Research Guides: Dimensions of Diversity: Race, Color, and Ethnicity

What is Race, Color and Ethnicity?

Definition from American Psychological Association:

n. A characterization of people based on having a shared culture (e.g., language, food, music, dress, values, and beliefs) related to common ancestry and shared history

n. A characterization of people based on having a shared culture (e.g., language, food, music, dress, values, and beliefs) related to common ancestry and shared history

Why do social workers need to understand race, color and ethnicity?

Social workers recognize that race, color, and ethnicity significantly shape individual and collective experiences, influencing how individuals and communities are treated, their opportunities, and their access to resources. These factors often intersect to create systemic inequalities and discrimination. Social workers are committed to understanding the complex ways in which race, color, and ethnicity affect clients’ lives, challenging the social structures that perpetuate inequities, and advocating for policies and practices that promote equity, social justice, and the dignity of all individuals, regardless of their race, color, or ethnicity.

Readings on Race & Color

The Encyclopedia of Social Work

Critical race theory and macro social work practice For social work administrators, CRT provides a framework for identifying and assessing implicit and explicit racism in internal and external organizational policies, structures, and practices. In community work, CRT places race and racism at the center of localized patterns of disempowerment and inequality.

Additional Resources:

Adolescent Motherhood and Capital: interaction effects of race/ethnicity on harsh parenting Lee, Y. (2013). Adolescent Motherhood and Capital: interaction effects of race/ethnicity on harsh parenting. Journal of Community Psychology, 41(1), 102–116. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.21517.
Chinese and Indian International Students: Vital Components for Campus Life Coping and Adjustment Ma, K., Pitner, R., Sakamoto, I., & Park, H. Y. (2022). Chinese and Indian International Students: Vital Components for Campus Life Coping and Adjustment. College Student Journal, 56(1), 94–108.
How social workers support diversity, equity, and inclusion. Baylor University. (2021). How social workers support diversity, equity, and inclusion. Baylor University Blog.

Videos on Race & Color

The Urgency of Intersectionality

Now more than ever, it's important to look boldly at the reality of race and gender bias -- and understand how the two can combine to create even more harm. Kimberlé Crenshaw uses the term "intersectionality" to describe this phenomenon; as she says, if you're standing in the path of multiple forms of exclusion, you're likely to get hit by both. In this moving talk, she calls on us to bear witness to this reality and speak up for victims of prejudice.

How to Deconstruct Racism, One Headline at a Time

Baratunde Thurston explores the phenomenon of white Americans calling the police on Black Americans who have committed the crimes of ... eating, walking or generally "living while Black." In this profound, thought-provoking and often hilarious talk, he reveals the power of language to change stories of trauma into stories of healing -- while challenging us all to level up.

How Racism Makes us Sick

Why does race matter so profoundly for health? David R. Williams developed a scale to measure the impact of discrimination on well-being, going beyond traditional measures like income and education to reveal how factors like implicit bias, residential segregation and negative stereotypes create and sustain inequality. In this eye-opening talk, Williams presents evidence for how racism is producing a rigged system -- and offers hopeful examples of programs across the US that are working to dismantle discrimination.