Race and ethnicity in the United States

Race and ethnicity refers to the different categories of people that live in the United States. The most common way of dividing people up is based on their skin color and where they or their ancestors come from. The main races in the United States are White, Black, Hispanic and Latino, Asian, and Native American. Ethnicity refers to the cultural backgrounds of people, like their traditions, language, and customs. So, even if two people have the same race, they can have different ethnicities. For example, someone who is White can come from a German background, and someone else who is White can come from an Italian background - and they would be of different ethnicities.