Part ONE: What is Race?

A Warm Up…

And now?…

• Biological Definition (19th century):

• Caucasian, “white”• Negroid, “black”• Mongoloid, “yellow”• ***Please see attached for 19th

century descriptions• Race in America (2010 Census)

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Historically…

• Is race a biological fact?• The United Nations Education,

Scientific, and Cultural Organization (1950): “For all practical social purposes ‘race’ is not so much a biological phenomenon as a social myth.”

• Human Genome Project argues that there is no race gene or DNA test that can predict your race…but some evidence suggests that you can identify the geographic location of your ancestry.”

The Debate…

• Is race a biological fact?• “There is no doubt that there

exists genetic variation that corresponds to the general geographic origins of what we call race, but the amount of variation is nowhere nearly as great as most people believe.” (Conley 2011)

• The Social Construction of Race Explained

The Debate…

Sociologically…

• DEFINITION: a category of people who share inherited physical characteristics and whom others see as being a distinct group

• Sociologists are concerned with how people react to these physical characteristics & how these reactions affect individuals in society

Part TWO: What is Ethnicity?

What is Ethnicity?• DEFINITION: set of cultural

characteristics that distinguishes one group from another group

• Ethnic Group: People who share a common cultural background and a common sense of identity

• “Ethnic markers”–Physical characteristics, territoriality, history, language, religion, customs, beliefs, norms, traditions, culture, etc.

What is Ethnicity?• Everyone has a race and an

ethnicity• Thick v. Thin Ethnicity

–Degree to which your day-to-day decisions are affected by your ethnic identity

• Achieved v. Ascribed

Part THREE: Separate & Unequal

Maintenance of Inequality• Inequality is maintained &

enhanced by the establishment of of majority and minority groups

• Majority Group:• Culturally, politically &

economically dominant

Maintenance of Inequality

• Minority Group:• Category of people who share

physical characteristics or cultural practices that result in the group being denied equal treatment

Maintenance of Inequality• 5 Characteristics of a Minority

Group:1. Distinguishing physical

and/or cultural traits2. Group members are victims

of unequal treatment at hands of the dominant group

3. Membership in group is an ascribed status

4. Group members share a strong bond and a sense of group loyalty

5. Members tend to practice endogamy

Part FOUR: Prejudice & Discrimination

Prejudice & Discrimination• Negative interactions

between members of majority and minority groups may result in:

• Stereotype: an oversimplified, exaggerated, or unfavorable belief/generalization about a group of people

• Prejudice: an evaluation, or an attitude, in regards to a social group and its members

Prejudice & Discrimination

• Discrimination: negative behavior towards a group of people; denial of equal treatment based on group membership

• Racism: the belief that one’s own race or ethnic group is naturally superior to other races or ethnic groups

• Do prejudice and discrimination always go together?

• Merton’s Patterns of Prejudice & Discrimination

Prejudice & Discrimination

Prejudice & Discrimination

• Overt vs. Subtle Racism

• Microaggressions:

• Subtle verbal and non-verbal insults directed at non-whites, often done automatically or unconsciously

We will address institutional discrimination at the end of this part of our unit

Sources of Prejudice & Discrimination• Social:

• Social Environment – socialization/norms

• Psychological:– Personality – authoritarians,

conformists, angry, likely to blame others

– Scapegoating - blaming others when cause or resolution to problems is unknown or out of one’s reach

• Economic:• Competition for scarce resources

– jobs!

Part FIVE: Patterns of Minority Group Treatment

• Cultural Pluralism: • Allows each group within

society to keep its unique cultural identity

• Ex: Switzerland – 3 official languages (FR, GR, ITAL)

Patterns of Treatment

• Assimilation: • Culturally distinct groups

blended into a single group with common culture

• Voluntary or forced• EX: “Melting Pot”;

Anglo-conformity

Patterns of Treatment

• Legal Protection: • Minority rights protected by

law• EX: Civil Rights Act of 1964,

Voting Rights Act of 1965, Affirmative Action

Patterns of Treatment

• Segregation: • Minority group physically

separated from the dominant group

• De jure (by law) or De Facto (societal norms)

• EX: Jim Crow Laws

Patterns of Treatment

• Subjugation: • Dominant group controls

every aspect of minority group life through force

• Slavery is the most extreme form of subjugation

• EX: Slavery; Apartheid

Patterns of Treatment

• Population Transfer: • Dominant group

moves minority group to new locations within or outside the country

• EX: Native American reservations; Japanese internment camps; Jewish ghettos/concentration camps

Patterns of Treatment

• Extermination: • Dominant group

attempts to destroy minority group

• Also called genocide/ethnic cleansing

• EX: Holocaust

Patterns of Treatment

Part SIX: Ethnic Groups/Minority Groups in the U.S.

• White Anglo Saxon Protestant (WASPs):

• WHO?• English• WHEN?• Beginning in the 16th century

The White Population

• During the 16th & 17th centuries, the English emerged as the majority group

• Those arriving afterwards were required to assimilate

The White Population

• Resulted in: • Myth of the “American

Melting Pot”• “Anglo-conformity”

The White Population

• White Ethnic Americans (non-WASPs):

• WHO?• Germans, Irish, Italian &

Jewish• WHEN?• Beginning early 19th century

The White Population

The White Population• Major hostility from WASPs• (1880-1930); height of

discrimination • Clashes between “white

ethnics” & black population due to competition over scarce & valued resources

• ***The Jewish community has a social mobility rate that is twice that of any other minority

• POPULATION BASICS:• 12.6% of U.S. population• Largest racial minority• MIGRATION:• Initially involuntary (unique

circumstances)• Migrated to northern

industrial centers during both world wars

The Black Population

• POLITICAL GAINS:• Outlawing of segregation• Passage of the Civil Rights

Act• Passage of Affirmative Action• Overall, African Americans

are still politically underrepresented

The Black Population

• EDUCATION:• HS graduation rates still

unequal to that of the white population (esp. black males)

• Differences still exist throughout undergraduate & graduate level degree programs

The Black Population

• ECONOMIC:• Remains a MAJOR

problem; median income continues to lag behind the national average

• Successes & gains in the middle class are often offset and overshadowed by the lower class

The Black Population

The Black Population

• WHY?• Large (disproportionate)

number of female headed households

• Workplace discrimination further widens the income gap

The Hispanic Population (16.3%)

• BASICS & PROBLEMS:• Low levels of education &

high rates of poverty; socioeconomic status is currently falling

• Attributed to recent immigration & problems with the English language

• Becoming increasingly segregated

The Hispanic Population

• MEXICAN AMERICANS:• Approximately 31 million;

63% of the American Hispanic population

• Poverty rate is twice the national average

• CUBAN AMERICANS:• Approximately 1.7 million;

3.5% of the American Hispanic population

• Most immigration occurred after 1959

• Highly educated, have a higher median family income & less impoverishment than other Hispanic groups

The Hispanic Population

The Hispanic Population

• PUERTO RICANS:• Approximately 4.6 million;

9.2% of the American Hispanic population

• Became U.S. citizens in 1917• Maintenance of a strong

ethnic identity

• The “Ideal” Minority• BASICS:• 5.6% of American population• ETHNIC MAKEUP:• Chinese, Korean, Filipino,

Indian, Vietnamese, Japanese

The Asian Population

The Asian Population• FACTS:• Fastest growing minority in

the U.S.• Account for ½ of all current

immigration into this country

The Native American Population

• Term refers to the many distinct people who migrated from Asia to the Americas thousands of years ago; original inhabitants of the Americas

• Native Americans still remain predominantly unaccultured and unassimilated

• The treatment that they receive, in combination with the reservation system, has created a shattered culture with individuals who cannot find a home in modern society or in their past

The Native American Population

Race & The 2012 Presidential

Election

Conclusions?

Predictions?