Chapter 10: Race and Ethnicity

Contact Theory

According to this theory, individuals and groups gain experience from people not like them, so that tolerance and cooperation develop.

The black power movement

African American movement that focused on gaining control of economic and political power to achieve equal rights by force in necessary. (Malcolm X)

Racial profiling

An example of institutional racism in the criminal justice system, where mostly blacks and latinos are arrested and given the biggest punishments.

Implicit Bias

Another type of racism which is not obvious. This process lead people to associate a race to a behavior. Example: crime and a specific race.

Residential segregation

Areas that are determined as if only a race is allowed to live there.

Research on Profiling & Surveillance

Education systems, where schools in which the student bodies are disproportionately Black or Latino are often underfunded (Jaekyung Lee 2012). Court/penal system, where drug laws and enforcement penalize the selling and possession of narcotics (commonly used among young Black and Latino men) rather than cocaine (commonly used among affluent whites) (Alexander 2012); drug preferences of whites are less likely to be enforced by the system; ex. Current opioid "crisis" vs. War on Drugs

The Interplay among Race, Gender, and Class Stereotypes

Elements such as race, gender, class influence each other resulting in a specific stereotype.

Hypersegregation

Extreme segregation of a group, based on its race.

Stereotype interchangeability

Stereotypes that don't change and that get recycled for application to a new subordinate group.

Asian Americans o Chinese o Japanese o Filipinos o Koreans o Vietnamese

They are characterized as a "whole", with no distinction. Chinese: Japanese: Filipinos: Koreans: Vietnamese:

Affirmative Action

This term refers to an example of race.specific policy with the purpose to decrease educational and occupational inequality.

How is "whiteness" socially constructed?

refers to the construction of the white race, white culture, and the system of privileges and advantages afforded to white people in the U.S. (and across the globe) Through governmental policies, schools, judicial systems, decision-making power within our corporations, media portrayal, etc

White Privilege

The ability of white people to define themselves politically and racially correct, since they can't see where inequality and racism stands.

Intersection Perspective

The analysis that interprets class and race and gender as having separate as well as combined effects in shaping people's experiences. To determine someone's opportunities and chances it is important to look at each aspect and element.

Ethnocentrism

The belief that one's race is superior over the others. These people believe that their beliefs and values are right, moral, and the others are the opposite. These beliefs are created through socialization later in life. Nobody was born with these concepts.

Assimilation Theory

Process by which a minority becomes socially, economically, and culturally absorbed within the dominant society

What are the four frames of color- blind racism?

(1) abstract liberalism (e.g. equal opportunity and individualism), (2) cultural racism (e.g. "blacks have a lot of babies"), (3) naturalization (e.g. segregation is natural, people gravitate toward likeness), (4) minimization of racism (e.g. "discrimination exists but there are plenty of other jobs out there").

Discrimination

A negative or unequal treatment or behavior towards a specific group of people. It is illegal for the U.S. law, but it happens very often, not always in an explicit way. Examples: Unequal hiring practices of a company or university Legal Discrimination: unequal treatment based on group membership that is upheld by the law Environmental Racism: the placement of low-income or minority communities in the proximity of environmentally hazardous or degraded environments (e.g., toxic waste, pollution, and urban decay)

Diverse groups, diverse histories

The US population is extremely diverse since there are people coming from all over the places, with similar yet different histories and tradtions.

Color-blind Racism

An ideology that removes race as an explanation for any form of unequal treatment.

Bonilla- Silvia study

Bonilla-Silva (2009); Chair of Sociology at Duke University Intent: explored whites' explanations and justifications for contemporary racial inequality in America. Methods: survey research and qualitative interviews with white and black college students and Detroit residents. Analysis: coined as a racial ideology, color-blind racism rearticulates components of traditional liberalism, including work ethic, rewards by merit, equality opportunity, and individualism.

Gelman, Fagan, & Kiss (2007)

Findings: As pedestrians, minority citizens (Black and Latinos) experience more frequent stops by police, AND this disparity is not due to disparities in crimes committed by such groups—as police often claim. Minority stops are less efficient in actually catching criminals. When police stop someone, how often it leads to arrest: Blacks: 1 in every 9 stops Latinos: 1 in every 8 stops Whites: 1 in every 7 stops

Stereotype threat

Following uncosciously the stereotype by making it true. If they think I will do terribly on my exam, I will convince myself to some extent that I won't succeed.

What is the process of racial formation? What are some examples?

It is the process through which a specific group of people is defined as race. This definition is approved by the government or law as well. In this way, people are identified and categorized to make things easier. For instance, Native Americans were counted as three-fifths of a person. This was the american purpose to identify how many slaves should have been assigned for each state.

Latinos o Mexican Americans o Puerto Ricans o Cubans

Latinos have recently become the largest minority, before black people. They are characterized as a "whole", with no distinction. Mexican Americans: They have settled colonies by 1834. The investor and upper-class Mexican Americans could stay after the government decided to leave only the most powerful individuals. However, after the Mexican-American war of 1846-1849 lost their land, which went to the US, instead. Puerto Ricans: The island of Puerto Rico was ceded to the United States in 1898. in 1917 the citizenship was expanded to them as well. There is a terrible unemployment rate, and the United States has been trying to find reproduction policies to apply to improve the situation. They got to sterilization. Cubans: One-fourth of the island moved to the United States after the Castro Revolution. Then another immigration occurred and they were defined as "undesirable". For this reason, today they have been associated also with negative connotation prejudices.

Laissez-faire racism

Maintaining the status quo of racial groups by persistent stereotyping and blaming of minorities themselves for achievement and socioeconomic gaps between groups.

What is the relationship between race and mass incarceration? Know key facts, Alexander's (2014) work, and Wolfers, Leonhardt, and Quealy (2015)

Mass incarceration is considered as a race issue, since most of the people in those situations are black people. Mass incarceration doesn't allow people that got into jails the opportunity to move on. Also, from 1963 to 1993 the number of people in this situation increased tremendously.

Civil Rights Movement

Movement in the United States beginning in the 1960s and led primarily by Blacks in an effort to establish the civil rights of individual Black citizens, after the peaceful resistance of Martin Luther King and Gandhi. This movement has shaped various changes in the United States.

African Americans

People were used as slaves for a long period of time. Twelve million people got into the caste system, called slavery, to work for tobacco industries, sugar, and other.

What is race? What does it mean when sociologists say race is a social construction?

Race is the way through people distinguish a group of people for biological or socially attributed aspects. Sociologists say that it is socially constructed since these groups are analyzed through the ways they have been treated over time.

Institutional Racism (also, what are some examples)?

Race-based discrimination that results from the day-to-day operation of social institutions and social structures and their rules, policies, and practices. Example: racial profiling

Stereotype

Racial distinction and prejudices lead to stereotypes, which are semplified sets of beliefs about members of a certain group.

What is the process of racialization? What are some examples?

Racialization is the way through people associate a social status to a race, than biological aspects or origins. For instance, when Hitler named the jews genetically inferior. These perceptions changed completely the way Jews were treated. Most prevalent and powerful groups of people get to define a certain "race" and root prejudice.

▪ The Ferguson Report and Findings

Seven months after a white police officer shot and killed unarmed, 18 YO Michael Brown, the Justice Department issued a report into the policing and court practices of Ferguson law enforcement. Full report: Investigation of Ferguson Police Department The 67% of African Americans in Ferguson account for 93% of arrests made from 2012-2014. Disproportionate number of arrests, tickets, and use of force stemmed from "unlawful bias" rather than Black people committing more crime. The police force is being used as a source of revenue in Ferguson; "Law enforcement practices are shaped more by the city's focus on revenue rather than by public safety needs." This has consequences for how police treat people.

Middle Easterners

Since 1970, people have immigrated from Egypt, Iran, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan Lebanese, Syrians and Iranians tend to be middle class while other countries send those from working class backgrounds Iranians originally intended to return but have now become U.S. citizens Have created their own ethnic enclaves

Prejudice

The evaluation of a given group and all the members of it. It is based on perceptions and conceptions about a certain race or group. They often have a negative connotation. Prejudice takes many forms: Racism Stereotyping Scapegoating

Native Americans: The First of this Land

The indigens are the only "real" american people. The european came over and took over the land, destroying populations and areas to conquer. Spread of diseases and deadly things for this population.

What are dominant groups?

The racial group that has within its power the ability to exploit and control other groups, even in the face of resistance - those in the place of social advantage, which determine who belongs to the minority groups.

Pluralism Theory

The separate maintenance and persistence of one's culture, without trying to get into the dominant groups or common culture.

Segregation

The term that refers to the separation of a group of people, based on their race. This phenomenon lead to the creation of the urban underclass.

Aversive Racism

The type of racism which is not expressed or explicit. Example: always avoiding a given person because he or she belongs to a "race" or "stereotype".

• What is the significance of defining race?

The way people categorize a certain race is hard to understand. Sometimes people base themselves on biological aspects and other times, exclusively on social expectations and prejudice. It is more likely that a powerful figure sets certain believes. However, there are really few biological differences betwenn different races. In addition, the definition of race can vary if based on personal and physical aspects.

What is ethnicity/are ethnic groups?

This term refers to a social category or group of people that share a common nationality, dialect, religion, and norms. Ethnic Groups: have a sense of shared origin, relatively clear boundaries, and they tend to endure over time. Ethnic groups have a consciousness of their common cultural bond. Examples include: Jews, Italian Americans, Japanese Americans, Arab Americans, Polish Americans

Salience Principle

This terms refers to the process through we categorize people on the basis of what appears initially prominent and obvious. For instance, skin color.

Symbolic interaction theory

This theory addresses two main issues: the role of social interaction in reducing racial and ethnic hostility and how race and ethnicity are socially constructed.

Urban underclass

a grouping of people, largely minority and poor, who live at the absolute bottom of the socioeconomic ladder in urban areas

What are minority groups?

any distinct group of people that occupies a lower status in society because of inequality and prejudice. For instance

▪ What is mass incarceration? Know key facts

process by which people are placed in the Criminal Justice System, branded as criminals and felons, locked up for long periods of time, and then released into a permanent second-class status where they are stripped of basic human rights (e.g., right to vote, serve on juries, to be free of legal discrimination in employment/housing). Growth in prison population stems from: President Nixon's "War on Drugs" (1970s) And the transition of the penal system from the rehabilitative model to the punitive model Between 1963 and 1993 the incarceration rate has increased independent of crime