Chapter 9

Inequalities of Race and Ethnicity

Race: Myth and Reality

• Myth 1 - Idea That Any Race is Superior– All Races Have Geniuses and Idiots– Genocide Still Around

• Myth 2 - Idea that Any Race is Pure– Human Characteristics Flow Endlessly Together

The Significance of Race

• Race - a category of people with inherited physical features that distinguish it from another category.– Both a myth and a reality

• Myth of race makes a difference for social life.

Race and Ethnicity

• Racism connects biological differences with judgment of innate superiority or inferiority.

• Ethnicity and ethnic – refer to cultural characteristics that distinguish people.

Definition of a Minority• A minority refers to a relatively small number of

people.

• Refined the definition to specify:– a group of people who are physically or culturally

singled out from others for unequal treatment &– who regard themselves as objects of collective

discrimination.

• Not necessarily a numerical minority

The Significance of Ethnicity

• Ethnic minority – socially identified by its unique characteristics related to culture or nationality.

– Cultural differences define ethnic minorities.

– Because of their differences from the host culture, ethnic minorities are subcultures.

– Ethnic minorities have a way of life that is based on their own language, religion, values, beliefs, norms, and customs.

Minority and Dominant Groups• Dominant Group - Group with Most…

– Power– Privileges– Highest Social Status

• Dominant Group Does the Discriminating

• Minority Groups Occur Because of…– Expansion of Political Boundaries

– Migration

Patterns of Racial and Ethnic Relations

• When different racial and ethnic groups interact there are two major types of outcomes:– pattern of assimilation- groups become cultural

and socially fused• assimilation, multiculturalism

– pattern of conflict• genocide, population transfer, internal

colonialism, segregation

Patterns of Racial and Ethnic Relations

Theories of Prejudice and Discrimination

• Prejudice – is prejudging in some way, usually negative; an overgeneralization based on biased or insufficient information; attitude/belief.– Internalizing Dominant Norms

• Lighter/Darker Skin• Ethnic Maps

• Discrimination – unequal treatment of people based on their minority membership.– Discrimination is action

A Sense of Ethnicity

Theories of Prejudice and Discrimination

• Stereotype – a set of ideas based on distortion, exaggeration, and oversimplification that is applied to all members of a social category.

• Hate Crime – a criminal act motivated by prejudice (related to race, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, or ancestry).

Institutionalized Discrimination• Institutionalized discrimination – negative treatment

of a minority group that is built into society’s institutions.– the result of unfair practices that are part of the structure of

society and have grown out of traditionally accepted behaviors.

• American history reflects the open and legal practice of discrimination against members of various minorities (e.g., internment of Japanese Americans during WWII).

Direct and Indirect Institutionalized Discrimination

• Direct institutionalized discrimination – refers to organizational or community actions intended to deprive a racial or ethnic minority of its rights (e.g., Jim Crow laws)

• Indirect institutionalized discrimination – refers to unintentional behavior that negatively affects a minority (e.g., high school exit exams).

• Color-blind Racism- Edward Bonilla Silva

Institutional Discrimination• Health CareRace – Ethnicity and Mother/Child Deaths

Institutional Discrimination• Home Mortgages and Car LoansBuying a House: Institutional Discrimination in Mortgages

Functionalist Perspective

• Functionalists have focused on the functions and dysfunctions of prejudice and discrimination– Functions: in-group solidarity and out-group

antagonism– Dysfunctions: negative; destroys human relationships;

social, political, educational, and economic costs of the exploitation and oppression of minorities are extremely high.

Conflict Perspective

• According to conflict perspective, a majority uses its prejudice and discrimination as weapons of power in the domination of a minority.

• Ruling class systematically pits group against group.– Solidarity among groups weakens = they benefit– Keep Workers Insecure– Exploit Racial-Ethnic Divisions

– Ex. Black / Latino conflict

Symbolic Interactionist Perspective• Prejudice and discrimination are acquired through

socialization.

• The labels we learn color our perceptions – leading to selective perception (labels create prejudice)– We see certain things and are blind to others

• We learn our prejudices in interaction with others.

• Self-fulfilling prophecy – Stereotypical behavior in those who are stereotyped– Ex. Asians’ pressure to succeed

Theoretical Perspectives: Prejudice and Discrimination

African Americans• Face a legacy of discrimination.

• African Americans make up second largest minority group.

• Gap between African Americans and whites in education, income, and employment represents the legacy of centuries of prejudice and discrimination.

U.S. Population by Racial and Ethnic Group, 2008

Socioeconomic Characteristics of African Americans

Gender Differences for African Americans

• African American females with college degrees earn substantially more than the median for all African American men.

• African American college-educated women earn as much as white women with college degrees.

• 1/3 of African American women enter college and 1/4 of African American men enter college.

“Two Black Americas”

• According to Richard Freeman, a black elite has been emerging in America,

• As opposed to a black underclass composed of the permanently poor trapped in inner-city ghettos.

“Two Black Americas”• Some theorists, such as

William Julius Wilson, discuss the declining significance of race for African Americans.

• The premise is that race is less important than resources in determining life chances or economic class.

• Ex. Discrimination in Apartment Rentals

Latinos• May be black, white, or Native American• Latinos make up largest minority group• Just under 2/3 of Latinos are of Mexican descent. About 1/10

are Puerto Ricans. Cubans are the third most populous category of Latinos.

Socioeconomic & Educational Status of Latinos• 62% of Latinos (age 25+) have completed high school.

– Mexican Americans have the lowest levels of educational achievement, and Cubans the highest.

• Average income is higher than African Americans, but lower than whites.– Puerto Ricans are the poorest among Latino groups and Cubans are

the most affluent.

Native Americans• Divided into approximately 500 tribes and bands.

• Tribal groups are as different from one another as from the dominant culture.

• Number between 2 million – 4.5 million.

• Median income is less than $35,000/year

• 14% of Native Americans 25 years or older had completed four years or more of college.

• Currently no Native American members of the U.S. Senate and two in the House of Representatives.

• Invisible minority

Asian Americans• Nearly 15 million Asians live in the United States.

• Largest groups are from China, the Philippines, Japan, India, Korea, and Vietnam.

• Chinese Exclusion Act (1882) suspended all Chinese immigration for 10 years; Strict federal legislation continued to be passed until after 1940.

• 1942 led to internment of Japanese in America (2/3 were American citizens).

• Asian Americans have been particularly successful at using the education system for upward mobility.• Almost 50% of Asian Americans have completed 4 years of college.

White Ethnics

• WASPS – very ethnocentric and racist

• White ethnics are immigrants or descendants of immigrants from eastern and southern European nations.

• White ethnics, when compared to WASPs, were more likely to be sympathetic to government help for the poor and were more in favor of integration.

Middle Easterners• Arabs are people from the Middle East (Pakistan,

Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Turkey, the Arabian peninsula) and Arab North Africa.

• Muslims are followers of Islam; Not all Arabs are Muslims and not all Muslims are Arabs.

• Immigrant population: 200,000 in 1970 to 1.5 million today.

• ½ of all Middle Easterners have graduated from college; 20% with post-graduate degrees.

What are the consequences of increased immigration?

Positive• helps employers because

immigrants will often do work avoided by the native population, and they will work longer for less pay

• immigrants can promote increased tolerance and understanding of diversity

• educated immigrants provide a talent pool benefiting their new country

Negative• employers exploit immigrants

because they work more cheaply at unpleasant jobs

• the poorer countries from which many immigrants come experience a talent pool drain

• immigration may bring increased criminal activity

• immigrant minorities• can create conflict within a

society

Dual Labor Market Theory• The dual labor market theory - the existence of a

split between core and peripheral segments of the economy and the division of the labor force into preferred and marginalized workers.

• Rewards for hard work, education, and training vary.– Workers in the core sector enjoy high wages,

opportunities for advancement, and job security. – Those in the peripheral sector are employed in low-

paying jobs with little hope for advancement.

Global and U.S. Ethnic Diversity

• Normally, immigration is from developing countries to more developed countries, with people seeking better jobs, wages, and living conditions.– push and pull factors

Looking Towards the Future

• The Immigration Debate

• Affirmative Action

• Towards a True Multicultural Society

Projections of the Racial–Ethnic Makeup of the US Population

Race – Ethnicity and Comparative Well-Being

Race – Ethnicity and Education