1. Module 31: Minority, Racial, and Ethnic Groups
Sociology in Modules
Richard T. Schaefer
3rd edition

3. What impact has diversity had on society?

4. Race and Ethnicity affect people’s place and status in a stratification system
Racial gap in U.S. arrest rates: 'Staggering disparity‘ – USA Today Nov 2014
At least 70 departments scattered from
Connecticut to California arrested black
people at a rate 10 times higher than
people who are not black, USA TODAY found.

5. Peaceful, violent protests erupt in Charlotte after police shooting
By Francesca Amiker - Reporter Huffington Post
Posted: 9:44 PM, September 22, 2016
The Truth About Racism In America Where is the solution? It starts with us –the privileged. Huffington Post
09/21/ :14 pm ET | Updated Sep 22, 2016

6. Is racism on the rise. More in U. S
Is racism on the rise? More in U.S. say it's a 'big problem,' CNN/KFF poll finds
Overall, 49% of Americans in the poll say racism is a big problem in the country, up from 28% four years ago.
66% of blacks and 64% of Hispanics call it a big problem, compared to 43% of whites.
About seven in 10 whites say they live (69%) or socialize with (68%) people who are mostly of the same race as them, and six in 10 employed whites have co-workers who are mostly other white people (60%). Hispanics and blacks are more apt to report more diverse neighborhoods, social circles and workplaces.

7. Minority Racial and Ethnic Groups
Racial group: group set apart from others because of obvious physical differences
Skin, hair color
Facial features
Ethnic group: group set apart from others primarily because of its national origin or distinctive cultural patterns
Language
lifestyle

8. Minority groups
“ Any group of people who, because of their physical or cultural characteristics, are singled out from others in the society in which they live for differential or unequal treatment and therefore regard themselves as object of collective discrimination” L. Wirth

9. Minority Groups
Minority group: subordinate group whose members have significantly less control or power over their own lives
Properties of minority groups include:
Unequal treatment – denial to rent
Distinguishing physical or cultural characteristics
Involuntary membership –ascribed status
Solidarity – in-group
In-group marriage

10. Race
Race – socially constructed category of people who share biologically transmitted traits that members consider as important
Research shows that race is not a meaningful
way of differentiating people
Racial group refers to minorities set apart
due to physical differences

11. Race is socially constructed
Biological differences are natural
In regions of intense heat - natural dark pigmentation

12. Race Social Construction of Race
Society socially constructs which differences are important
Example - skin color socialization process makes us aware that skin color has social and political meaning
Meaning of race differs from place to place
Racial categories in the US Vs. in Brazil
Blanca (white)
Parda (brown)
Morena (brunette)
Mulata (mulatto)
Prets (black)

13. Race is a fluid concept Names for racial categories also change
“Negroid”
Negro
African American
Skin color is also a subjective
What is considered “white” varies

14. How race is socially constructed ---
Racial differences are preserved through Racial formation - sociohistorical process in which racial categories are created, inhabited, transformed, and destroyed
Creation of reservation system for Native Americans – all tribes are combined
“One-drop rule” – if a person had even a single drop of black blood that person was defined and viewed as black
Irish immigrants were not considered as white (initially)

15. Race Recognition of Multiple Identities
1900: DuBois predicted “the color line” as foremost problem of 20th century
Inter-racial marriages have blurred the color line to some extent
Immigration from Latin America shows fluid nature of race formation – third major race in the US -
2010 Census: over 9 million people in U.S. reported they were of two or more races
Half the people classified as multiracial under age 18

16. Ethnicity
Ethnic group set apart from others because of its national origin or distinctive cultural patterns
Examples – Latino, Jewish, Irish
Distinction between racial and ethnic groups not always clear – Asian Americans – significant differences
Distinction between racial and ethnic groups socially significant – racial differences are more visible and stratification along the racial lines is more resistant to change

17. Ethnicity – Shared cultural heritage
Ethnicity describes shared cultural – the practices, values and beliefs of a group
Shared language
Religion
Traditions

18. Figure 31-1: Racial and Ethnic Groups in the United States, 1500–2060 (Projected)18

19. Stereotypes, Prejudice and discrimination
Stereotypes – oversimplified generalizations
Race
Ethnicity
Age
Sexual orientation
They can be positive (our own group), but mostly negative about others

20. Prejudice and Discrimination
Historic achievements of racial and ethnic minorities, but bias-related incidents continue
College campus incidents:
Student-run newspapers and radio stations
Degrading minorities
White supremacist organizations
Violent clashes between White and Black students

21. Prejudice
Prejudice: negative attitude toward an entire category of people
Ethnocentrism: tendency to assume one’s culture and way of life are superior to others
Racism: belief that one race is supreme and others are innately inferior
Hate crimes
Stereotypes: unreliable generalizations about all members of a group that do not recognize individual differences within the group

22. Color-Blind Racism
Color-blind racism: use of principle of race neutrality to defend racially unequal status quo –
Idea that society should be color-blind perpetuates racial inequality
opposition to affirmative action and welfare
No objection to white privilege – alumni admissions, tax breaks for home owners (majority white), college aid for students (majority white)
Color line still in place, even if more people refuse to acknowledge its existence most people believe that we have achieved racial equality.

23. Discriminatory Behavior
Discrimination: denial of opportunities and equal rights to people on an arbitrary basis
Prejudiced attitudes are not the same as discriminatory behavior
Discrimination persists even for the most educated and qualified minority group members
Glass ceiling: invisible barrier blocking promotion of qualified individuals in work environment because of gender, race, or ethnicity

24. Devah Pager conducted a matched-pair experiment in which she had male testers apply for the same entry-level jobs advertised in Milwaukee newspapers. She gave the assistants fake credentials that make them equivalent in terms of education, job experience, and so on. Half were Black and half White.

25. The Privileges of the Dominant
White privilege: rights or immunities granted to people as a benefit or favor simply because they are White
Institutional Discrimination
Denial of opportunities and equal rights that results from operations of a society
Affirmative action: positive efforts to recruit minority members or women for jobs, promotions, and educational opportunities

26. Module 32: Sociological Perspectives on Race and Ethnicity
Sociology in Modules
Richard T. Schaefer
3rd edition

27.   Table 1. Selected Indicators of Racial and Ethnic Inequality in the United States
White
African American
Latino
Asian
Native American
Median family income, 2009 ($)
67,341
38,409
39,730
75,027
39,740 (2007)
Persons who are college educated, 2008 (%)
32.6
19.6
13.3
52.6
12.9 (2007)
Persons in poverty, 2009 (%)
9.4
25.8
25.3
12.5
24.2 (2008)
Infant mortality
(number of infant deaths per 1,000 births), 2005
5.8
13.6
5.6
4.9
8.1

28. Sociological Perspectives on Race and Ethnicity
Functionalists: racial prejudice and discrimination positive for dominant groups
Conflict theorists: economic structure a central factor in exploitation of minorities
Labeling theorists: ways minorities are singled out for differential treatment by law enforcement
Interactionists: everyday contact contributes to tolerance or hostility

29. Functionalist Perspective
Nash’s three functions that racially prejudiced beliefs provide to the dominant group:
Moral justification for maintaining unequal society
Discourage subordinate groups from questioning their status
Suggest that any major social change would bring greater poverty to the minority

30. Functionalist Perspective
Rose: dysfunctions associated with racism
Society that practices discrimination fails to use resources of all individuals
Discrimination aggravates social problems
Society must invest time and money to defend barriers to full participation
Racial prejudice undercuts goodwill and diplomatic relations between nations

31. Conflict Perspective
Exploitation theory: racism keeps minorities in low-paying jobs and supplies dominant group with cheap labor. Workers form the dominants groups who demand higher wages can always be replaced by minorities who are willing to accept low paying jobs.
Racism is viewed from economic lens – the fear that immigrants will take the jobs away
We direct our anger towards the minorities, but not towards those who hire them. Its often easy to target those with less power.

32. Labeling Perspective
Racial profiling: arbitrary action initiated by an authority based on race, ethnicity, or national origin rather than on person’s behavior
Practice often based on explicit stereotypes
Continues despite overwhelming evidence that profiling is misleading
In 2010, 53 percent of Americans favored “ethnic and religious profiling” of air travelers

33. Interactionist Perspective
Contact hypothesis: interracial contact between people of equal status in cooperative circumstances will cause them to become less prejudiced and to abandon old stereotypes

34. Spectrum of Intergroup Relations
Racial and ethnic groups can relate to one another in a variety of ways, from friendships and intermarriages to hostility
Genocide: deliberate, systematic killing of an entire people or nation
Expulsion of a people: another extreme means of acting out racial or ethnic prejudice
Secession: failure to resolve ethnic or racial conflict results in drawing formal boundaries between the groups

35. Segregation
Segregation: physical separation of two groups of people in terms of residence, workplace, social events
Generally, dominant group imposes pattern on minority group
Apartheid: Republic of South Africa severely restricted the movement of Blacks and non-Whites
US Census data – residential segragation in US cities

36. Amalgamation
Amalgamation: happens when majority group and minority group combine to form a new group
Belief in the U.S. as a “melting pot” does not adequately describe dominant- subordinate relations in the U.S.

37. Assimilation
Assimilation: process through which a person forsakes his or her cultural tradition to become part of a different culture
Example – take English name
Assimilation progressed further in the U.S. than in Europe, although more slowly than in Canada

38. Pluralism
Pluralism: based on mutual respect among various groups in a society for one another’s cultures
In U.S., pluralism more of an ideal than a reality
Switzerland exemplifies pluralistic state – lack of national language and state religion

39. Module 33: Race and Ethnicity in the United States
Sociology in Modules
Richard T. Schaefer
3rd edition

40. Race and Ethnicity in the United States
Racial and ethnic makeup of present-day society determined by:
Immigration
Colonialism
Slavery

41. Figure 33-1: Minority Population by County41

42. African Americans One out of every four Blacks is poor
Contemporary institutional discrimination and individual prejudice against African Americans rooted in history of slavery
Civil Rights movement of the 1960s
Black power: rejected assimilation into White middle-class society
Blacks suffer in terms of their life chances
Blacks remain significantly underrepresented

43. Native Americans
About 2.2 million Native Americans represent array of cultures
Life remains difficult for 554 tribal groups
By 1990s, increasing number claim identity as Native American
2009: federal government settled 13-year-old lawsuit for recovery of lease payments due on tribal lands
Introduction of gambling on Indian reservations transformed the lives of some

44. Asian Americans One of the fastest growing segments of U.S. population
Diverse groups of people
Ironically often held up as unqualified success story
Asian immigrants found disproportionately in low-paying service occupations
Better-educated Asian Americans concentrated near top in professional and managerial positions

45. Figure 33-2: Asian American and Pacific Islander Population by Origin45

46. Asian Americans Chinese Americans Asian Indians
Encouraged to immigrate to U.S. from 1850 to 1880
1882: Chinese Exclusion Act
Now, over 3 million Chinese Americans
Asian Indians
Second largest Asian group
Number over 2.8 million
Diverse population

47. Asian Americans Filipino Americans 2.6 million in U.S.
Classified as Asian but also reflect centuries of Spanish and U.S. colonial rule
Significant percentage are well-educated professionals who work in health care
Drained medical establishment in the Philippines
Send significant amount of their income back to their extended families (remittances)
Strong loyalty to family and Catholic church have precluded need for social organizations

48. Asian Americans Vietnamese Americans Korean Americans
Primarily came to U.S. during and after Vietnam War
Gravitated toward the larger urban areas
Korean Americans
Over 1.4 million Korean Americans in the U.S.
Initial wave between 1903 and 1910
Second wave after Korean War in 1953
Third wave started with 1965 Immigration Act

49. Asian Americans Japanese Americans
Issei: first generation of Japanese immigrants
In August 1943, 113,000 Japanese Americans forced into camps in response to World War II
In 1988, U.S. established $1.25 billion trust fund to pay reparations

50. Arab Americans
Nearly 4 million people of Arab ancestry reside in the U.S.
Cannot be characterized as having specific family type, gender role, or occupational pattern
Profiling of potential terrorists has put Arab and Muslim Americans under surveillance

51. Figure 33-3: Arab American Religious Affiliations51

52. Latinos Largest minority in the U.S. with more than 50 million
Census Bureau data: Latino population now outnumbers African American population in 6 of the 10 largest U.S. metropolitan areas
Groups share heritage of Spanish language and culture, which can cause serious problems in assimilation

53. Latinos Mexican Americans
Accounted for 42 percent of the nation’s population growth in the 2000–2010 decade
Subdivided into those descended from residents of annexed territories after the Mexican-American War and those who have immigrated from Mexico to the U.S.
Since at least 2000, Mexican Americans born in the U.S. far exceeded those who immigrated

54. Social policy and Racial and Ethnic Inequality: Global Immigration
Worldwide, immigration at all-time high
Each year, about 191 million people move from one country to another
Mass migrations have had tremendous social impact
Who should be allowed in?
When should immigration be curtailed?