that they will be culturally sensitive.
Competence Counselor Role
It is important to understand that being sensitive to others cultures is very important,
Cultural competence us an ethical obligation and that crosscultural skills should be placed on a
level of parity with other specialized therapeutic skills (Sue, Zane, Hall, & Berger, 2009). It is
ethically important for a counselor to be competent when working with their client. If a
counselor is culturally insensitive it will do more harm to the client that good, and one of the
goals of therapy is do no harm. Having a better understanding of these three different cultures, it
is important to understand that not everyone can relate to a culture because they have either been
adopted or they have more than once race. Whereas some people who have grown into a culture
identify their own culture and are able to tell someone about their culture. This project has taught
this author about three different yet similar cultures, and that she is not as culturally competent as
she thinks. Therefore, it is important to learn more about the culture of her clients in order to
better help than rather that hinder them in the process.

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10

References
Ahmed, S., Wilson, K., Henriksen, R., Jr., & Jones, J. (2011). What does it mean to be a
Culturally-Competent Counselor? Journal for Social Action in Counseling and Psychology, 3(1),
17-28. Retrieved from http://www.psysr.org/jsacp/ahmed-v3n1-11_17-28.pdf
Pontzer, H. (2012). Overview of Hominin Evolution. Retrieved March 16, 2016, from
http://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/overview-of-hominin-evolution-89010983
Sue, S., Zane, N., Hall, G. C., & Berger, L. K. (2009). The Case for Cultural
Competency in Psychotherapeutic Interventions. Annual Review of Psychology Annu. Rev.
Psychol., 60(1), 525-548.