How personal experiences influence ethnic identity

People of color just like the White often begin their childhood development process at par. However as time passes by from childhood to adulthood people of color often face a significant number of negative experiences characterize by recurrent instances of racism and prejudice (Diller, 2011). These experiences right from childhood to often distort the developing of psyches in the people of color leading to loss of crucial development task that brings about personal identity. In other words, the oppressive conditions that people of color often undergo as early as childhood often hinder their ability to develop their identity effectively and above all meet their potential.
Racism, discrimination, biases, and prejudice that characterize the life of people of color are undoubtedly a tough experience that they have to endure at one point or another in their lifetime (Diller, 2011). It is unfortunate that all these tough experiences come with power and some benefits that the dominant community enjoys at the expense of the minority and this aspect confuse the people of color more powerfully than anything else. The fact that racism, ethnicity, and prejudice perpetrated against the diverse community is meant at portraying them as either bad or inferior race does a big blow in the identity development of most people of color. As most people grow up and try to gain more personal understanding of themselves and identities with respect to the social inclination they are often caught up in dilemma owing to the preponderance of negative messages they get from other dominant race concerning themselves.