Sociology 134

Overview of Major Racial and Ethnic Minority Groups

Congressional Caucuses, 2002

• Asian Pacific Islander: 9• Hispanic: 18• Black: 38• Is that appropriate representation or not?• Should racial and ethnic caucuses exist?• Recent cooperation over Food Stamp

extension: help poor blacks and recent immigrants—Congress is becoming aware of the increasingly complicated racial and ethnic mosaic

The U.S. Situation in Historical and Global Context

1. The creation of countries out of settler societies.

2. Slavery

3. The impact of imperialism

4. Current immigration

Settler Societies and Indigenous Groups

• Dutch, English, French, and Spanish settlers• Displacement of American Indians: purchase,

forced relocation, death by disease• International comparisons:• Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Mexico:

what distinguishes the latter from the U.S. and the other three?

• South Africa: settler groups always smaller than indigenous group

Slavery

• Most slaves came from Western Africa prior to the 19th Century

• Plantation Agriculture: cotton and tobacco

• Why not in the North? Why not in Canada or Mexico? What about Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic?

Imperialism

• Cuba, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Hawaii: once they all belonged to us

• Korea and Vietnam• What are the roles of these in our current

population makeup?• What explains the different statuses of Hawaii

and Puerto Rico?• France, the United Kingdom, and the

Netherlands also have experienced significant immigration from former colonies

Immigration

• American Indian, African American, and white populations have a long history in the United States

• As do some Latinos in the Southwest

• We are a very open country to immigration and naturalization compared to most countries

Figure 1. Questions on Race and Hispanic Origin from Census 2000               Note: Please answer BOTH Questions 5 and 6.   5.   Is this person Spanish/Hispanic/Latino? Mark X the “No” box if not Spanish/Hispanic/Latino.    No, not Spanish/Hispanic/Latino Yes, Puerto Rican Yes, Mexican, Mexican Am., Chicano Yes, Cuban

  Yes, other Spanish/Hispanic/Latino – Print group

5. What is this person’s race? Mark X one or more races to indicate what this person considers himself/herself to be.

White Black, African Am., or Negro American Indian or Alaska Native – Print name of enrolled or principal tribe Asian Indian Japanese Native Hawaiian Chinese Korean Guamanian or Chamorro Filipino Vietnamese Samoan Other Asian – Print race Other Pacific Islander – Print race

Table 1. The Racial Composition of the U.S. Population in 2000 (in thousands) Race Hispanic/

Latino Not

Hispanic

Number Percent of Hispanic

Percent of Total

Number Percent of Non- Hispanic

Percent of Total

Total 35,305 100.0 12.5 246,116 100 87.5 One Race 33,082 93.7 11.8 241,514 98.1 85.8 White 16,908 47.9 6.0 194,553 79.1 69.1 Black 710 2.0 .3 33,948 13.8 12.1 American Indian

407 1.2 .1 2,068 .8 .7

Asian 120 .3 -- 10,123 4.1 3.6 Pacific Islander

45 .1 -- 354 .1 .1

Some other race

14,891 42.2 5.3 468 .2 .2

Two or more races

2,224 6.3 .8 4,602 1.9 1.6

Source: Grieco and Cassidy 2001.

American Indians

• 2.5 million or .8 percent of population

• Another 1.6 million or .6 percent in combination

• 1492: 2-5 million; 1900: approx. 300T

• What explains the population decline?

• What explains the population resurgence?

American Indians, continued

• Sovereign Dependent Nations– Marshall Supreme Court:Cherokee v.

Georgia– Guardian to Ward Relationship (current

controversy over missing funds)– Citizenship (U.S., tribal, state)

American Indians, continued

• Removal

• Allotment

• Indian Reorganization Act

• Termination

• Indian Self-Determination

White Americans

• The evolution of whiteness: Germans, Irish, Italian, Jews

• Why does ethnicity continue to be important to many white Americans?

• Higher incomes, higher wealth than most other groups

African Americans

• 35 million or 12.3 percent of the U.S population; 1.8 million AF Am and other

• 2% of Af Am identified as Hispanic: who are they?

• Slavery• Jim Crow• Civil Rights Movement • Post-Civil Rights Movement

Latinos/Latinas

• Why does Shorris prefer Latino/a over Hispanic?

• Major Latino Groups– Mexicans– Puerto Ricans– Cubans

Asians

One Asian GroupAsian and/or OtherTotal 10,019,405 11,898,828Asian Indian 1,678,765 1,899,599Chinese 2,314,537 2,734,841Filipino 1,850,314 2,364,815Japanese 796,700 1,148,932Korean 1,076,872 1,228,427Vietnamese 1,122,528 1,223,736Other Asian 1,179,689 -------------

Honk If You Love Buddha

A PBS program about the diversity of the Asian population