In Cohen, The Family: Diversity, Inequality, and Social Change discusses family and family life. In Chapter 3, Cohen focuses on the impact of race and ethnicity on families and family life. As well as the influx of immigration, diversifying the different types of American families. The modern American family defines itself not only through the racial and ethnic communities with which it identifies, but also through their social and economic environment. Yet it is among these various American families that strong family relationships prove beneficial to their struggles. The importance of family exists in different forms across populations and has been reinforced by institutional and immigration burdens. Race and ethnicity are often terms used colloquially and interchangeably in today's society. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay. However, despite the undeniable similarities between these two terms, they do not actually contain the exact same definition. Cohen (2015) defines race as “a group of people believed to share common ancestry, based on perceived innate physical similarities.” While Cohen (2015) defines ethnicity as “a group of people with a common cultural identification, based on a combination of language, religion, ancestral origin or traditional practices”. Race is a social construct of perception created by humans to identify humans using biological characteristics. While ethnicity is a social construct of identification created by humans to identify themselves using aspects of that individual's life. Ethnicity is not stagnant either. It can change due to the ever-changing aspects of the individual's life. As an adopted Chinese, I like to think of myself as a good example of race versus ethnicity. I am of Chinese race, as I have biological characteristics that link me to Chinese ancestry. However, ethnically, I identify as American due to my spoken language, religion, and practices. In the 20th century the United States experienced an influx of immigration, diversifying the racial and ethnic populations that reside here. Cohen (2015) specifically notes the recent influx of Latino and Asian populations. The growth of these populations can be attributed to increased immigration and, for Latinos, the increased birth rate of Latina women. Furthermore, increased intermarriage and increased community isolation have pushed the diversity of the United States to opposite ends of the spectrum. With the increase in intermarriage, diversity has increased with more cultures mixing and evolving the melting pot of cultures. As community isolation increased, diversity decreased with more immigrants choosing to remain in their communities. African American families in the United States have struggled with racial inequality from the institution of slavery, after the abolition of slavery, until today and have yet to recover. Institutional racism and discrimination against the black population have increased their economic and social disparities. Cohen (2015) argues that due to these disparities the Black population experiences increased poverty rates and greater socioeconomic barriers for men. He identifies these obstacles as higher unemployment rates, higher incarceration rates, and higher mortality rates. Which in turn, links to the decrease in the availability of marriage-worthy black men, the difficulties in maintaining a marriage and therefore the increase in mothers..