	New York City is one of the nation’s most diverse cities. However, much of the diversity can only be seen in certain places, such as in educational facilities or public transportation. More specifically, the population in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn is increasing mainly because of immigrants of Chinese descent. How do people of different races perceive the Chinese people, such as other minorities and non-minorities? How do the Chinese people feel about people of different races? Have these perceptions changed? How does the increasing population of Chinese inhabitants in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, influence the perception of race?
	As a resident of this neighborhood, I have witnessed the transformation from highly white populated to a highly Chinese populated neighborhood. To investigate this question is to understand why and how people of different races act the way they do towards one another in a specific location. One will not be able to prove the same for other locations, but it will be able to create a general understanding. I am also of Chinese descent, as well as American and can speak both Cantonese and English fluently. My background fits into the question of the perception of Chinese people in Bensonhurst.
	The main question being asked is linked to the theory of cultural materialism. Cultural materialism is defined as human life being rooted into the material world. One cannot understand culture without understand the things people use. Cultural materialism states that the environment influences the external behavior and from the external behavior comes the internal behavior and beliefs.
In essence, to understand culture, one must observe the places people live and how they live. 
	This ethnography also centers on labeling. According to Singh’s Language and Ethnicity, Allport states “there are certain characteristics which seem to carry more perceptual potency than others…” In short, one may differentiate someone or a certain race by a characteristic of their outer appearance or actions. With this, they create labeling, or stereotypes. One of the main labeling created for those of Chinese descent is language. In addition, Jane H. Hill’s Language, Race, and White Public Space describe the role of language and perception of race. She describes mock-Spanish and how white people perceive people who speak Spanish. Similarly, this ethnography includes those of different races speaking “mock-Chinese,” or rather, noises they associate with Chinese languages.
	The first research session is participant observation of a park in Bensonhurst on March 19, 2011. This method works for the ethnography because it is at a public facility on a weekend (Saturday). This generally means a day off at work and school for everyone. I chose this method over others because I can observe how people of different races interact at a public facility. I can observe with a sense of double-consciousness, which means I can think like a Chinese person, as well as a white person. To begin, the ratio observed at this park of Chinese people to non-minorities (white) is approximately 20:1 and the ratio of Chinese people to other minorities is approximately 20:5. The majority number of people at this public facility is those of Chinese descent and a majority of these Chinese people do not speak English. The main observation is focused on the basketball courts of the park. At first, there are only Chinese people playing basketball, speaking Cantonese out loud. There are young, white children, in the early teens nearby attempting to ridicule the Chinese language by speaking in “mock-Chinese.” However, all they were saying was “ching ching chong” etc. Later on, minorities of different races and whites attempted to communicate and play with the Chinese. However, the Chinese people either feigned ignorance or ignored them. This means Chinese people dislike or do not want to play with people that do not speak the same language. In essence, Chinese people are welcomed, but others are not. 
