When the question arises, "Race vs. Class: What Really Matters?" there are several important concepts that must first be addressed to adequately address this very complex issue. First, what do the terms “social class” and “race” mean? Furthermore, in determining what really matters, the context of this question is crucial, in other words, as to WHO or WHAT or WHEN or WHERE or HOW each of these terms matters. All of these more specific questions are directly relevant to the answer, and each may yield a contextually different explanation. So we define the terms we are evaluating and comparing and at the same time try to identify what really matters and in what context. What is social class? In general, social class is the status group with which we are identified within our society. Dictionary.com defines social class as “a broad group in society having a common economic, cultural, or political status.” As this definition illustrates, social class is linked to status, and status is typically associated with lifestyle, prestige, and success. Although the primary basis of social class is economic, there are other significant factors that determine class. These factors may include cultural, political, occupational and social components. The importance of different levels of social class has also tended to be fluid throughout history, and the tendency to valorize this hierarchical class system has been more relevant in certain periods and places than in other times. Changes in social class can be influenced by economic stability, cultural growth, and political climate that occur at different times throughout history. Historically, concepts of social class and social class structure have been influenced... halfway through the paper... or health disparities and whether the focus should be on race or class, it seems that as long as we are debating about what's more important, we're just maintaining the status quo. By wrongly directing our attention to an “either/or” position and not working to improve the situation for “both,” we wrongly support a social atmosphere that breeds inequality. It seems important, if not obvious, to note that a lack of agreement on the significant and far-reaching implications of both terms: race and class only serve to create further obstacles to any kind of answer to the question. I will present here the conclusion, also obvious, that for those individuals who are defined by one or both classes and races, both are undeniably significant. Both are socially defined arbitrary concepts with life-shaping consequences. Both matter. Nor should it.