CH. 11: TOWARD RACIAL DEMOCRACY

Some people argue that social movements that claim an ethnocultural basis (e.g., the Black Power Movement) are unsatisfactory because they_____ the racial group and treat it as reality. The basis for political unity in these cases is on _____ rather than ______. People critical of these ethnocultural movements argue that the target should not be ______ but racial injustice.

1. reify 2. a shared racial identity 3. a common experience of racial oppression 4. whites

Color-blind policy is meant to prevent racial groups from being treated differently, but its effects on race-based outcomes varies. Which of the following forms of discrimination are addressed by color-blind policy and which are not?

Addressed by color-blind policy: Policies that directly target and favor one group over another because Color-blind policy explicitly rejects the use of race as a factor in university admissions or job selection, in which minorities or women get preference. Not addressed by color-blind policy Unconscious and unintentional racial discrimination, discrimination in housing that produces racial segregation, second-order discrimination & evaluative discrimination Why? For example, color-blind policies would not address juror bias against nonwhite defendants. Color-blind policies do nothing to prevent whites from avoiding houses in racially mixed neighborhoods, which helps to produce racial segregation and inequalities in wealth. An example of second-order discrimination is that people of color face more penalties for possessing or dealing crack and powder cocaine, even though there is nothing explicit about race in the sanctions. Evaluative discrimination in areas like job interviews, in which an employer can favor certain soft skills or subtle habits that are more common among whites, would not be prevented in color-blind policies.

Antidiscrimination policy has developed through political conflicts and responses. Place the following antidiscrimination policy developments in order from oldest to most recent.

Affirmative action emerged as the dominant antidiscrimination practice -> President Reagan weakened antidiscrimination policies -> Diversity training emerged as the dominant antidiscrimination practice. Why? because... During the early 1970s, employers decreased their risks of costly antidiscrimination lawsuits by establishing affirmative action and antidiscrimination offices. In the 1980s, both President Reagan and the Supreme Court weakened affirmative action policies. In response to weakened antidiscrimination policies, affirmative action specialists—whose livelihoods depended on antidiscrimination efforts—repackaged their services as diversity training opportunities that would increase companies' effectiveness and competitiveness.

The authors state that actions to address racial injustice can occur at the levels of the individual self, everyday interactions, established institutions, and collective action. What best represents how the authors view the relationship between the four distinct levels at which change can be pursued.

All four levels connect to each other. The authors argue that each set of means is interdependent with the others and that all are necessary for bringing about the desired changes.

Teach all subjects through a common framework that emphasizes equality. What racial ideal is associated with this practice...colorblindness, racial democracy, or multiculturalism?

Color-blindness Color-blindness emphasizes a universal approach that does not divide students by race or teach them how race matters.

Robert Park theorized the "race-relations cycle" as a process of assimilation. Place the following steps of this process in order from first to last.

Contact, conflict, accommodation, and lastly, assimilation

At the individual level, there are some important strategies that people can use to work toward racial democracy. According to the authors, which of the following are suggested strategies to bring about meaningful change?

Deliberate reflection and put yourself in growth-enhancing settings Why? because... There can be "critical moments" of perplexity which in turn lead to self-critical thought. In those moments, one can pause and reflect, potentially reconstructing ways of thinking, perceiving, feeling, and acting. Individuals can change the settings they inhabit by deliberately putting themselves in contexts more conducive to growth and enriched experiences (e.g., racially diverse contexts).

What are common experiences for nonwhites?

Developing a double consciousness & race becomes a master identity Most white Americans never develop this kind of fractured identity because they do not have to look at themselves through the eyes of dominant groups.

What are common experiences for whites?

Experiencing guilt Guilt is a common part of white identity formation but is not constructive for developing a healthy white identity.

When we become aware of racial inequality, we experience a "conversion moment" or awakening that reflects true racial consciousness as an individual.

False An important aspect of deliberate reflection, one required of all of us, is the sheer perseverance it necessitates. Rather than a moment, there is a long process through which we undergo individual change.

What are common experiences for both whites and nonwhites?

Fighting racism & Racial naïveté While both whites and nonwhites may never adopt this action as part of their identity, it is a common outcome for both white and nonwhite racial identities; while many whites and nonwhites experience racial naivete this period tends to be much shorter for nonwhites because they encounter racism at a much younger age

Whites take different paths in the development of their racial identity. Place the following stages of this process in order from first to last.

First - Racial naïveté and confusion (When whites begin to think about their racial identity, many find the process unsettling and confusing. Unfortunately, some white people never develop beyond this stage.) Next - Increasing racial awareness, possibly with guilt and shame (Many whites begin to understand what race means to them and become aware of their racial privilege, which provokes feelings of guilt and shame. Some whites also never make it past this stage.) Final - Fighting racism passionately but not strategically (When whites are made aware of racial inequality, they often desire to fight it but don't know how. Without support and feedback, they risk regressing.) OR Final - Developing a healthy and honest relationship with their whiteness (With proper support, whites can come to terms with the ways they are privileged, and start, in a reflexive mode, to "unlearn their whiteness." They begin to shed their guilt and develop a "positive white identity, based in reality, not on assumed superiority.") *Note that people do not move through this process in a straight line. Rather, people move forward and backward through these stages during different points in their lives.

Which are reasons that sociologist William Julius Wilson promotes a so-called hidden agenda to affect change at the institutional level?

It seeks to help the least well-off members of society because... Antidiscrimination laws are inadequate for overturning cumulative inequalities and helping the most disadvantaged members of society. Many whites do not support racial-based legislation because... Wilson states that "the hidden agenda for liberal policymakers is to improve the life chances of truly disadvantaged groups such as the ghetto underclass by emphasizing programs to which the more advantaged groups of all races and class backgrounds can positively relate."

Teach the histories of different racial groups throughout the curriculum. What racial ideal is associated with this practice...colorblindness, racial democracy, or multiculturalism?

Multiculturalism Multicultural education celebrates and teaches racial diversity.

According to the textbook, which of the following are limitations of multiculturalism?

Multiculturalism does not address equity and inclusion. A flaw in multiculturalism is that democracy is not only about recognizing others' diversity but also issues of inclusion and institutional racism. Multiculturalism can demand a level of respect for certain cultures that they might not deserve. For example, promoting respect for a culture that systematically devalues women raises problems for accepting all dimensions of a culture.

From the beginning of its use in the United States in the early twentieth century, there was ambiguity about the meaning of the "melting pot" metaphor. Which of the following interpretations eventually became the dominant meaning of the "melting pot" in American culture?

Newer immigrants shed their previous identities while the "native stock" and its dominant culture, remain unchanged Why? because... One influential spokesperson for this view argued that the "native stock" of white, Anglo-Saxon, British-origin Americans would become "the measure and the standard of American that the newcomer [was] to attain." This is the model of assimilation.

A white student makes a racist comment, and another white student immediately and aggressively refutes the comment, leading to an uncomfortable situation. What is this strategy known as?

Race traitor The race traitor strategy aims at "disrupting" the ordinary workings of a racist order whenever and wherever they occur, even if at the cost of acrimony and discomfort. It is more contestational than educational.

Shift resources from wealthy schools to poorer schools. What racial ideal is associated with this practice...colorblindness, racial democracy, or multiculturalism?

Racial Democracy Racial democracy teaches racial diversity but also empowers racial groups by distributing resources in a way that provides equal opportunities.

The authors begin the final chapter by identifying ways of discussing racial ideals, or how race "ought to be" as opposed to "what is." Match each concept to the statement that best corresponds to how the authors describe it in the context of normative ideals or "what ought to be." Normative ideals of how race ought to be are up to individual preference = ? Visions of the ideal racial order should be put into practice and then evaluated for how well they achieve results = ? Inequality is a natural and universal part of life and, therefore, nothing can be done about it = ?

Personal opinion Tools for guiding conduct Timeless truth

Which of the following best explains the relationship between the concept of racial democracy and the ideals of color-blindness and multiculturalism?

Proponents of racial democracy approve of the ideals of color-blindness and multiculturalism but view them as based in an imaginary world. Why? because... The ideals of color-blindness and multiculturalism are built upon assumptions about the world that do not reflect reality; racial democracy suggests that society must begin from actual experience in which racial injustice is rampant, and not from an imaginary, idealized world outside experience.

Which of the following concepts fully celebrate racial and cultural differences? Cultural pluralism Racial democracy Cosmopolitanism Hyphenation Assimilation Multiculturalism

Racial democracy Not only does racial democracy acknowledge and celebrate racial and cultural differences, but also it goes further to address issues of justice and inclusion. Multiculturalism Multiculturalism goes beyond acknowledging and valuing racial and cultural differences; it celebrates these differences as having inherently positive qualities. Cosmopolitanism Cosmopolitanism goes beyond acknowledging and valuing racial and cultural differences; it celebrates these differences as having inherently positive qualities.

Racial democracy seeks to overcome racial injustice. In terms of housing, identify the historical racial injustices that shaped the development of American cities during the rapid period of industrialization that took place between the late 1800s and the late 1960s.

The median monthly rent in some cities was higher for blacks than for whites. Urbanization drove up property values, but blacks were prevented from buying their homes. Landlords subdivided properties and encouraged overcrowded housing to increase profits Why? because... Despite having far lower incomes and living in lower-quality housing, African Americans ended up paying higher rents in some cities as late as 1960. By law, custom, and poverty, the vast majority of blacks were excluded from purchasing their own homes. As urbanization increased in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, cellars, attics, and storage sheds became single-room apartments, and poor families proved a profitable market. The payday lending industry emerged much later, in the late 1990s. In the residential field, a society guided by racial justice would not be scarred by drastic segregation but rather would promote racial integration and community.

Hawaii has a long history of interracial conflict and solidarity within its class struggle. Place the following events in order from oldest to most recent.

White colonizers use Native Hawaiians and Asian migrants as cheap labor for sugar plantations -> The wealthy elite import Portuguese workers -> Union organizers campaign against white supremacy and worker exploitation -> Unionized sugar workers call for an all-industry strike. Why? because... After the islands of Hawaii were colonized, white settlers from Britain and America used Native Hawaiians and migrants from China, Japan, and the Philippines as a cheap labor force. By 1870 the American-led anti-Chinese movement pressured Hawaii's business elites to abandon their Chinese laborers and hire white workers. This strategy was meant to overcome interracial conflict (e.g., the Portuguese hoped to be admitted to the privileged race, deriding Asian immigrants; and the Japanese joined other groups in disdaining Filipinos). Multiracial labor organizing was successful, and it empowered workers to win an all-industry strike in 1946. Interracial labor movements like these provide a compelling model for people today who struggle for racial justice.

Proponents of this ideal believe race no longer serves as a basis for inequality and would like racial identity to be irrelevant.

color-blindness

Racial diversity is fully taken into account and valued for its own sake.

multiculturalism

Persons of all racial groups are fully recognized and receive equal societal resources.

racial democracy