Chapter 8

Chapter 8 Inequalities of Race and Ethnicity Race and Ethnicity Race A group of people who are labeled based on physical features These features are arbitrary; no pure races exist Race is a social construct Ethnicity A group of people who share common cultural characteristics These characteristics may include language, place of origin, norms and values Race and ethnicity sometimes overlap Prejudice and Discrimination Prejudice An attitude that predisposes an individual to prejudge an entire category of people The prejudice is rigid, emotional rather than logical, and resistant to change Discrimination The unfair and harmful treatment of people based upon a group membership May include bias in hiring, promoting, and obtaining membership in social groups Is separate from prejudice; prejudiced people may or may not discriminate Patterns of Prejudice and Discrimination Stereotypes Rigid and inaccurate images that summarize a belief Members of a group are all “stingy” or “clannish” Have limited facts, so are self-serving The same characteristics may be interpreted differently depending upon the group They persist One group may be elevated over another Stereotypes simplify thinking People have limited knowledge about a group Racial and Ethnic Interaction Assimilation Blending of the culture and structure of one group into society Cultural assimilation: adopting dominant culture as primary culture Structural assimilation: interaction primarily within own group or not Pluralism Ethnic groups maintain distinctiveness Ethnic revival: demand for autonomy or independence Symbolic ethnicity: younger generations attempt to preserve ethnic culture Expulsion and Annihilation Expulsion The forceful exclusion of a racial or ethnic group from a society One group needs sufficient power to do it. Examples include Native American relocation Annihilation The process by which one group exterminates another Groups could be ethnic, racial, religious, or other Examples include the Nazi extermination of Jews White Americans WASP: white, Anglo-Saxon Protestant Most powerful group Original settlers; mostly northern European White Ethnics People from other European regions Most came during period of industrialization Groups vary in degree of assimilation Native Americans Original settlers in U.S. Number unknown but perhaps 40 million Tribes Originally some 500; now about 170 Government policies Separation: territories were treated as nations Expulsion: Indian removal, including extermination, to west regions Forced assimilation: after 1880 Americanizing and dissolution of Indian culture After 1930, tribal restoration Largest Native American Tribes African Americans Slavery period: settlement to 1865 Original culture lost Reconstruction to post-WW2 Emancipation and conflict Legal segregation: “Jim Crow” laws Contemporary period Civil rights movement Brown v. Board of Education Black Pride and revitalization of African American culture Continuing struggle with race and class Hispanic Americans/Latinos Mexican Americans Soon to become the largest ethnic minority Catholic; strong family ties Settlement in southwest perpetuates native culture Puerto Rican Americans Citizens of U.S. (Commonwealth status) Settlement in northeast Cuban Americans Major immigration since 1959 Settlement in Florida Asian Americans Chinese Americans Early immigrants: mines and railroads Hostility led to urban enclaves Japanese Americans Early immigrants soon turned to farming War relocation and ultimate compensation Recent Groups Refugees New immigration policies Concept Web Racial and Ethnic Inequality Click to edit Master title style Click to edit Master subtitle style * * * Click to edit Master title style Click to edit Master subtitle style * * * Click to edit Master title style Click to edit Master subtitle style * * * Chapter 8 Inequalities of Race and Ethnicity Race and Ethnicity Race A group of people who are labeled based on physical features These features are arbitrary; no pure races exist Race is a social construct Ethnicity A group of people who share common cultural characteristics These characteristics may include language, place of origin, norms and values Race and ethnicity sometimes overlap Prejudice and Discrimination Prejudice An attitude that predisposes an individual to prejudge an entire category of people The prejudice is rigid, emotional rather than logical, and resistant to change Discrimination The unfair and harmful treatment of people based upon a group membership May include bias in hiring, promoting, and obtaining membership in social groups Is separate from prejudice; prejudiced people may or may not discriminate Patterns of Prejudice and Discrimination Stereotypes Rigid and inaccurate images that summarize a belief Members of a group are all “stingy” or “clannish” Have limited facts, so are self-serving The same characteristics may be interpreted differently depending upon the group They persist One group may be elevated over another Stereotypes simplify thinking People have limited knowledge about a group Racial and Ethnic Interaction Assimilation Blending of the culture and structure of one group into society Cultural assimilation: adopting dominant culture as primary culture Structural assimilation: interaction primarily within own group or not Pluralism Ethnic groups maintain distinctiveness Ethnic revival: demand for autonomy or independence Symbolic ethnicity: younger generations attempt to preserve ethnic culture Expulsion and Annihilation Expulsion The forceful exclusion of a racial or ethnic group from a society One group needs sufficient power to do it. Examples include Native American relocation Annihilation The process by which one group exterminates another Groups could be ethnic, racial, religious, or other Examples include the Nazi extermination of Jews White Americans WASP: white, Anglo-Saxon Protestant Most powerful group Original settlers; mostly northern European White Ethnics People from other European regions Most came during period of industrialization Groups vary in degree of assimilation Native Americans Original settlers in U.S. Number unknown but perhaps 40 million Tribes Originally some 500; now about 170 Government policies Separation: territories were treated as nations Expulsion: Indian removal, including extermination, to western regions Forced assimilation: after 1880 Americanizing and dissolution of Indian culture After 1930, tribal restoration Largest Native American Tribes African Americans Slavery period: settlement to 1865 Original culture lost Reconstruction to post-WW2 Emancipation and conflict Legal segregation: “Jim Crow” laws Contemporary period Civil rights movement Brown v. Board of Education Black Pride and revitalization of African American culture Continuing struggle with race and class Hispanic Americans/Latinos Mexican Americans Soon to become the largest ethnic minority Catholic; strong family ties Settlement in southwest perpetuates native culture Puerto Rican Americans Citizens of U.S. (Commonwealth status) Settlement in northeast Cuban Americans Major immigration since 1959 Settlement in Florida Asian Americans Chinese Americans Early immigrants: mines and railroads Hostility led to urban enclaves Japanese Americans Early immigrants soon turned to farming War relocation and ultimate compensation Recent Groups Refugees New immigration policies CONCEPT WEB Racial and Ethnic Inequality