What should define us?

I prefer the memorable words of Dr. Martin Luther King

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character

We can live in difficult or even horrible cultures, yet, we have the wherewithal to refine our characters to rise above them. We should ever strive to do so.

I think we are defined by experiences. Race is a poor and lazy definition. Culture is better. Expose two people of same race to two different cultures and they will have different views. Travelling is a great way to learn about other cultures. More varied your experiences and more open minded and empathetic you will be

The term, "Defining" starts off with extreme limitations. Race is a more a social construct...not biological. It is closest to phenotype.

The goal of the "definition" will help answer the topic question. To what end? ... Descriptive of their appearance? Their behavior? Their core values? Their psychology?

Is it a group definition for categorizing? To what purpose?

Etc. etc

It feels like an attempt at simplified reductionism.... Dangerous due to lack of accounting for variation and the tendency to stereotype.

Individually, character is more important to me than race or culture. I think culture better characterizes a community than race. Though often race and culture appear to be closely linked.

Between the two youve listed I believe culture is much more defining than race. But more importantly than either of the two is experience.