Unit 3: Social Inequality Chapter 10: Racial and Ethnic Relations

Do you know what was happening in South Africa?  Ever heard of Apartheid?  Ever heard of Nelson Mandela?

History of South Africa  All power (economic, social, political) was in hands of 6 million whites. Only 15% of the population 34 million Black, Asian, & mixed race were under their control  Apartheid Enacted by whites Limited access of other racial groups to housing, education, employment, health care, legal protection, and public facilities. Limited their personal freedoms…like?  Done away with in 1990’s Today it is democratic, power shared among races.

Section 1: Race, Ethnicity, & the Social Structure  3 racial groups according to scholars: Caucasoids:  Whites, fair skin, straight or wavy hair Mongoloids  Asians, yellowish or brownish skin and distinctive folds on the eyelids Negroids  Blacks, dark skin, tightly curled hair  Can these possibly encompass everyone?

Defining important terms:  Race: Category of people who share inherited physical characteristics and whom others see as being a distinct group For sociologists….  Race isn’t determined by a set of physical characteristics… but is based on people’s reactions to physical characteristics.

Defining important terms:  Ethnicity Set of cultural characteristics that distinguishes one group from another group  Ex: national origin, religion, language, customs, values  Ethnic group People who share a common cultural background and a common sense of identity  Some keep heritage stronger than others

Important questions:  Can some races be ethnicities?  Can some ethnicities be races?  Are any races or ethnicities genetically inferior than others?  Are some groups more dominant? How can we tell who they are?

Defining Important Terms:  Minority group According to Louis Wirth… A group of people who (b/c of phys characteristics or cultural practices) are singled out and unequally treated. Has nothing to do with group size.

Characteristics of minority groups (must exhibit all of the below)  They possess identifiable physical or cultural characteristics that differ from those of the dominant group.  Group members are the victims of unequal treatment at the hands of the dominant group.  Membership in the group is an ascribed status.  Group members share a strong bond and sense of group loyalty.  Members tend to practice endogamy.

Why do minority groups make excellent scapegoats?  1.) Easy to recognize b/c of physical features, language, style of dress, or religious practices  2.) Lack power in society and may be unlikely to fight back.  3.) They are often concentrated in one geographic area (easy target)  4.) Often targets of scapegoating in the past, so hostility already exists  5.) They represent something the scapegoater does not like

Section 2: Patterns of Intergroup Relations  Discrimination Denial of equal treatment to individuals based on their group membership Involves behaviors  Prejudice Unsupported generalization about a category of people. Involves attitudes.

Discrimination  Individual level and societal level Name-calling, rudeness, acts of violence  Legal discrim. Societal; upheld by the law  Institutionalized discrim. Societal; outgrowth of the structure of a society  Which is: Apartheid; women in the US not voting; Jim Crow laws; unequal access to resources

Prejudice  Involves stereotypes An oversimplified, exaggerated, or unfavorable generalization about a group of people.  Form an image of one particular person, than apply that image to all members of the group  W.I. Thomas If we hear stereotypes enough, they might start to be believed  Robert K. Merton Self-fulfilling prophecy  Prediction that results in behavior that makes the prediction come true

Prejudice continued:  For the dominant group… Prejudice serves as a justification for discriminatory actions  Once people come to believe negative claims made against members of a minority group, they find it easier to accept open acts of discrimination.  Racism: Belief that one’s own race or ethnic group is naturally superior to others.  Has been used to justify genocide and slavery

Merton – we can combine racism and prejudice in four possible ways Timid Bigot: Prejudiced person who does not discriminate All-Weather Liberal: Non-prejudiced person who does not discriminate Active Bigot: Prejudiced person who discriminates Fair-Weather Liberal: Non-prejudiced person who discriminates DISCRIMINATIONDISCRIMINATION NO YES PREJUDICE YESNO

See Racism Power Point

Where the heck do discrimination and prejudice come from?  Sociology From our social environment & socialization Internalize norms  Psychology Individual behavior Authoritarian personality  Follow those in authority, conformist Product of frustration and anger Scapegoating  Economic Arise out of competition for scarce resources

Patterns of Minority Group Treatment  Cultural Pluralism Each group within society keeps its own unique cultural identity  Ex: Switzerland has 3 official languages  Assimilation Blending of culturally distinct groups into a single group with a common culture and identity  Legal Protection Civil Rights Act of 1964; Voting Rights Act 1965

Patterns of Minority Group Treatment  Segregation Policies that physically separate a minority group from the dominant group  De jure segregation – based on laws  De facto segregation: Based on informal norms  Examples?

Patterns of Minority Group Treatment  Subjugation Maintaining of control over a group through force  Slavery – most extreme form  Population Transfer When minority group goes to a new territory b/c dominant group wants them too  Extermination Genocide:  When the goal of extermination is the intentional destruction of the entire targeted population Ethnic cleansing:  Removing a group from a particular area through terror, expulsion, and mass murder

Section 3: Minority Groups in the US: African Americans  More than 12% of population  How have they suffered here?  Positive gains: 24% hold managerial or professional jobs  35% of whites 41% have middle class incomes

African Americans: Not so positive gains  About half the % of Af Amers complete college compared to whites  Af Amer family income is about 64% of a white family income  % of Af Amer families below poverty level is almost three times that of white families  31% of Af Amers 18 years old and younger live below poverty level  Unemployment rate among Af Amer is more than twice as high as the rate among white workers

How would Barrack Obama help African Americans in the United States?

Minority Groups: Hispanics  US is home to more than 35 million. 58% increase since  Becoming the largest minority group in the USA.  Estimate there are 5 million illegal immigrants – 70% are Hispanic.  Hold 6,000 elected offices.  Lag behind in education and employment. Ex: poverty rate is about twice that of whites  Very diverse minority group: Where they are from, culture, etc.

Minority Groups: Asian Americans  Variety of national backgrounds.  6 largest groups: Chinese, Filipino, Indian, Korean, Vietnamese, & Japanese  4% of US population  3 rd largest minority group  Chinese Exclusion Act, 1882 Lifted in 1940’s  Immigration Act of 1924  Achieve high scores in verbal & math sections of SAT 44% over 25 have a bachelor’s or higher degree  26% of whites  Income for their household is $13,000 higher than all Americans  “Model Minority” Japanese Interment Camps WWII

Minority Groups: Native Americans  When Europeans first came here, they had 100’s of tribes and millions of people.  What did they have to endure? Disease War Destruction of their way of life Reservations  2000: 2.5 million in the USA

Native Americans continued:  Face the hardest challenges of all…why? 50% on or near reservations are unemployed. 31% live below the poverty level. Rate of alcohol related deaths is 7 times higher than general population. Suicide rate is 1.5 times higher than general population.  2 nd leading cause of death years old. 66% 25 and older have graduated from high school, less than 10% have graduated from college.  1924 – all N.A.’s are citizens of USA  1989 – Legislation passed for museum

Minority Groups: White Ethnics  Not all white immigrants accepted with a hug: Ireland, Italy, France, Poland, Greece (white ethnics)  All mostly Catholic – treated with discrimination  Came with little money and few skills Didn’t speak English  EX of discrimination: Catholic lynchings “only Americans need apply” Lowest paying jobs  How did they respond? Assimilation! Banded together in ethnic neighborhoods – ghettos  Often stereotyped as poorly educated…not so true…