Lecture Three The (Racial) History of the US

Who is American? When you hear the word “American” who do you think of?  Describe this person. Why do we hyphenate American?  African-American, Mexican-American, etc? “Race,…has functioned as a metaphor necessary to the construction of Americanness…American has been defined as White.” - Takaki

Ethnicities Optional Ethnicity:  Option to claim ancestry or just be “White”  Choice of which ancestry to choose Symbolic Ethnicity: ethnicity that is individual in nature and without real social cost to the individual

American Racial/Ethnic History Immigrants (forced and voluntary) enter into a society with a clearly defined racial/ethnic hierarchy Inherited Inequality Institutional inequality – economy, politics, education, etc Cultural inequality – dominant culture supports dominant group Social inequality – relationships, opportunities, resources

Racial Stratification Existing and emerging racial stratification is determined by three factors: 1. Ethnocentrism – cultural difference & inequality 2. Competition – economic resources 3. Differential Power – political resources

American Racial Triangle 1 st Class Citizens: Whites 2 nd Class Citizens: Blacks 3 rd Class Citizens: Native Americans

Native Americans Invisible history  Colonization and genocide Only non-immigrant minority group  Separate Nations Significant diversity among native groups

Native Americans Today Over 1.5 Million identified as Native American in the Census  1% of the population  554 tribal groups recognized Poorest, least educated, and poor health  Lowest income  Lowest education  Highest rates of obesity and diabetes

Cultural Genocide Assimilation  Education  Religion  Family formation Integration and elimination  Intermarriage  Sterilization

European Americans The movement of people from Europe to the Americas is the largest in history  Established political, economic, and social institutions  million – 60-80% British Old Immigration (before 1890)  Protestant and from Northern Europe  Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 New Immigration (1890 – 1914)  70% from eastern and southern Europe  Immigration Act of 1924

Ethnic Conflict to Assimilation Constructing a “White” Ethnicity  Assimilation over several generations  Ethnicity symbolic and voluntary Aided by structural conditions (Massey, 1995)  Declining immigration  Good economic times  Expansion of education A declining population?

African Americans Principle racial division in American society has been Black/White  Racialization Slavery: “ The Peculiar Institution”  Ethnocentrism - “One drop rule”  Competition – labor  Differential Power – military force Established the race/caste dynamic  Defined the experience of all race/ethnic groups in the US

Slavery to Segregation Segregation: separation of racial and ethnic groups in daily activities De Jure Segregation  Civil service, housing, education, marriage  Jim Crow Laws De Facto Segregation  Formal segregation replaced with informal segregation today

Hispanics/Latinos One of the fastest growing ethnic groups Puerto Ricans  2/3 live in New York City  Since 1898 colonial dependency Cuban Americans  ,00 Cubans entered the US  Most affluent of all Hispanic groups Mexican Americans (Chicanos)  Early Colonizers & Immigration  Bracero Program

Mexican Immigration and Integration Texas was a central point of contact between Mexican and Anglo immigrants in the 19 th C  Initially Anglos and Mexicans coexisted and cooperated  Mid 1800’s competition over land intensified  Political, social, economic subordination of Mexican Americans arose Mexican immigrants now entered a society with clearly defined racial/class positions

Asian Americans Proportionately, Asians today are the fastest growing racial category  40% Asians live in CA Early Immigration: Chinese and Japanese  Chinese:  Japanese: Later Immigrants: Koreans, Filipinos, Indochinese, and Indians  Post 1965 Immigration “Yellow Peril” to “model minority”