 United States- Prejudice and discrimination against individuals who are (or who are perceived to be) Muslim or Middle Eastern  Target - Minority Groups-people who have unequal access to positions of power, prestige, and wealth in society and who tend to be targets of prejudice and discrimination  Minority status is not based on numerical representation in society but rather on social status

 Classification by external appearance  Why?

 Race- people who are believed to share distinct physical characteristics that are deemed socially significant  Can You Name A Few?

 Racial groups are sometimes distinguished on the basis of such physical characteristics as skin color, hair texture, facial features, and body shape and size.

 Science of genetics challenges the notion of race  Geneticists have discovered that the genes of any two unrelated persons, chosen at random from around the world, are 99.9% alike  Most human genetic variations – approximately 85 %- can be found between any two individuals from the same group (racial, ethnic, religious..)

 When two or more racial or ethnic groups come into contact, one of several patterns of interaction occurs- *Genocide,* Expulsion or *Population Transfer, *Colonialism, *Segregation, *Acculturation, *Pluralism, *Assimilation, And *Amalgamation

 Genocide- the deliberate, systematic annihilation of an entire nation of people  20 th Century Hitler led the Nazi extermination of 12 Million people, including 6 Million Jews (Holocaust)  1994 – Hutus slaughtered hundreds of thousands of Tutsis (Tutsis was called cockroaches by the Hutus) in Rwanda, Africa

 Expulsion or Population transfer - when a dominant group forces a sub-ordinate group to leave the country or to live only in designated areas of the country  U.S. - Trail of Tears – 1830 Indian Removal Act relocation of eastern tribes to land west of the Mississippi River  Pearl Harbor in 1941 – Japanese American evacuation camps surrounded by barbed wire – experienced economic and psychological devastation

 Colonialism - when a racial or ethnic group from one society takes over and dominates the racial or ethnic group(s) of another society  European invasion of North America; British occupation of India; the Dutch presence in South Africa before the end of apartheid

 Segregation - the physical separation of two groups in residence, workplace, and social functions  de jure (by law)  de facto ( in fact)  Separate blacks from whites by prohibiting blacks from using “white” buses, hotels, restaurants, and drinking fountains

 Acculturation - adopting the culture of a group different from the one in which a person was originally raised.  Involves learning the dominant language, adopting new values and behaviors, and changing the spelling of the family name  California decision to discontinue bilingual education and forces students to learn English in school

 Pluralism - A state in which racial and ethnic groups maintain their distinctness but respect each other and have equal access to social resources  Switzerland- four ethnic groups- French, Italians, Germans, and Swiss Germans- maintain their distinct cultural heritage and group identity in an atmosphere of mutual respect and social equality

 Assimilation – process by which formerly distinct and separate groups merge and become integrated as one.  Melting Pot – creating a new common culture- United States  Secondary Assimilation- when different groups become integrated in public areas and in social institutions, such as neighborhoods, schools, the workplace and in government

 Primary Assimilation- occurs when members of different groups are integrated in personal, intimate associations, as with friends, family, and spouses

 Amalgamation (Marital Assimilation )- when different ethnic or racial groups become married or pair-bonded and produce children  Interracial marriages are more common today than in previous generations, although less than 5% of U.S. married couples in 2007 were interracial

 1790 – U.S. Census – population into four groups- 1. free white males, 2. free white females, 3. slaves, and 4. other persons (including free blacks and Indians)  1990 – U.S. Census- population into five groups-1. white 2. black or African American 3. American Indian or Alaska Native (Aleut or Eskimo ) 4. Asian and 5. Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander

 Mixed-Race Identity- About 4.5% of U.S. male-female married couples and 10% of unmarried couples are interracial  New Census option for identifying as “mixed race” to avoid putting children of mixed-race parents in difficult position of choosing the race of one parent over the other when filling out data on school forms and other forms

 Ethnicity - a shared cultural heritage or nationality  Distinguished on the basis of language, forms of family structures and roles of family members, religious beliefs and practices, dietary customs, forms of artistic expression such as music and dance, and national origin

 The largest ethnic population in the United States is of Hispanic origin  More than one in eight (13.3%) people in the U.S. are Hispanic or Latino and two- thirds (66.9%) of all U.S. Hispanics or Latinos are of Mexican Origin

 1917 – The Immigration Act- required all immigrants to pass a literacy test before entering the U.S.  1921 – Johnson Act – introduced a limit on the number of immigrants who could enter the country in a single year – with stricter limitations for certain countries (Africa and Near East)

 Immigration Act further limited the number of immigrants allowed into the U.S. and completely excluded the Japanese  Repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act  1948 Displaced Persons Act – which permitted refugees from Europe

 Immigration and Naturalization Act – which permitted a quota of Japanese immigrants  1960s most immigrants were from Europe, but today most immigrants are from Central America (predominantly Mexico) or Asia  More than 1 in 10 U.S. residents (11.7%) were born in a foreign country

 Immigrants are less likely than U.S. natives to graduate from high school  The percentage of foreign-born residents (27.3%) with a bachelor’s degrees or more education is nearly equivalent to that of native-born (27.2%) population  Why?

 Compared to the Native-born U.S. population, immigrants are more likely to be unemployed and to live in poverty  Almost 43% of immigrants work at jobs that pay less than $7.50 an hour, compared to 28% of all workers in the U.S.

 Low-income immigrants are less likely than low-income natives to use benefits such as Medicaid, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), and food stamps  Noncitizen immigrants are ineligible for federal public benefit programs  State Funded Service- one time only $1500

 9.3 million undocumented immigrants in the United States  One-fourth of the total foreign-born population  More than half of undocumented immigrants (57%) are Mexicans

 Estimated 5% of U.S. workers are undocumented immigrants  Virtually all undocumented men are in the labor force  62% of undocumented women are less likely to be in the labor force – because they are more likely to be a stay-at- home mom

 Undocumented workers often do work that U.S. worker are unwilling to do  Workers routinely work 60 or more hours per week and earn less than the minimum wage of $5.15 per hour  They are not paid overtime and have no benefits

 Wal-Mart- hired undocumented immigrants to clean their stores- they worked 7 nights a week, 364 days a year, and were often locked in stores  In 2005 Wal-Mart agreed to pay a record $11 Million to settle charges that it used hundreds of illegal immigrants to clean its stores

 1986 Congress approved the Immigration Reform and Control Act – which made hiring illegal immigrants an illegal act punishable by fines and even prison sentences  This Act also prohibits employers from discriminating against legal immigrants who are not U.S. citizens

 To become a U.S. citizen, immigrants must have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence  Have resided continuously as a lawful permanent U.S. resident for at least five years  Must be able to read, write, speak, and understand basic English  Must show that they have “good moral character”

 Applicants who have been convicted of murder or an aggravated felony are permanently denied U.S. citizenship  They are also denied if, in the last five years, they have engaged in any one of a variety of offenses, including prostitution, illegal gambling, controlled substance law violation, habitual drunkenness, willful failure or refusal to support dependents, and criminal behavior involving “moral turpitude”

 Naturalized Citizen- immigrants who applied and met the requirements for U.S. citizenship

 Prejudice and Racism starts at HOME - we are not born to hate  Attitudes shape and control who we are  Stop the cycle- Only you can!!!