Race Versus Culture

Did you know that race and culture differ in a number of important respects? Culture refers to shared meaning systems, social practices, geographical space, social and religious values, language, ways of relating, diet, and ecology, etc. Race refers to physical characteristics—skin color, facial features, and hair type shared by people of a given ancestral origin. Thus, individuals may belong to different races but may share the same culture (e.g., Whites, blacks, Hispanics, and Asians living in America).