“We’re not where we want to be. And we’re not where we’re going to be. But we are a long way from where we were. - Martin Luther King, Jr.

Patterns of Assimilation Minority groups are either: Rejected, leading to conflict or Accepted, leading to assimilation Assimilation- the blending or fusing of minority groups into the dominant society

Anglo-Conformity The most prevalent form of assimilation in America Traditional American institutions are maintained Immigrant minority is required to conform; it must either give up or suppress its own values.

Is America a Melting Pot or a Tossed Salad? Melting pot- all ethnic and racial minorities voluntarily blend together Some question as to how much fusing of cultures has actually taken place Many sociologists now use the idea a “tossed salad”, in which traditions and cultures exist side by side.

The “Tossed Salad” Cultural pluralism- desire of a group to maintain some sense of identity separate from the dominant group Accommodation- extreme form, occurs when a minority maintains its own culturally unique way of life Cubans, Amish

Genocide Patterns of Conflict- Describe the approaches that dominant cultures take in their rejection of minority groups Most extreme form is genocide Genocide- the systematic effort to destroy an entire population Holocaust “Rape of Nanking”- 1937, Japanese massacre of 260,000-35,000 Chinese Serbians- ethnic cleansing against the Muslims in Bosnia and Kosovo Turkish genocide of Armenia

Population Transfer A minority is forces to either move to a remote location or to leave entirely the territory controlled by the majority

Subjugation The most commonly occurring conflict pattern A subjugated minority is denied equal access to the culture and lifestyle of the larger society De jure segregation- denial of equal access based on the law public school segregation De facto segregation- denial of equal access based on everyday practice Neighboring homeowners decide not to sell to members of certain ethnic groups based on stereotypes Not legal, but can be very effective

“Prejudice is what fools use for reason” - Voltaire, French Philosopher

Prejudice Widely held negative attitudes toward a group (minority or majority) and its individual members Involves generalizations based on biased or insufficient information Based on strong emotions, so they are often difficult to change even with overwhelming evidence.

Racism An extreme form of prejudice that assumes superiority of one group over others Discrimination of exclusion is morally justified because on one’s own natural superiority

Discrimination Treating people differently based on ethnicity, race, religion, or culture Prejudice involves holding biased opinions; discrimination includes acting on those opinions by treating people unfairly.

Mini-Quiz TRUE OR FALSE?? 1) Most hate crimes are extremely brutal and involve violence done to a person. 2) The U.S. Constitution has identified English as the official language of the country. 3) The frequency of hate crimes in the U.S. has finally begun to decrease. 4) Most school-related hate crimes are committed by students who belonged to organized hate groups. 5) Some kinds of hatred toward certain groups of people are instinctive and biologically based.

Hate Crimes Criminal act that is motivate d by extreme prejudice James Byrd, Jr., an African American is chained to a pickup truck and dragged to death in Jasper, Texas Matthew Shepard, a 21-year old gay college student was tied to a fence and beaten to death in Laramie, Wyoming

Stereotypes A distorted, exaggerated, or oversimplified image applied to a category of people Athletes are “all brains and no brawn” Politicians are corrupt Sometimes used to justify unethical behavior against minority groups Justifying expansion by portraying Native Americans as savages

The Functionalist Perspective Focus on the dysfunctions caused by prejudice and discrimination When minorities are exploited, the social, political and economic costs to society is high The safety and stability of society is at risk due to periodic violence However, a dominant group can create a feeling of superiority and thus strengthen its members’ own self- concepts

The Conflict Perspective A majority uses prejudice and discrimination as weapons of power to control a minority in order to increase its control over property, goods, and other resources Native Americans Different minorities view one another as competitors rather than allies in their struggle against the majority. African Americans and Latinos

The Symbolic Interactionist Perspecive Members of a society learn to be prejudiced much in the same way they learn how to be patriotic Gordon Allport (1958): Two Stages 1) Pregeneralized learning period: children may overheard parents make racist or prejudiced statements, but they have not yet learned to separate people by race or ethnic group 2) Total rejection stage: they are able to use physical clues to sort people into groups

Language itself can reflect prejudices “Blackball, blacklist, black mark, black eye” Self-Fulfilling Prophesy- an expectation that leads to behavior that causes the expectation to become a reality If members of a minority are continually treated like they are less intelligent or less competent, they may eventually accept this.

Theoretical Perspectives: Prejudice and Discrimination Theoretical PerspectiveConceptExample FunctionalismEthnocentrismWhite colonists used negative stereotypes as a justification for taking Native American land. Conflict TheoryCompetition for PowerAfrican Americans accuse Latinos of using their political clout to win advantages for themselves. Symbolic InteractionsimSelf-Fulfilling ProphesyMembers of a minority fail because of the low expectations they have for their own success.