race relations midterm

Question 1

Races

Answer 1

Categories of humankind with shared physical or social qualities.

Question 2

Blacks and Whites

Answer 2

Terms used to describe people of African descent (Black) and European descent (White).

Question 3

Racial Hierarchy

Answer 3

A system of ranking races in a way that produces unequal power, privilege, and social status among different groups.

Question 4

Natural Selection

Answer 4

The process through which species adapt to their environment; used in social contexts to justify social hierarchies and inequalities.

Question 5

Cultural Selection

Answer 5

The process by which certain cultural traits become more common within a society.

Question 6

Indentured Servitude

Answer 6

A labor system where people paid for their passage to the New World with years of labor.

Question 7

Slavery

Answer 7

A system where individuals are owned by others, deprived of personal freedoms, and forced to work.

Question 8

Political Ideals

Answer 8

Beliefs about the best forms of government and ways to organize society.

Question 9

Natural Outcome

Answer 9

A result that occurs without human intervention, often used to justify social phenomena.

Question 10

Natural Antipathy

Answer 10

An inherent dislike or opposition, often used to justify racial prejudices.

Question 11

Bacon’s Rebellion

Answer 11

A 1676 rebellion in Virginia, highlighting tensions between frontiersmen and Native American policies of the colonial government.

Question 12

White Privilege

Answer 12

The societal privileges that benefit White people beyond what is commonly experienced by non-White people.

Question 13

Folk Beliefs

Answer 13

Traditional beliefs held by a group of people, often passed down through generations.

Question 14

Ahistorical Fallacy

Answer 14

The incorrect belief that historical context does not impact the present.

Question 15

Racialization

Answer 15

The process by which racial meanings are attached to a previously racially unclassified relationship, social practice, or group.

Question 16

Racial Formations

Answer 16

The sociohistorical process by which racial categories are created, inhabited, transformed, and destroyed.

Question 17

Racializing

Answer 17

The act of imposing a racial interpretation on something.

Question 18

Racialized

Answer 18

Being assigned a racial identity by society.

Question 19

Sharecropping

Answer 19

A system where tenants farm land owned by others and pay rent with a portion of the crops.

Question 20

Convict Leasing

Answer 20

A system where prisoners were leased to private parties for labor.

Question 21

Jim Crow Segregation

Answer 21

Laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States from the late 19th century to the mid-20th century.

Question 22

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Answer 22

Landmark U.S. legislation outlawing discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

Question 23

Multiracials

Answer 23

Individuals of mixed racial heritage.

Question 24

Language Loss

Answer 24

The process by which a community loses its native language.

Question 25

Economic Mobility

Answer 25

The ability of an individual or family to improve their economic status.

Question 26

Intermarriage Rates

Answer 26

Statistics on marriages between individuals of different racial or ethnic backgrounds.

Question 27

One-Drop Rule

Answer 27

The historical social classification in the U.S. that any person with even one ancestor of Black ancestry is considered Black.

Question 28

Hypodescent

Answer 28

The practice of classifying a child of mixed race ancestry into the more socially subordinate parent group.

Question 29

Outsiders’ Ascriptions

Answer 29

The labels and identities imposed on individuals by those outside their group.

Question 30

Latino Threat Narrative

Answer 30

The depiction of Latino immigrants as a threat to American culture and society.

Question 31

Durable Ethnicity

Answer 31

The persistence of ethnic identities over time and generations.

Question 32

Reactive Ethnicity

Answer 32

The intensification of ethnic identity in response to perceived threats.

Question 33

BIPOC

Answer 33

An acronym for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color.

Question 34

Electorate

Answer 34

All the people in a country or area who are entitled to vote in an election.

Question 35

Honorary White

Answer 35

Non-White groups who are granted some privileges of Whiteness.

Question 36

Collective Blacks

Answer 36

Groups of people who share a common Black identity and experience.

Question 37

White Immunity

Answer 37

The phenomenon where White individuals are less likely to face consequences for certain actions compared to non-White individuals.

Question 38

Reconstruction

Answer 38

The period following the American Civil War (1865-1877) aimed to rebuild the Southern states and integrate formerly enslaved people into society. It involved significant political and social changes but ultimately faced strong resistance, leading to the establishment of Jim Crow laws.

Question 39

Jim Crow Era

Answer 39

A period of racial segregation laws in the United States, primarily in the South, from the late 19th century until the civil rights movement of the 1960s. These laws enforced racial discrimination and disenfranchisement of African Americans.

Question 40

Nordics

Answer 40

This refers to people from Northern Europe, particularly those of Scandinavian descent, who were often associated with ideas of racial superiority in the early 20th century, especially in discussions of eugenics and immigration policy.

Question 41

“Slide into Whiteness”

Answer 41

A concept describing the process by which individuals or groups, often of mixed racial heritage, gain social acceptance and privileges associated with being perceived as white, thereby distancing themselves from their non-white ancestry.

Question 42

Blackface

Answer 42

A theatrical practice where white performers darkened their skin to caricature and stereotype Black people, perpetuating racist imagery and attitudes. It became prevalent in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Question 43

Human Genome Project

Answer 43

An international scientific research initiative aimed at mapping and understanding all the genes of the human species. Completed in the early 2000s, it has implications for genetics, medicine, and our understanding of human diversity.

Question 44

Black Exceptionalism

Answer 44

The idea is that specific individuals or groups within the Black community stand out or achieve success in ways that contrast with broader systemic issues affecting the larger community. It often serves to obscure or downplay structural inequalities.