Race And Ethnicity

ISSUES OF RACE AND ETHNICITY

WHY DO YOU KEEP BRINGING UP THIS “RACE” ISSUE?!?!

• RACE – SHARED BIOLOGICALLY TRANSMITTED TRAITS DEEMED “SOCIALLY SIGNIFICANT” • CAUCASIAN: LIGHT SKIN, FINE HAIR • NEGROID: DARKER SKIN, COARSE HAIR • MONGOLOID: BROWN SKIN, DISTINCTIVE EYES

• ETHNICITY – SHARED CULTURAL HERITAGE • DIVERSITY IN AMERICA: IS IT CELEBRATED?

• RACE, ETHNICITY, AND ASSIMILATION – THOSE CONSIDERED MOST DIFFERENT FROM THE DOMINANT RACE AND ETHNICITY WILL HAVE DIFFICULTY IN ASSIMILATING

Racial Categories United States of America, 1990 European

80

African Am.

12

Hispanic Am.

9

Asian Am.

3

Native Am.

1

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Percent of Pop. Many persons indicated more than one category and that is why total is more than 100%

Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1993.

In the Year 2050 DEMOGRAPHICS of the United States 1990 * WHITE 80% OF POPULATION – BLACK 12% – HISPANIC 9% – ASIAN 3%

2050 WHITE 53% OF POPULATION – HISPANIC 21% – BLACK 16% – ASIAN 10% * Percentages taken from previous slide

• DOMINANT RACIAL GROUP – WHITE AMERICA • THE RACIAL GROUP THAT HAS WITHIN ITS POWER THE ABILITY TO EXPLOIT AND CONTROL OTHER GROUPS, EVEN IN THE FACE OF RESISTANCE • THOSE IN A PLACE OF SOCIAL ADVANTAGE

– WHITE PRIVILEGE • THE FACT THAT WHITES, BY VIRTURE OF THEIR RACIAL IDENTITY, RECEIVE SPECIAL CONSIDERATION IN ALMOST ALL FACETS OF SOCIAL LIFE

• GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS – SHARE A “DISTINCT IDENTITY” • RACE, SEX, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, THE POOR

– SUBORDINATION • OFTEN SADDLED WITH LOWER STATUS • STEREOTYPES, STIGMA, AND LABELING

– GROUP SIZE (NUMBERS) • WOMEN IN AMERICA OUTNUMBER MEN • BLACKS IN SOUTH AFRICA OUTNUMBER WHITES

UNDERSTANDING PREJUDICE A FEW BASIC TERMS MUST BE UNDERSTOOD

• PREJUDICE – THEY ARE PREJUDGMENTS THAT CAN BE EITHER POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE • TRADITIONALLY, WHEN IT COMES TO RACE… – PREJUDICES ARE THOUGHT OF AS NEGATIVE, RIGID, AND IRRATIONAL GENERALIZATIONS ABOUT AN ENTIRE GROUP OF PEOPLE

• A STEREOTYPE – A PREJUDICED DESCRIPTION OF AN ENTIRE CATEGORY OF PEOPLE

• COGNITIVE LEVEL – THE IDEA OR THOUGHT • JEWISH PEOPLE ARE GREEDY

• EMOTIONAL LEVEL – ATTACHING FEELINGS TO IDEA • LEARNING TO FEEL ANGER TOWARDS WHITES

• ACTION-ORIENTATION LEVEL – PREDISPOSITION TO ACT • MORE LIKELY TO VERBALLY OR PHYSICALLY ATTACK A TARGETTED GROUP

A VERY POWERFUL AND DESTRUCTIVE FORM OF PREJUDICE THAT REMAINS VERY MUCH ALIVE TODAY

• THE BELIEF THAT ONE RACIAL CATEGORY IS INNATELY SUPERIOR OR INFERIOR TO ANOTHER – INDIVIDUAL RACISM – INSTITUTIONALIZED RACISM

• RECALL WHAT RACE IS AND SEE THE IRRATIONAL THOUGHT PROCESS – THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A “PURE RACE” THESE DAYS; A CONTINUUM – RACE IS BIOLOGICAL, BUT WHAT PEOPLE MAKE OF IT IS SOCIAL

• SCAPEGOAT THEORY – BLAMING OTHERS FOR PERSONAL TROUBLES – TARGET SELECTION AND THEN AGGRESSION

• AUTHORITARIAN PERSONALITY – THE “ARCHIE BUNKER” THEORY

• CULTURE OF PREJUDICE – THE SOCIALIZATION EXPERIENCE – IT’S “NORMAL” FOR PEOPLE TO PREJUDGE OTHERS

• CONFLICT THEORY – SELF-JUSTIFICATION FOR THE RICH AND POWERFUL IN AMERICA – USE OF “RACE CARD” BY MINORITY GROUPS CAN LEAD TO “WHITE BACKLASH” MOVEMENTS

IT’S A MATTER OF ACTION, NOT ATTITUDE

• VERBALIZATION – JOKES, COMMENTS, RACIAL SLURS

• EXCLUSION – KEEPING PEOPLE MARGINAL

• AVOIDANCE – NOT TRAVELING IN CERTAIN AREAS

• PHYSICAL ABUSE – PHYSICAL ATTACKS

• GENOCIDE – SYSTEMATIC KILLING OFF OF A GROUP

INSTITUTIONALIZED PREJUDICE AND DISCRIMINATION • BIAS INHERENT IN THE OPERATION OF SOCIETY’S INSTITUTIONS – – – –

SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION BANKING AND LOANS POLICE AND CRIMINAL PROFILING WORKPLACE AND ADVANCEMENT

• MAJORITY GROUP – IS OFTEN SLOW TO RECOGNIZE AND DO ANYTHING ABOUT THINGS BECAUSE OF TRADITIONS • ALSO, SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS DO NOT CHANGE QUICKLY UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE

HOW ATTITUDES (PREJUDICES) AND ACTIONS (DISCRIMINATION) WORK TOGETHER TO CLASSIFY ALL PEOPLE

DISCRIMINATES?

YES

YES

NO

ACTIVE BIGOT

TIMID BIGOT

PREJUDICE? ALLFAIRNO WEATHER WEATHER LIBERAL LIBERAL

•

•

•

PREJUDICE AND DISCRIMINATION BEGIN AS ETHNOCENTRIC ATTITUDES AS A RESULT, GROUPS CAN BE PLACED IN A SITUATION WHERE THEY ARE SOCIALLY DISADVANTAGED AND LABELED A GROUP’S SITUATION, OVER TIME, IS THUS EXPLAINED AS A RESULT OF INNATE INFERIORITY RATHER THAN LOOKING AT THE SOCIAL STRUCTURE OF REASONS; THE CYCLE THEN REPEATS ITSELF

RACIAL AND ETHNIC GROUPS • NATIVE AMERICANS – AN AMERICAN STORY OF GROUP GENOCIDE

• EURO AMERICANS – QUICKLY FORGOT WHY THEY HAD LEFT THEIR OWN COUNTRIES AND DENIED FREEDOM TO MANY GROUPS

• AFRICAN AMERICANS – FORCED IMMIGRATION FOR LABOR

• ASIAN AMERICANS – AMERICA’S “MODEL MINORITY GROUP”

• HISPANIC AMERICANS – FACING MANY SOCIAL ILLS IN AMERICA

• PLURALISM – DISTINCT GROUPS WITH PARITY

• ASSIMILATION – ADOPTION OF MAJORITY GROUP CULTURE – INTERBREEDING

• SEGREGATION – PHYSICAL AND SOCIAL DISTANCE – DE JURE AND DE FACTO SEGREGATION

• GENOCIDE – ONE GROUP “KILLS OFF” ANOTHER GROUP

SOME FOLKS ARE LUCKY ENOUGH TO GET BEYOND THE SELF-IMPOSED LIMITATIONS OF COLOR

RACIAL/ETHNIC GROUPS IN AMERICA • NATIVE AMERICANS – FIRST TO SETTLE THE ESTERN HEMISPHERE

• WHITE ANGLO-SAXON PROTESTANTS – CAME TO DOMINATE AMERICA ONCE EUROPEAN COLONIZATION BEGAN

• AFRICAN AMERICANS – ESTABLISHMEHT OF SLAVERY IN THE NEW WORLD

• ASIAN AMERICANS – CHEAP LABOR FOR MINES, THE RAILROADS, FARMING, AND MUCH DISCRIMINATION

• HISPANIC AMERICANS – THE SOUTHWEST MEXICAN AND EASTERN PUERTO RICAN HISTORICAL CONNECTIONS

TWO KEY AREAS: 1) ENHANCE THE EDUCATIONAL PROCESS 2) INCREASE MEANINGFUL SOCIAL CONTACT

• EDUCATION – MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION – LEARN TO APPRECIATE DIVERSITY

• MEANINGFUL CONTACT – DESIRE TO CHANGE – HONEST, SELF-CRITIQUE OF LIFESTYLE – PLAN FOR INCREASING SOCIAL CONTACT