Chapter 7: Ethnicity

What is self-determination? • Concept that ethnicities have the right to govern themselves • Northern Ireland was self-determinant by choosing to become part of the U.K. rather than the Republic of Ireland • To preserve and enhance distinctive cultural characteristics, ethnicities seek to govern themselves without interference Ireland United Kingdom

What was apartheid? In South Africa a newborn baby was classified as being one of four races: black, white, colored (mixed white and black), or Asian. Each of the four races had a different legal status in South Africa, the apartheid laws determined where different races could live, attend school, work, shop, go to the restroom, play on beaches, own land, etc.

What is Balkanization? When a state breaks down through conflicts among its ethnicities Balkanization directly led to World War I because the various nationalities in the Balkans dragged into the war the larger powers with whom they had alliances Millions of people were rounded up and killed or forced to migrate because they constituted ethnic minorities The balkanization of Yugoslavia has been one of the most violent dissolutions of the recent era.

What is the difference between race and ethnicity? Race is biological Ethnicity is cultural Race is genetic, you can’t change what race you are Ethnicity is learned from previous generations and is what you perceive yourself as

What is “white flight”? During the 1950’s and 1960’s realtors told white people that the blacks were moving out of the ghetto into the urban areas so that the whites would sell their houses to the realtors for really cheap. The realtors sold the houses to the blacks for a lot more money.

What is nationality? Nationality is based on which country you are a citizen of For example, if you are a citizen of the USA then your nationality would be American, if you are a Mexican and also a citizen of the USA your nationality is Mexican-American.

Why is ethnic conflict in Africa so widespread? Africa has so many ethnicities that are all connected in some way, and that causes problems all across the country because they all feel they deserve the best resources.

Who are the Kurds? The Kurds were the residents of Kurdistan until after World War I, when the allied powers took the Middle East and denied the Kurds a Nation-state. Nobody payed attention to them until 1991 when they were shown fleeing Iraq through the mountains of Turkey and Iran on world wide T.V. The U.S. used the Kurds when making deals with Iraq, but would drop them after the deal was made.

Current distribution of ethnicities What does the distribution of ethnicities in the United States look like? Hispanics are 15% of the population, African Americans 13%, Asian Americans 4%, and American indians 1% . Growth trends- Minority Majority by 2040.The hispanics will be along the U.S. Mexican border and in Florida. African Americans along south. Asian Americans in the West coast. Indian Americans in reservations in the West. 90% of African Americans and Hispanics in the cities. Current distribution of ethnicities

What happened in Plessy v. Ferguson and Brown v. Board of Education ? In the Plessy v. Ferguson trial, Plessy got onto a white only car on a train. When he was asked to move and he refused, they stopped the train and arrested him. Plessy had violated the “Separate Car Act”. Plessy’s lawyers argued that the law denied him his rights of the 13th and 14th amendment. In a seven to one vote, the court rejected the argument saying the law didn’t violate his rights. In the Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme court found that separate schools for black and whites was unconstitutional. It was branding minority children as inferior and therefore unequal.

Where was the former Yugoslavia located? What happened to it in 1992? Yugoslavia was located where present day Serbia and Montenegro are. In the 90’s Yugoslavia fell because many minority ethnicities opposed the long standing dominance of the Serbs in Yugoslavia.