Racial and Ethnic Inequality Chapter 3 Racial and Ethnic Inequality

Defining race Biological definition of race: Population differs from another because of some genes. Today no “pure” races exist due to generations of intermixing. Sociologists view race as a social construct © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Racial Group A racial group is: A category of people who have been singled out Seen as inferior or superior than other groups Determined by subjectively defined physical characteristics Such as skin color, hair texture, eye shape © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Ethnic Group An Ethnic Group is: A group distinguished from others. Seen as inferior or superior. Distinguished on the basis of cultural or nationality characteristics. © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Figure 3.1 Median U.S. family income by race and Hispanic origin of householder, 2009. Source: DeNavas-Walt et al., 2010. © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Dominant and Subordinate Groups Dominant Group: Advantaged compared to other groups in society Have superior resources and rights in a society Can be determined by race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or other factors © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Dominant and Subordinate Groups In the U.S. the dominant group is associated with white-skin privilege. Subordinate Group: Are disadvantaged compared to other groups Face unequal treatment, prejudice, or discrimination See themselves as objects of discrimination © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Racism and Prejudice Racism: Beliefs and practices which justify unequal treatment of racial and ethnic groups White racism is present in the U.S. and denies people of color opportunities © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Racism and Prejudice Prejudice: negative attitude toward a particular group Based on faulty generalizations Stems from ethnocentrism (assumption one’s group is superior) Also influenced by stereotypes Overgeneralizations about all members of a group © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Discrimination Individual Discrimination: One on one acts against subordinate group by dominant group Generally stems from prejudice Institutional Discrimination: Involves day to day practices of institutions Harmful impact on subordinate group © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Sociological Perspectives on Race Social Psychological Perspective: Frustration-aggression hypothesis: Individuals who are unable to achieve a set goal become frustrated Authoritarian Personality Tendency to be more prejudice © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Symbolic Interactionist Racial Socialization: Process of social interaction containing messages about one’s racial/ethnic group. Can be direct via contact with parents, peers, teachers, others Also indirectly through media images © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Functionalist Focus on social order and stability as being important. Assimilation: Process where subordinate group members become absorbed in dominant culture Seen by functionalists as stabilizing Anglo-conformity model © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Functionalist Ethnic Pluralism: Segregation: Diverse racial and ethnic groups coexist Maintain separate identities and cultures Segregation: Spatial and social separation of people Based on race/ethnicity, class, gender, religion or other social characteristics. © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Conflict Class perspectives: Historically African Americans were enslaved; they were the cheapest & best workers Contemporary theory Split-labor market theory: U.S. economy divided into 2 sectors © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Conflict Gendered Racism: Internal Colonialism: Interaction of gender and race resulting in exploitation of woman of color. Internal Colonialism: Members of a racial/ethnic group are placed under control of the dominant group © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Conflict Theory of racial formation: Government has large role in defining racial and ethnic relations Policies and actions placing one group in a subordinate position Immigration and naturalization laws Influence relations between racial & ethnic groups © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Native Americans Population of 15 million inhabited land when Columbus arrived in 1492 White Europeans conquered and colonized the Native Americans Engaged in genocide 1830: Indian Removal Act passed © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

African Americans First brought to North American as slaves in 1619 Slavery abolished in 1863: In South: de jure segregation In North: de facto segregation Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1965 ended de jure segregation © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Latinos (Hispanic Americans) Puerto Rico became a U.S. possession in 1917; citizens allowed migration to U.S. In late 1950s refugees immigrated to U.S. from Cuba to flee from Fidel Castro Mexicans have immigrated to the U.S. as agricultural workers © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Asian and Pacific Americans Chinese workers came to America between 1850 and 1880. Japanese immigrants forced into internment camps during WWII. Many immigrants have come recently from other parts of Asia © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Figure 3.2 Race and Hispanic origin Source: Humes et al., 2011. © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Solutions to Racial and Ethnic Inequality Functionalist: Restructure Social Institutions Conflict: Struggle and Political Action Interactionist: Teach cultural diversity to unlearn prejudice and discrimination © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Figure 3. 3 Percentage of U. S Figure 3.3 Percentage of U.S. population by race and Hispanic origin (for those indicating one race only): 2010, 2025, and 2050 (middle-series projections) Source: Humes et al., 2011. © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.