DISCRIMINATION

denying opportunities or rights because of prejudice (and

racism, sexism, homophobia, etc.)

I am open to marriage (or lifetime commitment) with someone from another

racial group.

• Strongly Agree – 35.2%

• Agree – 37.6%

• Neutral – 18.1%

• Disagree – 8.0%

• Strongly Disagree – 0.9%

DISCRIMINATION

denying opportunities or rights because of prejudice (and

racism, sexism, homophobia, etc.)

White House

Plantation Slaves

Whipped Slave

Work – Picking Cotton

Percentage of White students who described blacks as “ignorant”:

• 1933 – 38%

• 1951 – 24%

• 1967 – 11%

• 1982 – 10%

• 1988 – 6%

• 1990 – 5%

• 1996 – 2%

Percentage of Americans holding strong anti-Jewish attitudes.

• 1966: 33% of Americans felt that Jews had “too much power”

• 2002: 12% of Americans felt that Jews had “too much power”

Residents of the White House

McCain on Obama(from 4:40 – 6:40)

What does discrimination look

like at work?

What story do you tell yourself about these numbers?

White - 8.7 percent

Black - 14.7 percent

Hispanic - 12.2 percent

Asian - 8.4 percent

Native Amer. - highest

Unemployment RateJune 2009

Researchers sent out 5,000 resumes that were identical except for the name.

Group One

• Marianne• Brett• Greg• Jill• Anne• Emily• Amanda• Neil

Group Two

• Tamika• Ebony• Aisha• Rasheed• Kareem• Julio• Malika• Sharnise

Those resumes with white sounding names elicited 50 percent more responses than resumes with

black/brown sounding names:

1:10 vs. 1:15

What response would people receive who are named Ahmed, Ali, Reza, Abdullah, Maryam, or Nura?

“The Mark of a Criminal Record”

Issue:– Over 2 million people are currently incarcerated in

U.S.– 95% of all inmates are eventually released– Over 12 million ex-felons live in the U.S.

• Roughly 8% of the working-age population

Research Question

What are the employment outcomes of black and white men when they have a criminal record?

“The Mark of a Criminal Record”

Methodology– matched pairs of individuals (“testers”) applied for real

jobs – test whether employers respond differently to

applicants on the basis of race and criminal record

Four Testers: two black - two white– 23 years old– matched exactly on appearance, style of presentation,

and personal background

“The Mark of a Criminal Record”

The white and black men took turns claiming to have a criminal record– Felony drug charge (possession with intent to

distribute cocaine)– 18 months in prison

Out of 350 job possibilities,

which group (white or black)

received the most call backs?

“The Mark of a Criminal”Percent Receiving Callbacks

5

1714

34

Black White

Criminal Record No Criminal Record

In a replicated study using the same controls, Hispanics

received less favorable treatment than whites 20 percent of the time.

What does discrimination in

housing look like?

Mortgage Discrimination-2005

Tester studies regularly reveal that blacks, Latinos, and Native Americans routinely receive:

- Less loan product information from banks

- Less time with bank loan officers

- Higher interest rate quotes

Mortgage Discrimination-2005

THEY ALSO REVEAL THAT:

• Blacks were twice as likely as whites to be denied a 30 year loan

• Latinos were 1.5 times as likely as whites to be denied a 30 year loan

• Blacks and Latinos routinely pay higher mortgage rates than whites with equal income, status, wealth, education, etc.

60-80% of the black/brown housing testers faced discrimination when

they go to a landlord or an apartment manager looking for rental housing compared to the

white-paired partner. - According to research by Joe

Feagin - 2004

Home Ownership and Race

• White – 75.8%• Black – 48.2• Asian/PI – 60.1• Hispanic – 49.5• American Indian – 58.2• Other – 59.2

SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau (2005)

Remember this?

Affirmative Action for Whites?

• New York – New Jersey area:– 67,000 low interest (GI Bill) mortgages were given to

WWII Vets– Virtually no proof of eligibility was needed aside from

being a vet– Virtually no down payment was needed

• 100 of these went to veterans of color– 12 percent of veterans were of color– That is, about 7,000 loans were not received by

people who should have received them in a fair world

How could the Obama presidency possibly alter this cycle?

Summary

Indirect Institutional Discrimination:

• Cannot be seen or identified

• It is built into the system

• No one person is to blame

• The discriminatory act lacks intentionality

Prison vs. Dorms

• More then three times as many Black people live in prison cells as in college dorms

• 2.7 times as many Hispanics live in prison cells as in college dorms

• Twice as many Whites are living in college housing as in a prison or jail.

Data: Bureau of the Census

How much discrimination

actually occurs?

Muslims in the U.S.

Is the glass half full or half empty?

Is the glass half full or half empty?

What do you take from this video?

this is what we’re

arguing about.

Aren’t we all just a little bit racist?

How do you explain why more black, Latina, and Native American teens have babies out of wedlock

than white teens?

Brainstorm

How do you explain why more poor teens have children out of wedlock

than wealthier teens?

How do you explain why more black, Latina, and Native American teens have babies out of wedlock

than white teens?

How do you explain why more poor teens have children out of

wedlock than wealthier teens?

Latent Prejudice

“Latent Prejudice” occurs when:

people endorse egalitarian values and consider themselves non-prejudiced

but…

1. harbor unconscious negative feelingsabout other groups

2. discriminate in subtle ways that people don’t even see or can easily rationalize away

Confronting RacismHonest Sancho Dan pg 155 Sancho Ana pg 161Sancho Danielle pg 156 Sancho Azemina 162Sancho Avi 157 Sancho Jahne 163Sancho Emma 158Sancho Brittney 159Sancho Gaby b 160

Secretary Maria pg 155 Secretary Alexey pg 156Secretary Jarrett pg 157Secretary Greta 158Secretary Gaby C 159Secretary Melissa 160Secretary Rebecca 161Secretary Louis pg 162Secretary Angela pg 163

Farm Worker Nico Johnny BrianRevolucionario Entire ClassMexican American Jaisha

Some statements and thoughts that seem to be racist are simply misunderstood sentiments.

So if you send out an email in which you refer to a given black man as a “banana-eating jungle monkey,” you still have wiggle room and could say (with a straight face): "I have so many friends of every type of culture and race you can name. I am not a racist.”

“But I am a banana

eating jungle

monkey”

– Officer Justin Barrett, Boston City Police Department, who referred to Henry Louis Gates in this way in a mass email

Some latent prejudice is easier to explain away. For example:

How might you explain NOT answering “strongly agree” to

these statements?

If my partner and I could not have children and we were going to adopt, I would be willing to

adopt a child with racial ancestry other than my own (or that of my partner).

• Strongly Agree• Agree• Neutral• Disagree• Strongly Disagree

If my partner and I could not have children and we were going to adopt, I would be willing to

adopt a child with racial ancestry other than my own (or that of my partner).

• Strongly Agree – 27.2%• Agree – 32.1%• Neutral – 24.0%• Disagree – 13.4%• Strongly Disagree – 3.2%

If my partner and I could not have children and we were going to use the sperm or the egg of another person, I would be willing to use the sperm or egg of a person with racial ancestry

other than my own (or that of my partner).

• Strongly Agree

• Agree

• Neutral

• Disagree

• Strongly Disagree

If my partner and I could not have children and we were going to use the sperm or the egg of another person, I would be willing to use the sperm or egg of a person with racial ancestry

other than my own (or that of my partner).

• Strongly Agree – 9.5%

• Agree – 15.6%

• Neutral – 30.3%

• Disagree – 32.3%

• Strongly Disagree – 12.2%

But some latent prejudice is more difficult to justify:

ONE STUDY OF LATENT PREJUDICE

QUESTION: Will white people offer assistance to people of color as readily as they assist other

white people – and vice versa? • White subjects thought themselves to be bystanders

or witnesses an emergency• The victims were either black/brown or white• As solo bystanders, the race of victim did not matter• But what happened when there were other bystanders

present? • They all asked themselves the following questions:

– Will they help or should I? If they don’t help, does that mean it’s not really an emergency? If they all help, perhaps I don’t have to?

ANSWERThey helped victims of color half as often as

they helped white victims.

Does this mean they’re racist?

QUESTION: How about the helping behavior of People of Color?

They helped white victims almost as often as they helped victims of color.

Learning from the Findings

1. Helping behavior increases when the victim is most like us or when we relate to the victim in some way

2. It also increases when we expect to see the victim again

3. People who are most likely to help others of different groups are people who have had greater contact with those groups- they saw “victims” as being like them

How will their lives be affected by the backgrounds of their friends?

How about these kids?

Or these?

What about poor white people?

According to the World Bank, about 170 million children in poor

countries are underweight because of a lack of food.

However, currently about 815 million people on the planet, or

13% of the pop, suffer from hunger and malnutrition.

White vs. “Colored” Poverty in the United States (2005)

White = 16.2 million

People of Color = 20.85 million

** In 1995, white people outnumbered people of color in terms of total poverty

Tammy’s Story

Discussion QuestionsFor Students of Color:• What do you think white people expect people of

color to say about Tammy?• What do you think white people want to hear

people of color say about Tammy?

For White Students:• What do you think people of color will say about

Tammy?• What would you like to hear people of color say

about Tammy?