Chapter 3 Race and ethnicity Flashcards
Race
. Race is a set of genetic characteristics and physical features.
1. Social scientists reject the notion of race, instead favoring an approach that treats race as a subjective social, political, and cultural construct.
Ethnicity
B. Ethnicity refers to a unique set of cultural traits such as language, religion, and diet.
1. Marger (2002) proposes that although class and ethnicity are separate dimensions of stratification, they are closely related.
2. As of 2002, Hispanic Americans were the nation’s largest ethnic minority group.
U.S. distinguishing native and foreign born residents
The U.S. Census distinguishes between native and foreign-born residents. A native refers to anyone born in the United States or a U.S. Island Area such as Puerto Rico or the Northern Marianas Islands or born abroad of a U.S. citizen parent; foreign born refers to anyone who is not a U.S. citizen at birth.
1. In 2008, among the 37.3 million foreign born in the United States, most were from Latin America.
2. Refugees are defined as aliens outside the U.S. who are unable or unwilling to return to his/her country of origin for persecution or fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.
a) . Nearly sixty percent of all admitted refugees in the U.S. are from Burma, Iraq, and Bhutan.
Patterns of racial and ethnic integration
A. Ethnocentrism, the belief that one’s own group values and behaviors are right and better than others, can lead a group to believe that certain racial/ethnic groups are inferior and that discriminatory practices against them are justified.
1. Racism, discrimination based on race, has been exhibited in social institutions throughout U.S. history in many ways including segregation, exclusion, and expulsion.
a). Segregation refers to the physical and social separation groups.
b). Exclusion refers to the practice of prohibiting or restricting the entry or
participation of groups in society.
c). Expulsion refers to the removal of a group due to direct force or intimidation.
Functionalist perspectives on inequalities based on race and ethnicity
Functionalist perspective theorists look to assimilation, a process where a minority
group member becomes part of the dominant group losing their original distinct group
identity, to allow a society to maintain its equilibrium as all adopt one dominate
culture.
1. In some areas of the world, each ethnic / racial group maintains much of its own
culture referred to as pluralism.
Conflict perspectives on inequalities based on race and ethnicity
Conflict theorists focus on how the dynamics of racial and ethnic relations divide
groups while maintaining a dominant group which often exercises its privileges of
power, force, and coercion.
1. Marxist theorists argue that immigrants constitute a reserve army of workers,
members of the working class performing jobs that native workers no longer
perform.
Feminist perspectives on inequalities based on race and ethnicity
. Feminists argue that traditional white feminist perspectives are not appropriate and in
fact are misleading to comprehend the experiences of racial and ethnic minority
women.
Interactionist perspectives on inequalities based on race and ethnicity
Interactionists believe that race is a social construct and is learned through our social
interaction. New efforts suggest proposing new racial catagories like “mutli-racial” or mixed race.
The consequences of racial and ethnic inequalities
A. Income and wealth.
1. In 2008, Asian households had the highest median income ($65,637) followed by
non-Hispanic whites ($55,530), Hispanics ($35,967), American Indians and
Alaska Natives ($37,913), and blacks ($34,218).
2. African-Americans make less than white-Americans (62 cents for every dollar),
have only about one fifth to one tenth the wealth of white Americans, and have
significantly lower rates of home ownership.
B. Education.
1. Schools have become de facto segregated creating great disparity in the quality of
education students receive in the U.S.
2. Latinos have the lowest educational achievement rates compared to all other major
racial and ethnic groups in the U.S.
C. Health.
1. Racial and ethnic minority group members are more likely to be uninsured and are
also less likely to receive the level of care provided to non-minority patients for
the same condition.
2. Byrd and Clayton (2002) assert that America’s health system is predicated on the
belief that the poor are “unworthy” in our society and do not deserve decent
health.
D. U.S. immigration: Past and present.
1. After the Revolutionary War, native American tribes were forcibly removed from their homes and their lands in a period that would become known as the “Trail of Tears.”
2. Immigration is defined as the leaving of one’s country to move to another.
3. Most immigrants are motivated by the global economics of immigration searching
for better incomes and standards of living.
4. Currently, one in eight U.S. residents is foreign born: The majority is from
Mexico.
5. Since the U.S. Congress has been unable to pass a bipartisan immigration bill,
nearly every state has taken matters into their own hands, debating similar
immigration issues in their own state legislatures.
6. Immigrant labor is concentrated in construction, cleaning and maintenance,
production and farming occupations.
7. In 2011 SB1070 was introduced in some states forcing the culture to consider “show me your papers laws” as a reaction to immigration.
Responding to racial and ethnic inequalities
A. Encouraging diversity and multiculturalism.
1. Researchers, educators, and political and community leaders and community
members have implemented programs targeting racism and prejudice.
2. Increasing numbers of colleges, universities, and businesses are instituting and
requiring enrollment in diversity classes to strengthen the understanding of and
appreciation of cultural diversity.
B. Affirmative action is a policy that has attempted to improve minority access to
occupational and educational opportunities.
1. Executive Order 10925 enforced affirmative action by forbidding employers with
federal contracts from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, or
religion in their practices.
2. The 1964 Civil Rights Act forbade discrimination based on race, color, religion, or
national origin by private employers, agencies, and educational institutions
receiving federal funds.
C. Employment.
1. In Executive Order 11246, federal contractors were required to hire without regard
to race, religion, and national origin.
2. Starting in 1970, the Philadelphia Plan presented goals for desegregating the
workplace.
3. Proponents argue that through affirmative action policies we can address the
historical discrimination that minorities have experienced while opponents feel
they encourage preferential treatment for minorities and reverse discrimination.
D. Education.
1. Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act permitted the consideration of race, national
origin, sex, or disability to provide opportunities to a class of disqualified people
who were denied educational opportunities.
a). Starting in California in 1995, several states including Texas and Florida have
banned the use of affirmative action in college admissions
