11.3 Race And Racism In Historical And Comparative Perspective

Question 1

Today’s Ethnic and Racial Divisions

Answer 1

Today’s ethnic and racial divisions stem from European colonial expansion into the Americas, Africa, and Australasia, as well as the slave trade between Africa and the Americas

Question 2

Scientific Racism

Answer 2

The use of scientific research or data to justify or reify beliefs about the superiority or inferiority of particular racial groups.

Much of the «data» used to justify such claims are flawed or biased.

The early period of colonization coincided with the rise of scientific racism

Question 3

Reasons that Racism has Flourised

Answer 3

• Racism helped justify the exploitative relations that Europeans established with the peoples they conquered.
• An opposition between the colours white and black as cultural symbols was deeply rooted in European culture.
• The invention (social construction) and diffusion of the concept of race itself

Question 4

Slavery in the US

Answer 4

By 1780, there were nearly 4 million slaves in the American South.

• People who were enslaved had no legal rights, but they resisted through disobedience, rebellion, and cultural creativity
• The formal abolition of slavery is not analogous to the eradication of racism

Question 5

«Black Codes»

Answer 5

The «black codes» replaced the old system of slavery with a new system of social, political, and economic discrimination

Question 6

Internal Migration from South to North

Answer 6

À progressive movement of African Americans moved northward as agricultural work in the South became mechanized and industrial development in the North created new jobs.

Today, African Americans still face conditions of neighbourhood segregation and poverty that other immigrants faced only upon arrival

Question 7

Brown v. Board of Education

Answer 7

In 1954, the US Supreme Court unanimously ruled in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, that «separate educational facilities are inherently unequal»

The decision marked the beginning of a series of boycotts, sit-ins, protests, and marches promoting Black civil rights

Question 8

Civil Rights Act

Answer 8

In 1964, the Civil Rights Act was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson, banning discrimination in public facilities, education, employment, and any agency receiving gouvernement funds

Question 9

After the Civil Rights Movement

Answer 9

As a result of the movement, a substantial Black middle class has emerged, but a significant African American underclass remains poor

Question 10

Mexican American and Chicano

Answer 10

Descendants of people who lied in Mexican territory taken by the US in 1848 (Present day California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah)

• Subsequent immigrants from Mexico

Question 11

Latino (X)

Answer 11

Refers to people descended from Latin America

Question 12

Hispanic

Answer 12

Refers to anyone living in the US descended from Spanish-speaking regions

Question 13

4 main Groups of Hispanics in the US Come From

Answer 13

1. Mexico (around 36.6 Million)
2. Puerto Rico (5.3 Million)
3. El Salvador (3.8 Million)
4. Cuba (3.7 Million)

Question 14

Mexican Americans

Answer 14

In the post World War 2 period up to the early 1960s, Mexican workers were admitted without much restriction

This period was followed by a phase of quotas on legal immigrants and deportation of undocumented immigrants

Question 15

Undocumented Immigrants

Answer 15

Undocumented immigrants continue to enter the US

They can be employed more cheaply than ‘local’ workers and perform jobs that most of the rest of the population would not accept

In the past decade, immigration from Mexico has decreased

Question 16

Undocumented Immigrants

Answer 16

Undocumented immigrants continue to enter the US

They can be employed more cheaply than ‘local’ workers and perform jobs that most of the rest of the population would not accept

In the past decade, immigration from Mexico has decreased

Question 17

Puerto Ricans

Answer 17

Puerto Ricans have been divided about whether the island, currently a commonwealth of the US, should retain its present status, opt for independence, or attempt to become the 51st state of the Union

Question 18

Cubans

Answer 18

As a group, Cubans have the highest family income of all Latinos.

• This is because most Cubans in the first wave of immigration were white-collar professionals fleeing communism.
• The second wave of immigrants was less affluent, but they were also political exigées rather than economic ones

Question 19

Asian Americans

Answer 19

About 6% of the population of the US is of Asian origin.

Chinese Americans, Filipino Americans, and Indian Americans from the largest groups.

There are also significant numbers of Vietnamese, Koreans, Japanese, and Pakistanis

Question 20

Asian Americans and Immigration

Answer 20

Most of the early Chinese immigrants settled in California and worked in heavy industries, such as mining and railroad construction.

Chinese immigration was legally banned in 1882.

During World Ward 2, after the attack on Pearl Harbour by Japan, Japanese Americans, despite their American citizenship, were forced to live in Remote «relocation centres» (Otherwise knows as internment camps)

Following the passage of a new immigration act in 1965, large-scale immigration of Asians again took place

Question 21

White Racial and Ethnic Identities

Answer 21

White racial identity as the normative «identity» (what to assimilate or acculturate to)

Question 22

Models of integration

Answer 22

For many years, the 2 most common positive models of political ethnic harmony in the US were those of assimilation and the melting pot

Question 23

Assimilation

Answer 23

The acceptance of a minority group by a majority population, in which the new group takes on the values and norms of the dominant culture

Question 24

Melting Pot

Answer 24

The idea that ethnic differences can be combined to create new patterns of behaviour drawing on diverse cultural sources

Question 25

Pluralism

Answer 25

À newer model for ethnic relations in which all ethnic groups in the US retain their independent and separate identities yet share equally in the rights and powers of citizenship

Question 26

Multiculturalism

Answer 26

À condition in which ethnic groups exist separately and share equally in economic and political life

Question 27

Immigration

Answer 27

The movement of people into one country from another for the purpose of settlement

Question 28

Émigration

Answer 28

The movement of people out of one country to settle in another

Question 29

Modes of Migration

Answer 29

1. Classic Model
2. Colonial Model
3. Guest Workers Model
4. ‘Illegal’ Models

Question 30

The Classic Model (Migration)

Answer 30

A country encourages immigration and promises citizenship to newcomers, athlough restrictions limit the annual intake.

This applies to countries like Canada, the US, and Australia

Question 31

The Colonial Model (Migration)

Answer 31

À country grants preferences to immigrants from former colonies.

This applies to countries like England and France

Question 32

Guest Workers Model

Answer 32

Immigrants admitted on a temporary basis (often to fulfill labour market demands); no citizenship rights

This applies to countries like Germany, Switzerland, and Belgium

Question 33

The ‘Illegal’ Models (Migration

Answer 33

Non-formal modes of entry into a nation-state; such immigrants often live outside the realm of official society.

Ex.
- Undocumented migration to the US
- Thai-Myanmar boarder smuggling of migrants/ refugees

Question 34

Forces behind Global Migration

Answer 34

• Push Factors
• Pull Factors
• Macro-Level
• Micro-Level

Question 35

Push Factors

Answer 35

These are dynamics within a country of origin that force people to emigrate

Question 36

Pull Factors

Answer 36

These are features of destination countries that a attract immigrants

Question 37

Macro-Level

Answer 37

These are factors refer to overarching political, legal, and economic situations in a country that affect immigration

Question 38

Micro-Level

Answer 38

These are factors that are concerned with the ressources, knowledge, and understandings that the migrant populations possess