Chapter 7: Ethnicity

Ethnicity Ethnicity – group of people that share a common cultural background Controversy in U.S. – How much discrimination still exists? – Should preference be given to correct past mistakes? – To what extent should distinct identity of ethnicity be encouraged or protected Race – group that shares a biological ancestor- usually related to skin color or other physical characteristics Ethnicity cannot be changed, but it can be mixed and diluted

Key Issue #1: Where Are Ethnicities Distributed? Distribution in the U.S. – Hispanic/Latino 14% – African American 12% – Asian American 4% – American Indian 1% Clustering of Ethnicities – African Americans – in Southeast; over 25% of AL, GA, LA, MD, SC, & MS (33%) – Hispanics – in Southwest; 25% of CA, 33% of AZ, NM, TX; 30% of all Hispanics live in CA, 20% in TX, 15% in FL; 64% Mexican/Chicano, 10% Puerto Rican, 4% Cuban – Asian – in West; 12% of CA (1/2 of all Asians), 40% of HI; 23% Chinese, 19% Indian, 18% Filipino, 10% Vietnamese, 10% Korean, 7% Japanese – American Indian – in Southwest & Great Plains; also in Alaska

Key Issue #1: Where Are Ethnicities Distributed? Concentration in Cities – African Americans – 50% in cities Detroit – 85% African American; MI is 7%; 50% of Michigan’s African Americans live in Detroit Chicago – 1/3 African American; IL 1/12; 50% of Illinois’ African Americans live in Chicago – Hispanics NYC – 25%; NY State – 1/16; 75% of NY’s Hispanics live in NYC 50% of Los Angeles, El Paso, San Antonio – Neighborhood Scale Ethnicities cluster in neighborhoods (African Americans, Asians, Hispanics, Little Italy, Chinatown, etc.) Southern & Eastern European immigrants in Midwest (Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland) for steel & auto factories 1910 – 75% of Detroit were immigrants; clustered in neighborhoods (Greektown, Poletown) Los Angeles – AA in south central, Hispanics in east, Asians in south & west – 1992 riots (Rodney King); Asian stores looted by African Americans

Key Issue #1: Where Are Ethnicities Distributed? African American Migration Patterns (3 major flows): ①Forced migration from Africa – Slavery – 1 st to American colonies in 1619 (Jamestown, VA) – 1700s – 400,000 brought by British – U.S. banned new slaves in 1808 – 250,000 brought illegally for next 50+ years – Very few slaves in Europe, but 10 million brought by Europeans to Western Hemisphere (Brazil, Caribbean, etc.) – 5% to U.S. – Coastal Africans had better weapons and traded slaves with Europeans (captured interior peoples) – Spanish & Portuguese in 1500s; British, Dutch, French in 1600s – Most slaves from West Africa – Triangular Slave Trade – goods to Africa, gold & slaves to Caribbean, rum/molasses/tobacco/cotton to Europe – Hardships on journey, leaving families, forced labor – Slavery was big issue in U.S. from Constitution to Civil War (slave states vs. free states) – 13th, 14 th, & 15 th Amendments

Key Issue #1: Where Are Ethnicities Distributed? African American Migration Patterns (3 major flows): ②Great Migration North – Freed slaves mostly lived in South as sharecroppers – Decline in cotton demand and increase in machinery forced many off farms – Pulled towards industrial jobs in the North – Main routes: Carolinas & South Atlantic to Baltimore, Philadelphia, NYC (U.S. 1 or I-95) AL & E. TN to Detroit or Cleveland (U.S. 25 or 21 & I-75 or I-77) MS & W. TN to St. Louis & Chicago (U.S. 61 or 66 & I-55) TX to CA (U.S. 80 or 90 & I-10 or I-20) – 2 waves: 1910s-20s before and after WWI & 1940s-50s before and after WWII – Detroit African American pop. 5,741 – 500,000 ( )

Key Issue #1: Where Are Ethnicities Distributed? African American Migration Patterns (3 major flows): ③Expansion of the Ghetto – Clustering of African Americans in cities – Areas referred to as ghettos as many were unable to live in other areas (refusal to sell, poverty, etc.) – South Side Chicago – 500,000 African Americans in 3 square miles – Baltimore – 250,000 in 1 square mile (1950) NW of downtown – High density in inner-city vs. suburbs (100,000/sq. mile vs. 5,000/sq. mile – Moved from ghettos to adjacent neighborhoods in 1950s & 60s – expansion of ghettos along major roads

Key Issue #1: Where Are Ethnicities Distributed? Differentiating Ethnicity & Race – In U.S: Asian race roughly = Asian ethnicity Black race vs. African American (black may include Latin American, Caribbean, Asian, or Pacific) Hispanic/Latino is NOT a race – must choose white, black, or other – Racism – belief in superiority/inferiority of a race or racial characteristics – Ethnocentrism – belief in superiority of one’s ethnicity – Ethnicity is more tied to location & culture 2000 U.S. Census (14 races) – White 75%, Black 12%, American Indian, Asian Indian, Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Other Asian, Native Hawaiian, Guamanian, Samoan, Other Pacific Islander, Other race (2% checked more than 1 box)

Key Issue #1: Where Are Ethnicities Distributed? Separate But Equal Doctrine – Once legal spatial separation of races – Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) – Supreme Court ruling that allowed/legalized segregation as long as facilities were “equal” – Jim Crow Laws – segregation in South (buses, schools, hotels, restaurants, shops, bathrooms, etc.) – Deeds with restrictions on selling homes to blacks (sometimes also to Catholics & Jews) White Flight – Elimination of segregation in 1950s & 60s (Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, KS) – Minority facilities inferior and therefore unequal – Whites fled rather than integrate (Ex. Detroit 1.5 million whites left ) – Whites often moved to suburbs – blacks moved in – Blockbusting – illegal real estate practice to convince whites to sell cheaply & sell at a higher price to blacks trying to escape ghettos – Kerner Commission (1968) – U.S. cities were 2 separate & unequal societies

Key Issue #1: Where Are Ethnicities Distributed? Apartheid in South Africa – South Africa increased segregation while U.S. was ending it – 4 races: white (14%), colored (mix of white & black – 8%), Asian (3%), black (75%) – Race determined where you could live, go to school, shop, own land, travel within country – Blacks could not vote or run for office, could only hold certain jobs with lower wages – Dutch 1652 settled Cape Town area (known as Boers/farmers or Afrikaaner) – British captured Cape, Boers moved inland (Transvaal & Orange Free State) – Gold & diamonds discovered – British moved in & won Boer Wars in 1902 – British & Afrikaaners both refused to give power to blacks – 1970s & 80s – other countries imposed economic sanctions to oppose apartheid – 4 black homelands created (10 proposed) – would have been 13% of land for 44% of population (forced moving of blacks by gov’t) – End of Apartheid (1991) helped by African National Congress (ANC) – Nelson Mandela (jailed for 27 years) & Bishop Desmond Tutu – Mandela elected 1 st black president of South Africa in 1994 – Blacks have political equality but remain much poorer (whites make 10x more than blacks on average)