UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS AND SPECIAL POPULATIONS

VOCABULARY Stereotyping – Generalization of attributes to all members of a group without regard to truth or variations due to individual differences. Discrimination – Treatment or consideration based on group membership rather than individual merit. Prejudice – Pre-judged beliefs against a group based on stereotypical thinking. Bias – Leaning towards a particular group based on stereotypical thinking.

RACIAL DIVERSITY RACE IS A SOCIOLOGICAL, NOT A BIOLOGICAL CONSTRUCT There is no gene for race. The DNA of any two humans is 99.97% identical. We are all related, all connected, all one people.

CHARACTERISTICS OF UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS Identifiable sub-population Not necessarily a numerical minority Subject to stereotyping Discriminatory treatment Inequality of power Underrepresentation politically and economically More accurate terminology: –Dominant/subordinate groups rather than majority/minority groups Protected classes – groups protected against discrimination by various federal laws: –Race, color, ethnic origin, gender, age, religion, disability

TYPES OF LEGISLATION Equal Opportunity Laws Equalize access and opportunities by prohibiting discrimination in policies and practices. Affirmative Action Requires outreach to underrepresented groups to compensate for the effects of past discrimination. Requires good faith efforts to insure participation/inclusion of minorities, women, and other underrepresented groups.

HISTORICAL TREATMENT OF MINORITY GROUPS Extermination – genocide, ethnic cleansing Domination/enslavement Expulsion Segregation/apartheid Assimilation/integration Pluralism/multiculturalism In the past, the dominant American ideal was assimilation. America was the world’s great “melting pot”. Social service workers and educators attempted to integrate minority groups into the mainstream culture. Today the emphasis is on appreciation of cultural diversity and pluralism. The presence of minority groups and their differing ways of life enriches American society.

THEORETICAL EXPLANATIONS FOR PREJUDICE AND DISCRIMINATION Cultural Transmission Theory/Ethnocentrism – Prejudice is learned. We internalize our own culture which becomes the standard by which all other cultures are judged. Frustration-Aggression – Scapegoating – Blaming another group for one’s own failures. Authoritarian Personality – Inflexible, rigid personality type characterized by adherence and obedience to rules and authority, accompanied by fear of, and low tolerance for difference. Power Theory – Competition and exploitation. Negative views of subordinate groups justifies their unequal treatment and exploitation.

SUBORDINATE GROUPS AND SELF-IMAGE We learn who we are from our treatment by other people. Cooley’s looking glass self Charles Horton Cooley (1902

Clark Doll Test In testimony used to challenge school desegregation in South Carolina, later used in the famous U.S. Supreme Court Brown vs. Topeka Kansas school desegregation ruling, Dr. Clark described the reactions of 16 black girls, aged between 6-9 years old, to a choice of white or brown dolls: 10 preferred the white doll 11 said that the black doll looked bad 9 said that the white doll was the nice one His testimony was used as evidence of the harm done to a minority child’s self-image from exposure to the values of the dominant population.

THE DUAL PERSPECTIVE Norton (1978) FORCES AFFECTING SELF-IMAGE DEVELOPMENT OF SUBORDINATE POPULATIONS Each person is a member of two social environments: The nurturing environment – the individual’s immediate emotional, physical, and social environment. Includes family, and sometimes neighborhood and neighborhood institutions such as church and school. The sustaining environment – the dominant social system in which the individual must interact to obtain the necessities of life; employment, shopping, etc. A strong nurturing environment, supporting the individual’s minority identity and providing a strong, positive self-image protects the individual from the damaging impact of stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination encountered in contact with the dominant culture.