April 1 st Sign in Pass out Response Paper #4 Lecture 5: Racial Diversity & Inequality Homework:  Readings: Savage Inequalities: Children in America’s Schools The Hispanic Dropout Mystery

Quick Writing: Why do we have racial inequality today? How does race/ethnicity play a role in the social problems/issues that your work/agency addresses?  Interpersonal  Institutional/systematic  Internalized

Lecture 5 Racial Stratification

When you think of an “American” who do you think of?

Racial Stratification Today Three areas of informal segregation exist today that perpetuate racial/ethnic stratification  Residential  Educational  Occupational All of these are tied to wealth, which is the engine of social mobility

Need to understand our ‘racial’ roots Racial and ethnic groups that were forced into American society have historically been disadvantaged in the opportunity structure and experience segregation today  Black, Latino, and Native American Racial and ethnic groups that have voluntarily come to the US have seen higher levels of integration  European, Asian

Racial Triangle: American Race Relations in History 1 st Class Citizens: Whites 2 nd Class Citizens: Blacks3 rd Class Citizens: Native Americans

Cultural Differentiation The greater and more visible the cultural distinctions, the more likely there is to be conflict Ethnocentrism & Individual Racism White Privilege: one’s culture and social advantage in society is seen as “normal” and objective  “Others” must assimilate  “As a white person, I realized I had been taught about racism as something that puts others at a disadvantage, but had been taught not to see one of its corollary aspects, white privilege, which puts me at an advantage.”

Understanding Privilege Structures of privilege are often invisible to us  “I was taught to see racism only in individual acts of meanness, not in invisible systems conferring dominance on my group” Individuals with privilege are not responsible for the circumstances that brought them privilege, but they are responsible for how they respond to it

Structural Differentiation Institutional Racism: unchallenged and customary way of doing things in society that keep minority groups in subordinate or disadvantaged positions  Unequal Opportunity Structure Social structure can encourage or reduce inequality among racial and ethnic groups

Historical Race Relations: When Race Mattered 1. Race caste oppression in the Ante-bellum South (pre-1865)  Slavery economic system based on race 2. Class conflict and racial oppression ( )  Split-labor market – racial conflict over jobs  De Jure Segregation: separation of racial and ethnic groups in daily activities Civil service, housing, education, marriage

What is the Racial Legacy? 3. According to William J. Wilson, class position now matters more than race in defining life chances (Wilson)  Political changes broke down racial barriers, but economic inequalities exist De Facto Segregation: Formal segregation replaced with informal segregation today Underclass: segment of the population with limited social mobility due to economic subordination  Perpetuated by residential, occupation, and education segregation

Residential Segregation New Deal Polices and GI Bill created a legacy of residential segregation  Between 1934 and 1962, the federal government backed $120 billion of home loans & more than 98% went to whites  Created segregated white suburbs Since 1970, residential segregation declined for Hispanics and Asians

Diversity in Bay Area Index of Diversity  Most Diverse - Alameda County  Least Diverse – Marin County Largest Percentage of:  Black Americans – Alameda and Solano (14%)  Latino/Latina – Santa Clara (11%)  Asian Americans – San Francisco (30%)

Do We Live Together? Residential segregation is highest for:  Blacks (32-57%)  Latinos (23-46%)  Asians (!5-28%) Santa Clara County:  Black – White: 59%  Latino- White: 52%  Asian – White: 34%