Test 3 Pt. 2 (Ch. 7) Flashcards
increasing diversity in U.S.
1/3 Americans identifies belonging to a minority group.
-by 2060, minority groups will comprise 56% of U.S.
pop.
civil rights legislation in U.S.
1860’s-1870’s- racial equality established by
13th, 14th and 15th amend.
-1954- Brown vs. Board of Education
–“separate edu. facilities are inherently unequal”
-1964 - Civil Rights Act of 1964
–gave means for fighting discrimination in employment and public accommodations and for denying federal funds to local gov’t units that permitted discrimination
-1965 - Voting Rights Act
–overcome legal barriers at state and local levels that prevented African Americans from exercising right to vote under 15th amend.
-abolished literacy tests and poll taxes designed to disenfranchise African American voters
-1968 - Civil Rights Act of 1968
–prohibited discrimination concerning the sale, rental, and financing of housing based on race, religion, national origin, sex, (and as amended) handicap and family status.
-1975 - Extension of Voting Rights Act
– provisions of the Voting Rights Act were extended for another seven years to address voting discrimination against members of “language minority groups”
social construction of race
views race as a socially constructed concept which uses minimal biological differences to create
general stereotypes about differences between groups.
–equatorial pops. evolved dark skin to protect against UV radiation
–white people in northern latitudes evolved pale skin to produce vitamin D from pale sunlight
–founder effect: prevalence of unusual condition in pop. can be traced to founding ancestor who carried a novel mutation (i.e., Huntington’s disease in Venezuela, Tay-Sachs disease among Ashkenazi Jews)
minority groups are subordinate segments of a complex society
–-tend to have special physical or cultural traits that are seen as undesirable by dominant segments of society.
–develop group consciousness or “we feeling”
–transmit membership by a rule of descent which can impose minority status on future gens. even if traits disappeared.
–-have members who tend to marry within their group (by choice or by necessity)
individual causes of racism
frustration or aggression
–displacing anger onto another group/scapegoating
projection
–attributing the unwanted traits of oneself onto others
social structural causes
political dominance and economic exploitation
–slavery and serfdom
laws and policies
–members of subordinate group may be legally prevented from owning property or voting, or may be terrorized into submission.
social norms
-commonly accepted standard that specifies the kind of behavior appropriate in a given situation
–homogamy: expectation that one must marry a person similar to oneself.
–antimiscegenation laws: laws banning interracial marriage
-stereotyping: attributing a fixed and usually unfavorable or inaccurate conception to a category of people.
–exaggerations of some small element of truth, grossly distorted and taken out of context.
–negative in nature, but not always., but are harmful because they treat people as one homogeneous group and ignore personality and other individual
differences
examples of stereotyping
Asian Americans are smart, Mexican bandit, blacks are good at sports
-Native American sport mascots, whites are powerful
institutional discrimination
unconscious result of the structure and functioning
of public institutions and policies themselves.
–often goes unnoticed by the dominant group because it’s woven into the cultural fabric of society
educational consequences of institutional discrimination
de facto segregation continues-segregation resulting from housing patterns,
economic inequalities, gerrymandered school districts
-minority groups are less likely to finish high school or attend college than are whites.
-the highly educated get higher salaries than
those with little education.
-blacks and Hispanic people at all lvls. of education earn less than whites
–in southern, northeastern, and western U.S., almost all Hispanic students attend “intensely segregated” school
–< 10% of the students are white,
–hard time hiring, retaining, books, and paying good teachers
–- higher turnover of students and teachers, great # of students w/ special needs, less parental involvement
-less access to AP classes, latest science
equipment
–deprive whites and minorities of the opportunity to meet people of other backgrounds and expand views
housing consequences of institutional discrimination
housing segregation
-separation of minority groups into different cities,
neighborhoods, blocks, and buildings
racial steering
-practice in which real estate brokers refuse to show houses outside of specific areas to minority buyers.
employment and income consequences of institutional discrimination
black-sounding applicants were offered jobs less often than whites
-blacks w/o criminal record were offered jobs at same rate as white applicants who had criminal records
justice
-U.S. justice system is based on 2 premises relevant to this issue:
1) justice is blind; that is, racial, ethnic, economic, or social considerations are irrelevant in eyes of the law
2) accused persona are considered innocent until proven guilty in court of law.
affirmative action
controversial policies that require institutions that engaged in discriminaton to increase opportunities for women and minorities
proponents
-seen as proactive measures to remedy inequality, fight discrimination, and have an integrated society with equal opportunities
opponents
-believe it’s misguided social engineering that uses quotas and preferences to replace qualified people with unqualified minorities and women - “reverse discrimination.”
racial minorities
groups who share certain inherited characteristics
ethnic minorities
groups who share cultural features (language, religion, national origin, diet, common history) and regard themselves as a distinct group
assimilation
process through which a racial or ethnic minority group slowly ceases being “different” by taking on characteristics of mainstream culture
