Chapter 7 RACE & ETHNICITY

Key issues 1&2 WHERE ARE ETHNICITIES DISTRIBUTED, and WHY DO THEY HAVE DISTINCTIVE DISTRIBUTIONS?

In this chapter we will analyze two extremely complex elements of human identity: RACE and ETHNICITY. Though they are often conflated, each has a separate and specific impact on our lives.

ETHNICITY is a group of people who share the cultural traditions of a particular homeland or hearth.

RACE is a group of people who share a biological ancestor.

RACISM is the belief that race is the primary determining characteristic of human traits and capacities

Many once thought RACE was the best way to analyze and group people- driven by SCIENTIFIC RACISM, which compared the ‘capabilities’ of different peoples. This fell out of favor after the Nazis used it to support their twisted views.

The US Census illustrates the complexity of identifying according to race and ethnicity

The first asks whether the person is Hispanic- and if yes with what Hispanic ethnicity that person identifies

The other asks to select one (or more) of 15 ‘races’- many which are actually ethnicities.

In the 2010 Census- 72% identified as White 13% as Black HISPANIC QUESTION 16% Hispanic, 84% ‘Not Hispanic’ RACE QUESTION 72% identified as White 13% as Black 5% as Asian (combined) 1% as Native American 6% as Other

Unique distributions of different ethnicities in the US can be viewed at different scales Regional State City

REGIONAL SCALE Hispanics: Clustered in the Southwest African Americans: Clustered in the Southeast Asian Americans: Clustered in the West, particularly the Bay Area

Ethnicities in the USA FIGURE 7-7 DISTRIBUTION OF HIS PANICS IN THE UNITED STATES The counties with the highest percentages in 2010 are in the Southwest, near the Mexican border, and in northern cities.

STATE SCALE In most states, more than 90% of African Americans and Hispanics live in urban areas.

URBAN SCALE Ethnicities are often highly clustered in urban areas, often with distinct distributions visible at the neighborhood level.

Los Angeles African Americans in south-central L.A. Hispanics in east L.A. Asian Americans in specific clusters. FIGURE 7-11 DISTRIBUTION OF ETHNICITIES IN LOS ANGE LES According to the 2010 Census, African Americans were clustered to the south of downtown Los Angeles and Hispanics to the east. Asian American neighborhoods were contiguous to the African American and Hispanic areas.

Nevada Census Map

The clustering of ethnicities in the US is largely the outcome of migration dynamics

Most African-Americans are descended from people from Africa forcibly brought across the Atlantic as slaves.

Different European countries acquired slaves in Africa and sent them to points the Americas. Members of coastal tribes were paid/forced to capture members of inland tribes

TRIANGULAR SLAVE TRADE FIGURE 7-14 TRIANGULAR SLAVE TRADE

Most Asian- and Latin-Americans came to the US voluntarily during the late 20th and early 21st centuries

Some Asians and Hispanics were forced to come to America by conflict in their home countries (refugees). Vietnamese try to get on US helicopter at end of Vietnam War Family flees conflict in El Salvador

Latin Americans US Hispanic population boomed starting in 1970s due to immigration from Mexico and Puerto Rico.

The Puerto Rican population is concentrated in the Northeast and Florida, and in major cities.

The US Cuban population is concentrated in South Florida. Third largest group of Hispanics in the United States are Cubans, mostly from after the 1959 communist revolution. The US Cuban population is concentrated in South Florida.

People immigrating from Asia often came in pursuit of economic opportunity, and in recent years to attend American universities.

FIGURE 7-16 ASIAN AMERICANS BY COUNTRY OF ORIGIN Chinese, Filipinos, and Indians comprise one-fifth each of Asian Americans in the United China States.

1.) Interregional migration from the South to Northern Cities African-Americans have followed two distinct migration patterns during the 20th century: 1.) Interregional migration from the South to Northern Cities 2.) Intraregional migration from inner-city ‘ghettos’ to outer city/suburbs

After achieving emancipation, most African-Americans continued to live in the South as SHARECROPPERS, paying high taxes to wealthy landowners to farm.

Mechanization of agriculture served as a push factor, while manufacturing jobs in the north acted as a pull factor encouraging African Americans to migrate to northern cities

In the early-mid 20th century, many African-Americans departed the South for Northern cities. FIGURE 7-18 INTER REGIONAL MIGRATION OF AFRICAN AMERICANS Migration followed four distinctive channels along the East Coast, east central, west central, and southwest regions of the country.

INTRAREGIONAL MIGRATION OF AFRICAN AMERICANS (1970S-PRESENT)

Many became densely packed and poverty-stricken, called ‘ghettos’ Arriving in northern cities, African-Americans clustered in neighborhoods where others already lived. Many became densely packed and poverty-stricken, called ‘ghettos’

Over time, black neighborhoods grew outward, radiating from the inner city toward the outskirts.

This became known as ‘WHITE FLIGHT’ Many whites quickly moved out when blacks began moving in nearby areas. This became known as ‘WHITE FLIGHT’

Black expansion, White Flight- St. Louis, MO

As whites fled the city, Detroit’s population fell from over 2 million to around 600,000 today.

Detroit demographics, 1910-2010 FIGURE 7-20 ETHNIC POPULATION CHANGE IN DETROIT Between 1950 and 2010, the white population of Detroit declined from 1.7 million to 100,000 today, whereas the African American population increased from 300,000 to 600,000.

With its tax base nearly erased, Detroit has deteriorated almost beyond recognition.

OFFICIAL POLICIES OF RACIAL SEGREGATION United States (1896-1954) South Africa (1948-1994)

This was the Plessy v. Ferguson In 1896, the SCOTUS ruled that racial segregation was legal, creating a doctrine called ‘SEPARATE BUT EQUAL.’ This was the Plessy v. Ferguson decision

Southern states quickly enacted a set of laws- commonly referred together as “Jim Crow”- to segregate blacks from whites.

From buses to bathrooms, African Americans were forced to use separate- and often inferior- facilities.

This continued for fifty years, until the SCOTUS ruled in Brown v This continued for fifty years, until the SCOTUS ruled in Brown v. Board of Ed. (1954) that official racial segregation was unconstitutional.

APARTHEID in SOUTH AFRICA

The whites called themselves Boers (farmers) or Afrikaners. In 1948 Britain pulled out of South Africa, leaving a white (Dutch) minority in firm control over a large black majority. The whites called themselves Boers (farmers) or Afrikaners.

The Afrikaners set up a system of legal segregation called APARTHEID to keep their minority rule intact.

Under Apartheid, every baby was classified as being one of four races- white, black, colored, or Asian- each with specific rights and privileges.

After years of international and domestic protest, the Afrikaner government fell in 1991 and Apartheid was repealed.

New S.A. flag meant to show diversity of its peoples After 27 years in prison, Nelson Mandela was elected South Africa’s 1st popularly elected president in 1994. New S.A. flag meant to show diversity of its peoples FIGURE 7-22 APARTHEI D IN SOUTH AFRICA South Africa’s apartheid laws were designed to spatially segregate races as much as possible. This 1984 image of City Hall in Johannesburg shows that whites and nonwhites were required to use separate bathrooms.

Today, advocates for a Palestinian state are using the same boycott tactics to erode support for Israel’s policies in the Palestinian Territories.