To keep things in proper context to be understood properly, here is a review of the last journal. In the last journal I pointed out the difference between ethnicity (which refers to culture) and ethnic origins (which refers to the culture of one's ancestors).

"Ethnicity" is a bit of a confusing term. From my understanding, it's a bit like "nationality" but stickier since it's a bit harder to avoid. However, ethnicity and race do not refer to the same thing.

The etymology of race is as follows: race (n.2) "people of common descent," c.1500, from Middle French razza "race, breed, lineage," (http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=race).

The etymology of ethic is as follows: , Greek ethnikos, from ethnos "band of people living together, nation, people," (http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=ethnic&allowed\_in\_frame=0).

Race refers to genetics while ethnicity refers to culture. The two happen to coincide often but they are very different things. Some consider "African American" to be a more polite than "black". However these terms are referring to different qualities of a person. "African American" is a reference to their ethnic origins, while "black" is a reference to the genetic trait of their skin color. Personally "African American" seems to be a sloppy term for referring to ethnicity (as opposed to ethnic origins). Every single black person I have met has just about as much participation in African culture that I have in Welsh culture (none). "Caucasian" is even worse. By etymology, it makes no remotely accurate reference to ethnic origins or current culture. "Black" and "white" may be slang, but at least they are consistent terms for the genetic trait of skin pigment. Just because a term has more syllables, doesn't mean it's correct. Try looking into etymology once in a while. Sometimes terms do not mean what we think they mean. To prevent confusion and improve communication, keep this in mind.