Chapter 10 Racial and Ethnic Minorities

With which racial/ethnic characterization do identify with the most? Choose only one. A. Anglo (white, non-Hispanic) B. Hispanic C. African American, black D. Native American (American Indian) E. Asian F. Other

 What Cues, or markers did you use to identify your self?  Are these physical, cultural, or based on ancestry?

The Concept of Race  Race refers to a category of people who are similar because of physical characteristics.  Races have been defined along genetic, legal, and social lines, each presenting its own set of problems.  Go to the American Anthropological Association’s statement on Race.

Genetic Definitions of Race  Differences in traits, such as hair and nose type, have proved of no value in making classifications of human beings.  Similarities appear to be far greater than any physical differences including skin color.

Legal Definitions  There has been little consistency among the legal definitions of race.  The state of Missouri made “one-eighth or more Negro blood” the criterion for nonwhite status.  As recently as 1982, a dispute arose over Louisiana’s law requiring anyone of more than 1/32 African descent to be classified as black.

Social Definitions  In the 2000 census people were able to declare as members of any one or more of five categories:  American Indian/Alaskan Native  Asian  African-American  Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander  White

Facts about Racial Intermarriage There are over 3 million interracial marriages a year in the United States. Interracial marriages represent 5.4% of all married couples. This is up from 1% in 1970 The most common types of intermarriages are between white men and Asian or multiple-race women. Marriage between minority racial groups is much less likely. The least common type of interracial marriage is between white and blacks.

Facts about Racial Intermarriage People who intermarry are younger and better educated than average couples. Three million children are growing up in interracial families. This is up from 900,000 in Black men are much more likely to intermarry than black women. Ten percent of black men have a nonblack spouse. More than 10% of the married couples in Hawaii, California, Oklahoma, Alaska, and Nevada were interracial.

The Concept of Ethnic Group  An ethnic group has a distinct cultural tradition that its own members identify with and that may not be recognized by others.  They adhere to customs, maintain similarity in family patterns, religion, and cultural values.  They often possess distinct folkways and mores; customs of dress, art, and ornamentation; moral and value systems; and patterns of recreation.  The group is may be devoted to a monarch, religion, language, or territory.

The Concept of Minority  Louis Wirth’s definition of a minority:  A group of people who, because of physical or cultural characteristics, are singled out from others in society for differential and unequal treatment, and who therefore regard themselves as objects of collective discrimination.

Question  Which of the following would qualify as a minority group in U.S. society according to the sociological definition of the term? A. homosexuals B. the elderly C. people with disabilities D. all of these choices are correct

Answer: D  Homosexuals, the elderly and people with disabilities would qualify as a minority group in U.S. society according to the sociological definition of the term.

Prejudice  An irrationally based negative, or occasionally positive, attitude toward certain groups and their members.

Discrimination  Differential treatment, usually unequal and injurious, accorded to individuals who are assumed to belong to a particular category or group.

Institutionalized Prejudice and Discrimination  Complex societal arrangements that restrict the life chances and choices of a specifically defined group, in comparison with those of the dominant group. 

Question  The problems of racial prejudice and discrimination in U.S. society are over stated. A. Strongly agree B. Agree somewhat C. Unsure D. Disagree somewhat E. Strongly disagree

Social Functions of Prejudice  A prejudice helps draw together those who hold it.  When two or more groups are competing for access to scarce resources it is easier to write off competitors as unworthy.  Prejudice allows us to project onto others those parts of ourselves that we do not like and therefore try to avoid facing.

Patterns of Racial and Ethnic Relations 1. Assimilation - groups with different cultures come to have a common culture. 2. Pluralism - development and coexistence of separate racial and ethnic group identities within a society. 3. Subjugation – subordination of one group and the assumption of of authority, power, and domination by the other.

Patterns of Racial and Ethnic Relations 4. Segregation - a form of subjugation, refers to the act, process, or state of being set apart. 5. Expulsion - forcing a group to leave the territory in which it resides. 6. Annihilation - deliberate extermination of a racial or ethnic group.

Racial and Ethnic Makeup of U.S. Population, 2000 and 2050

Cities With Large Hispanic Populations, 2000 Place and State% Hispanic of Total Population El Paso, TX76.6 San Antonio, TX58.7 Los Angeles, CA46.5 Houston, TX37.4 Dallas, TX35.6

Cities With Large Hispanic Populations, 2000 Place and State% Hispanic of Total Population Phoenix, AZ34.1 San Jose, CA30.2 New York, NY27.0 Chicago, IL26 San Diego, CA25.4