Will we ever let the past be behind us and move forward? In today's age, is it the people's responsibility to defend the history of their race just because of the color of their skin? Based on the color of our skin, individuals will always be placed and classified under a certain race. In the essay “Race, Culture, Identity: Misunderstood Connections” by Kwame Anthony Appiah, he tries to explain why race does not exist and the only race in America is the human race. In “Social Identity and Group Solidarity” by Tommie Shelby, he discusses how in America blacks are seen as one group even though there are different cultures among blacks. Even though in today's world people of all races get along with each other, there are still signs of racism and discrimination that haunt us from the era of slavery years ago as African Americans. People tend to find their own identity easily because they base other people on their race, ethnicity, living conditions, religion and more. Appiah and Shelby both connect to the idea of ​​cultural diversity having to do with "race" because Appiah argues whether that race actually exists and Shelby talks about black solidarity being separated and affected because of self-determination and equality . Appiah claims that the only race in the world The United States is the human race. He states that “American social distinctions cannot be understood in terms of the concept of race” (Appiah 102), meaning that culture defines the world we live in and is the reason our world is what it is today. Rather, humans are separated based on their cultural rather than racial differences because this influences their behavior in many ways. For example, culture influences the human mind because a child must be… the center of the paper… Unfortunately, America will always see black people as one. It's not fair, but the fact of the matter is that this is how things are and there's not much we can do about it. In today's world, America will not take the time to understand that culture is what separates human beings because we are so stuck in the past and all we know is what we have been taught over the years and why the racism is not a big focus thing like it was years ago. Works Cited Appiah, Kwame Anthony. “Race, Culture, Identity: Misunderstood Connections.” Ways of Reading: An Anthology for Writers. Ed. David Bartholomae and Anthony Petrosky. 9th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin, 2011. 101-131. Print.Shelby, Tommie. “Social identity and group solidarity”. Ways of Reading: An Anthology for Writers. Ed. David Bartholomae and Anthony Petrosky. 9th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2011. 584-610. Press.