The United States is among the most racially and ethnically heterogeneous societies in the world.

 a category composed of people who share biologically transmitted traits that members of a society deem socially significant.  Three categories of race in the US White Black (East) Asian (19 th century terms: Caucasoid, Negroid, Mongoloid)

 The United States is one of the few places where race is based entirely on skin color.  What other characteristics could be used to determine race?  The one drop rule  If you have even one ancestor who is black, then you are considered black. Some people argue that race is becoming less significant in the US. Do you agree or disagree?

 a shared cultural heritage  Ethnic options  the ability of whites in US society to pick and choose with which ethnic group they want to be identified.  Ethnic enclave  a segment of a community in which many of the residents share a common heritage and where their needs are catered (grocery stores, restaurants, entertainment, religious institutions, etc.)

 Minority group  a category of people, distinguished by physical or cultural traits, who are socially disadvantaged.  Pluralism  racial and ethnic minorities are distinct but have parity

 Miscegenation  biological reproduction by partners of different racial categories  Assimilation  the process by which minorities gradually adopt patterns of the dominant culture  Melting pot vs. Salad bowl

 Segregation  physical and social separation of categories of people  Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)  the Supreme Court approved legally enforced segregation as long as the law did not make facilities for blacks inferior to those of whites.  Brown v. Topeka Board of Education (Brown v. Board) (1954)  The Supreme Court ruled that “separate but equal” does not work. Segregated schools provide African Americans with inferior schooling.

 Prejudice  rigid and irrational generalization about an entire category of people (can be based on race, ethnicity, class, sex, or any other category)  Racism  the belief that one racial category is innately superior or inferior to another

 Stereotype  Stereotype – a prejudicial, exaggerated description of some category of people  Scapegoat  person or category of people, typically, with little power, whom people unfairly blame for their own troubles

 Discrimination  any action that involves treating various categories of people unequally  Institutional Discrimination  bias in attitudes or action inherent in the operation of society’s institutions

 Genocide  the systematic annihilation of one category of people by another  What are some examples?