Me, My Family, And My Community Values

When asked to explain the difference between ethnicity and race, I simply stare blankly. Both words are interchangeable in normal conversation. However, it becomes difficult to discern their true meaning after so many incorrect uses. My own definition of race would be physical. One can easily identify the race of a person by their appearance, regardless of whether they are Caucasian or Black, Hispanic, or Asian. Ethnicity involves more than ancestry. It includes the country where your family was citizens before you came to your current country. When you think about gender, it is difficult to define.

According to my definition, gender is the medical label given at birth. Hello, I’m Jonathan E. Fernezan. I am 21-years-old and a Kutztown University Information Technology Student. I am a male from Haiti. Introduction to Social Wealth and Social Welfare defines Race as “A group that shares a common descendant and genetic origin and may be distinguished from ‘certain physical characteristics’ or other ‘interests. Habits. or characteristics’.” Gender refers to “The social, psychological and physical characteristics that are associated with being male or female”. Ethnicity is defined by “The affiliation to a larger group that shares a common cultural, racial, tribal, religious or linguistic background. Although my definitions are not the same as the ones in the book’s, I think they give a good idea of the meanings of ethnicity, gender and race. My familyI consider myself to live in a fairly normal house. It is also normal for today’s standards. My mother, two sisters and step-father live in my twin house in Allentown. My older sisters live with me, but not at home. My oldest sibling’s name, Daniella, is Ella. She is 26 years of age, according to my memory, and is a Black Haitian Female. Patricia is my step-sister. Selah is my youngest brother. She is seven years of age. My second youngest sister, Kenaniah is 10 years. Everyone calls her Niah. Ironically, John is my stepfather. He’s 50 years old and a black Haitian-American male. Roseline, my mother, is the saint. She prefers to go by Roz. She is a black Haitian male, around 47. I struggled to find something that made me unique from other families in my community. My family is, in my opinion, the best example of America’s lower class. Our community can only speak for itself in terms of our ethnicity. The East side Allentown population is mostly Caucasians. There are also Blacks, but none of them I’ve seen were Haitian. Traditions are a key part of our Haitian Ethnicity. We also celebrate New Year’s differently. My mom prepares a traditional Haitian New Years soup every New Year for our family. Two heterosexual parents have children and the household is a reflection of these similarities. This is the norm for most families in the region. My family is also religious and actively involved in their church. My family is religious, as is a lot of others in the community. My Community To me, community refers to a group or people living in close proximity.

The text book defines community to be “a group that has something in common that links them in one way or another and makes them distinct from other people”. My community would be the Allentown residents living on the East side Lehigh river. It is evident that people who live in the East and West have different lifestyles. The housing is the best way of distinguishing. The West side of Allentown has more row homes, apartments and houses than the East. Community Resources “Groups formed for common purposes and having rights, privileges or goals independent of those of the individual members” (Community Resources). Social institutions will be available in any community with a decent resident. Allentown isn’t a small town, even if you limit it to the East side. The East side has religious, educational, legal and market institutions. Although these institutions aren’t the only ones we have, I will be showing you examples. We have both Catholic and Christian churches for religious services. East Allentown’s schools include Ritter Elementary and Dieruff. There are two types of health care institutions: the Airport Road emergency clinic and the family doctor. The East side houses a court of district and a township building.

Redner’s grocery store and Giant are examples of East side market intuitions. Core Values Social work shares many of the same core values as other work areas that directly involve individuals. These core values include service, social justice and dignity and worth of people, respect for human rights, integrity, competence, and integrity. Integrity is my core value. Integrity is the most important core value. Integrity is the ability to be honest and follow the core values no matter what the circumstances. Social Issues and ValuesA 2015 FBI raid on Allentown City Hall and the house of Ex-Mayor Ed Pawlowski was shocking for the public. The corruption at City Hall was exposed in a parallel two-year investigation into Reading and Allentown. The charges were finally made public to the officials as hotcakes a few months later. Ramzi Haddad, a developer in Allentown, pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit bribery. Dale Wiles, Allentown assistant solicitor, pleaded guilty for conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud. A further 9 city officials were also charged with corruption. The Ex-Mayor was responsible for the cultivating of charges. Ex-Mayor Pawlowski pled guilty to 47 of 54 counts. This article directly impacts the community. Ex-Mayor Pawlowski had his eye on the public’s and my money. My community and I trusted Pawlowski to do the right thing in his Mayoral role. Unfortunately, he failed to deliver and we will all be paying the consequences. It was very disappointing to see that he made personal gains out of all of our tax dollars.