Sociology Exam #3 Flashcards
created a 100 to 1 sentencing disparity for crack vs. powder cocaine possession; mandated a minimum 5 year sentence for possessing 500g of powder and 5g of crack
Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986
people of color more likely to use crack cocaine that powder cocaine; act of institutional racism
Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986
80% of those imprisoned under Act were Black
Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986
laws that restricted Black people’s right to own property, conduct business, buy and lease land, and move freely through public spaces
Black Codes
criminalized men who were out of work; outlawed begging, loitering, walking at night, walking without a purpose, panhandling, going from business to business looking for work, etc
Vagrancy Laws
Central element were Vagrency Laws
Black Codes
effectively outlawed being Black in America
Black Codes
forced prisoners to work for private companies for no pay, often on the same field they work when they were enslaved
Convict Leasing Programs
these programs were introduced in Southern prisons in order to uphold the Southern economic system (which was built upon slavery and suffered when slavery became illegal
Convict Leasing Programs
reduced the sentencing disparity for crack vs. powder cocaine from 100:1 to 18:1; better but still unequal
Fair Sentencing Act of 2010
used to control Black people after the abolition of slevery; between 1880 and 1930, mobs murdered over 2,300 Black men, women and children
Lynch Mobs
the White public justified lynching as protecting White women from Black men; _____ thrived on a widespread belief that Black men were violent predators
Lynch Mobs
“Offenses” used to justify lynching were incredibly borad, subjective
Lynch Mobs
upheld inequality:
- Upheld White supremacy: Black people could not find refuge in the law
- Upheld White patriarchy: increased white women’s dependence on white men
Lynch Mobs
system incited by the prison boom, “tough on crime” policies, and the War on Drugs
Mass Incarceration
reflects the reality that the US criminalizes and incarcerates more of its own people than any other country in the history of the world, and inflicts enormous harm on already marginalized groups, primarily poor people of color
Mass Incarceration
Consequence: criminal record significantly reduces one’s chance of finding a job
Consequence of Mass Incarceration
Consequence: ex-convicts are denied acces to social services such as financial aid for college, food stamps, and public housing; ex-convicts have lower average incomes
Consequence of Mass Incarceration
Consequence: family consequences, such as limiting marriage and parenthood prospects/abilities
Consequence of Mass Incarceration
Consequence: reproduction of inequality; contrary to unequal outcomes in terms of voting rights, access to social services, income and wealth, health, family, and well-being
Consequences of Mass Incarceration
largely due to harsher sentencing policies, achieved through political moves
Prison Boom
Was caused by harsher sentencing policies, not a rise in crime or drug use
Prison Boom
Only 12% of the rise in incarceration 1980-1996 was driven by a rise in crime rates
Prison Boom
88% of the rise in incarceration was driven by changes in sentencing policies:
- limits on parole
- mandatory minimum sentencing
- Mandatory life sentences for non-violent crimes like drug offenses
- 3 strikes law
Prison Boom
imposes life sentence for third offense, even if all 3 offenses are nonviolent crimes
3 Strikes Law
Drug arrests quadrupled
Prison Boom
simultaneously ciminalized and reinforced Black poverty
Prison Labor Camps
arrest rates for marijuanna possession by race are substantially higher for Blacks than Whites, though drug use is not
Prison Boom
a form of Neo-slavery once slavery was outlawed
Prison Labor Camps
Black people are sent to prison for drug offenses 10x the rate of white people
Prison Boom
practice of New York police department in which officers stopped, questioned, and frisked thousands of pedestrians annually (1968-2013)
Stop & Frisk
this practice disproportionately targeted young Black men; disproportionate targeting practices sent more Black men to prison and kept them in the prison system
Stop & Frisk
purposeful efforts to use racial animus/tensions as leverage to gain material wealth, political power, or heightened social standing
Strategic Racism
In 2011, more Black men were stopped than the number of young Black men living in NYC
Stop & Frisk
“the purposeful manipulation of racial ideas forms the poisonous core of racism” (Haney Lopez 2014)
Strategic Racism
Justifications included “inappropriate iffseason attire” and “furtive movements”–very subjective and easily defendsible
Stop & Frisk
induced the Prison Boom and the racial disparities that came with it
War on Drugs
NYPD institutionalized quotas; officers with low numbers of stops, summonses and arrests were subjet to disciplinary actions. this encouraged officers to stop people for the sake of stopping people and meeting their quotas
Stop & Frisk
between 1981 and 2001, drug control spending increased from $2 billion to over $18 billion
War on Drugs
Concept developed because Haney Lopez found that convict leasing could not be explained common misunderstandings of racism:
- convict leasing didn’t emerge out of spite/hatred
- it wasn’t simply the continuation of past structures of exploitation
- must be _____
Strategic Racism
police officers paroled heavier in poor, non-White communities (despite decline in drug use during the 1980s and higher rate of White drug use than Black drug use)
War on Drugs
a LOT of people in jail because the Anti Drug Abuse Act set required jail time
War on Drugs
In 1990s and 2000s, drug-related prison admissions in Milwaulee went up dramatically. Most of the overall increase was due to ann increase in admission of Black men.
War on Drugs
set up the standard of “reasonable suspicion” and that officers must point out specific and “articulable” facts that justify suspicion (innapropriate offseaon attire, “furtive movements”
Terry v. Ohio (1968)
The Batson Rule dudn’t solve the problem it was designed to address
Batson v. Kentucky (1986)
created the Batson Rule, which states that a prosecutor’s use of a peremptory challenge in a criminal case (the dismissal of jurors for doing so) may not be used to exclude jurrors based soley on their race
Batson v. Kentucky (1986)
This is the justification upon which Stop-and-Frisk was created
Terry v. Ohio (1968)
created the precedent that nationalities are protected classes under the 14th amendment and having all-white juries in criminal cases for people of color us not a “jury of their peers”
Hernandez v. Texas (1954)
Brooker T. Washington’s famous speech, advocating for a compromise in which African Americans agree to not have full access to political power, but they should at least be provided with basic education
Atlanta Compromise
the sum of one’s knowledge of established and revered cultural material and practices (what you know)
Cultural Capital
knowing what kind of clothes to wear (what you know)
Cultural Capital
You get a good job becayse you know powerful people in the company (who you know)
Social Capital
adjusting one’s style of speech, appearance, behavior, and expression in ways that optimize the comfort of others in exchange for fair treatment, quality of service, and employment opportunities
Code Switching
economic inequality and educational inequality are wound together
Economic and Educational Inequality
Students with highly educated and wealthy parents arew at an advantage and more likely to achieve academic success
Economics and Educational Inequality
Because of racialized economic inequality, Black and Hispanic parents have fewer resources to invest in their children’s schooling
Economics and Economic Inequality
socioeconomic background prevents some students access to tests and their GPA can be affected by biases of students and teachers.
Example of Economics and Educational Inequality
ignores the extremely diverse histories and social experiences of different non-white racial and ethnic groups
Fallacy to Understanding Difference
unspoken values, dispositions, and social and behavioral expectations essential to educational success; things you need to know to succeed in education, but no one teaches you
Hidden Curriculum
Leads to questions like: “Why are Asian students outperforming Black and Hispanic students when they all face discriminations?”
Fallacy of Undifferentiating Difference
knowing how to email a professor
Hidden Curriculum
unconscious attitudes and defend examples pf things that are part of the hiddej curriculum of education
Implicit Bias
Can influence a teacher’s expectations for students’ for students’ academic success
Implicit Bias
Teachers and school administrators often choose more severe punishments for Black students than for White students for the same offense
Implicit Bias
historically, certain racial groups cam to the US againstr their will or under duress, while other voluntarily migrated here
Involuntary Minorities versus Vuluntary Minorities
9 Black teens selected by NAACP to integrate Little Rock Central High School
Little Rock Nine
economic privileges of voluntary minorities, accrued in their home countries, translate into other kinds of privilege
Involuntary Minorities versus Voluntary Minorities
their entry was blocked by Arkansas Citizens Council and Arkansas National Guard
Little Rock Nine
Black students able to enter only after Eisenhower provided them with an army escort
Little Rock Nine
the mistaken believe that all Asian Americans are more academically, economically, and socially successful than other racial minority groups, and that this success is the result of their supposedly unique Asian cultural values
Myth of Model Minority
placing higher value on education that other cultures of minority groups
Myth of Model Minority
boarding schools created to assimilate Native American children into European American culture
Native American Boarding Schools
Lumps all Asian subgroups into one large category
Myth of Model Minority
a collection of linguistic, behavioral, aesthetic and spiritual attitudes and practices formed in direct opposition to mainstream white culture
Oppositional Culture
Parents forced to send children
Native American Boarding Schools
Students forbidden to speak native language, practice their religion, sing traditional songs, wear tradtional clothes–forced to change their names and cute their hair, etc
Native American Boarding Schools
Idea that Black and Latino students are unwilling to adopt certain behaviors that are percieved as uniquely “white” but that would allow them to succees in school
Oppositional Culture
different subgroups have different histories for how and why they came to the US and different circumstances around their socialization here
Myth of Model Minority
families prevented from visiting their children at the schools and many children died while attending
Native American Boarding Schools
“selling out” or “acting white”; code switching
Oppositional Culture
the sum of all resources one sccrues by virtue of being connected to a network of people
Social Capital
WEB Du Bois’s term to describe the most intelligent and promising segment of the African American population, whom he argued should have access to higher education to develop the leadership capacity of African Americans as a whole
Talented Tenth
Later in life, Du Bois changed his mind and rejected this notion, and said that rather than uplifting just the “talented tenth” through higher education, the focus must be on uplifting all African Americans through the collective struggle (ex: Civil Rights Movement)
Talented Tenth
Maryland Court of Appeals ruled tha University of Maryland Law School must integrate; one of the first cases that Thurgood Marshall won for the NAACP
Murray v. Pearson (1936)
Supreme Court ruled to integrate University of Texas Law School
Sweatt v. Painter (1950)
US District Court rule to integrate all of California schools
Mendez et al. v Westminster School District et al. (1946)
Supreme Court unanimous decision to dismantle legal basis for legal segregation; NAACP lawyers used social scientific evidence to argue that schools were seperate but unequal
Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
Supreme Court said states could issue this with “all deliberate speed” and thios is why segregation persisted until the 70’s–there was no concrete timeline
Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
intentional steps taen by a government or organizatiob to increase representation of groups that have been historically excluded or marginalized
Affrimative Action
College admissions decisions are commonly based on:
GPA, standardized test scores, location of hometown/high school, legacy status, relationship to donors, athlete status, and whether you contribute to campus diversity.
Many people mistakenly believe that affirmative action consists of racial quotas and reverse discimination
Misconception about Affirmative Action
In Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978), SCOTUS ruled that a university’s use of racial “quotas” in its admissions process is unconstitutional (but that race can still be considered in admissions)
Affirmative Action does not consist of racial quotas and reverse discrimination
Many people mistakenly believe that race-blind admissions policies (assessing college applications without asking for/considering the applicant’s race) are fair.
Misconception about Affirmative Action
UC-Davis Medical School implemented affirmative action program for admissions in 1970, which included a quota for minority students (16/100 spots set aside)
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978)
University of Michigan Law School implemented an affirmative action policy that “favored underrepresented minority groups”
*Grutter v. Bollinger (2003)
Allan Bakke sued the school after being rejected; SCOTUS ruled that a university’s use of racial quotas in its admissions process was
unconstitutional, but a school’s use of race as a factor in admissions is not.
*Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978)
a separate case decided on the same day as Grutter v. Bollinger; the Court struck down a points-based admissions system that awarded automatic “bonus points” to the admissions scores of minority applicants; Court decided that “bonus points” system is illegal
Gratz v. Bollinger (2003)
Prospective student sued the school after being rejected, said she had been denied
admission because the school gave certain minority groups a significantly greater chance
of admission
*Grutter v. Bollinger (2003)
UMich admitted that its admission process favored minority groups, but argued that there
was a compelling state interest to ensure a “critical mass” of students from minority
groups, and that there are important educational benefits of having a diverse campus.
*Grutter v. Bollinger (2003)
UT-Austin automatically granted admission to top-ranked Texas high school students; the remaining admissions were based on a variety of factors, including race.
*Fisher v. University of Texas (2016)
Abigail Fisher sued the school for racial discrimination after being rejected; SCOTUS ruled that UT-Austin admissions policy met the standard of “strict scrutiny,” but required UT-Austin to regularly update their policy and make sure it is “narrowly tailored”
*Fisher v. University of Texas (2016)
SCOTUS ruled that race-conscious admissions are constitutional because they help
colleges attain the educational benefits of having a racially diverse campus.
■ NOT because race-conscious admissions would address racial discrimination or inequality within education.
*Grutter v. Bollinger (2003)
Again, race-conscious admissions were found constitutional because they create
educational benefits due to racial diversity, NOT because they address racial
discrimination or inequality within education.
*Fisher v. University of Texas (2016)
the court ruled in both cases that
it is unconstitutional to use race as a factor in college admissions decisions.
Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard and UNC (2023)
a person who moves to a country with the intention of residing there permanently
immigrant
These rulings reverse a series of decisions since 1978 that race-conscious admissions can
be used to meet the goal of campus diversity; Race can still potentially factor into admissions decisions, but only in a narrow way.
Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard and UNC (2023)
the first major US immigration law; Geary Act (1892) required
Chinese immigrants to carry a certificate of residence. Chinese immigrants challenged this in the Supreme Court and in 1882, Supreme Court said that it did not violate the 14th Amendment.
Chinese Exclusion Act 1882
was to secure better relations with China during WWII as an ally.
Repeal of Chinese Exclusion Act (1943)
aimed to provide protection from deportation for Dreamers
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) (2012)
When it was implemented, immigrant advocates had a number of concerns about the program, including that:
■ Information about Dreamers was being recorded in a database (which could be used as a pro-deportation weapon later)
■ Created by Executive Action (and therefore easy to undo)
■ Denied applicants may be targeted after exposing their undocumented status
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) (2012)
Supreme Court ruled that deportation is an
administrative procedure, not a punishment.
*Fong Yue Ting v. United States (1893)
the presumed superiority of native born citizens, favoring allocation of resources to
them over immigrants and promoting a fear of foreign cultures
Nativism
norms, values, and practices that systematically advantage
native born citizens and disadvantage immigrants; parallel in many ways to institutional
racism.
Institutional nativism
second generation immigrants assimilate into American society to varying degrees and into different segments of society
Segregated Assimilation
dislike of or prejudice against people from other countries
Xenophobia
What system today effectively acts as the “new Jim Crow” and what are concrete examples of ways it keeps the same patterns of discrimination in place?
The new Jim Crow is the mass incarceration, which falls under the umbrella of the criminal justice system. It keeps many of the same patterns of discrimination in place by labeling people of color as “criminals” and then engaging in all the practices we supposedly left behind. Once you’re labeled a felon, the old forms of discrimination— employment discrimination, housing discrimination, denial of the right to vote, denial of educational opportunity, denial of food stamps and other public benefits, and exclusion from jury service—are suddenly legal.
What connection do the authors draw between the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and Black prison admissions?
White communities in the South increased incarceration of Black people. Areas that were subject to the strongest provisions of the act had the largest increases in Black prison admissions after 1965 (especially in the South). It prohibited states from using literacy tests and other methods of excluding African Americans.
What does Alexander mean when she says, “What has changed since the collapse of Jim Crow has less to do with the basic structure of our society than with the language we use
to justify it?”
she means that we can’t use race explicitly to discriminate, so instead we use different language like “criminal” and “felon” to discriminate against and exclude people of color.
How are Black Americans largely missing out on the economic opportunities created by
the legalization of marijuana?
they are much more likely to have been arrested for it and are much more likely to have ended up with a criminal record because of it. Therefore, people discriminate and will not let them work for the purpose. Only 1% of storefront marijuana dispensaries are owned by Black people.
What is “first mover advantage?” Who is benefitting from it in the legal marijuana business? Why?
the idea of first come, first serve—anyone who doesn’t make the risky leap to violate federal law and get involved now will miss out, forever. The people benefitting from it in the legal marijuana business are rich White men that control all other industries because they are tightening their grip on it by getting licenses and real estate and preparing for a windfall. They are more likely to get away with the business because Black people are mainly targeted and avoided when hiring, especially if they have a record of previous use.
What are peremptory challenges? Why are they important?
when you get a certain number of strikes just to get rid of a juror you think might not be fair to you, but you can use them any way you want, and you don’t have to give a reason. They are important because it gives both sides more faith in the process and protects both side from the tyranny of a trial judge who has too much power. They are kicked off by one of the sides in the case.
According to the podcast, how does the presence of Black jurors change jury interaction?
changes jury interaction by their distrust in cops and law enforcement. There is more likely to be a conviction of a Black person if there are no Black jurors.
o 4 Black jurors were given peremptory challenges during James Batson’s trial, and he was convicted. There were no good reasons why the black jurors were kicked off, but it appeared as racism.
Why are American schools still highly segregated, 60 years post Brown v. Board of Education?
because political efforts directed at desegregation have limited success and the crumbling efforts of both elements of “separate but equal” have left us at a contradictory time.
What is the “Acting White Theory” and what evidence does Toldson use to critique it?
a culture assuming the social expectations of white society– is commonly used to explain present-day “achievement gaps” between black and white students. Evidence Toldson uses to critique it is Edward Rhyme’s quote about how African Americans have swallowed a misconception about blacks being intellectual and against education and how the terms “nerds” and “geeks” originated in white society.
What is the “attitude-achievement” paradox? What does research reveal about students’
attitudes towards education across racial and gender differences?
a concept that says that initial attitudes towards educations become contradictory after dealing with racism and discrimination; reveals that black students consistently exhibit more positive attitudes about education than white students, contrary to their levels of academic achievement.
What is the best way to close the achievement gap between Black and White students?
School integrating is the best way of addressing the gap because it gets black kids in the same facilities as white kids, and therefore it gets them access to the same things that those kids get: quality teachers and quality instruction.
What, according to the authors, are the two key myths of race-conscious admissions?
race-conscious admissions (allowing individual students’ unique life experiences with racism to be seen) results in “Asian penalty” and that Black, Latinx, and Indigenous students admitted to selective universities are undeserving and do not possess academic merit to warrant their presence on these campuses.
How are racial disparities built into standardized tests, GPA, and other metrics of student
performance?
by results of tests being correlated with socioeconomic background and GPA being affected by biases of students and teachers in high school.
What are the benefits of diversity in higher education?
positive educational outcomes for all students, contribute to student growth and development in skills for democratic citizenship and participation, and it is linked to the educational and civic mission of higher education.
What variable most strongly predicts whether an immigrant is a net economic gain or a
net economic loss to the government over the course of their lifetime?
a high school education.
