SOC 100 Ch 9

Symbolic ethnicity today is a matter of choice for white middle-class Americans, but not black middle-class Americans. Identify the factors behind this difference.

A black person cannot choose to be considered either white or black; a white person can choose to be considered (for instance) Irish or German); for a black person, in the eyes of society, skin color is a defining characteristic; for a white person, in the eyes of society, skin color is not a defining characteristic; a black person cannot choose to be considered (for instance) Kenyan or Nigerian

Identify the examples of collective resistance

An oppressed group engages in a campaign of nonviolent protest; an oppressed group rises up in organized, armed rebellion

Identify the examples of ancient beliefs about race that associated skin color with geographic or environmental factors

Ancient Egyptian records; Chinese creation myth; the writings of the Greek philosopher Hippocrates

T/F: most Native Americans in the US live on reservations

False

Identify the factors that contributed to the decline and near-disintegration of Native American cultures in North America, following the arrival of European explorers in the late fifteenth century.

Force assimilation; military technology; forced relocation; disease

In American law, a rule once widely used declared that "one drop" of black blood makes one black. Identify the effects of the one-drop rule.

It put all blacks on the same level; it was used to enforce anti-miscegenation laws

Identify the consequences of making everyone (whites and others) more aware of whiteness as a racial category.

It removes the assumption that whiteness is normal and nonwhiteness is deviant; it encourages some whites to embrace white consciousness in racist fashion

In 1896, ___ established the doctrine that "___" services for blacks and whites were permissible. In practice, blacks consistently received inferior services. This eventually led the Supreme Court to reverse itself: in 1954, ___ made school segregation illegal on the grounds that "separate educational facilities are ___ unequal."

Plessy v Ferguson; separate but equal; Brown v Board of Education; inherently

Identify the correct statements about race.

Race is a social construct, race is about bloodlines

The word race comes from a Latin word meaning "___." Our modern concept of race has evolved in conjunction with ___, as a rationale for a group of people with one common ___ to ___ other people.

Root; imperialism; bloodline; conquer and dominate

Old-fashioned racism is based on the idea of ___ traits that make some people better than others. The new racism, called ___ racism, uses ___ rhetoric; it blames the troubles of minority groups on their different cultures

Unchangeable; "laissez-faire"; race neutral; cultures