Chapter Ten - Race and Ethnicity

Subordinate Group

A group of people who have less power than the dominant group (minority)

Minority Group

Any group of people who are singled out from the others for differential and unequal treatment

Social Construct

Concept that exists not in objective reality, but as a result of human interaction

Islamophobia

Dislike of or prejudice against Islam or Muslims, especially as a political force.

The Indian Removal Act of 1830

Forced the relocation of any Native tribes east of the Mississippi River to lands west of the river

Discrimination

Prejudiced action against a group of people

Minority Groups are distinguished by these five characteristics

1. Unequal treatment and less power over their lives 2. Distinguishing physical or cultural traits like skin color or language 3. Involuntary membership in the group 4. Awareness of subordination 5. High rate of in-group marriage

Dominant Group

A group of people who have more power in a society than any of the subordinate groups

Racism

A set of attitudes, beliefs, and practices that are used to justify the belief that one racial category is somehow superior or inferior to others

Scapegoat Theory (Dollard's)

A theory that suggests that the dominant group will displace its unfocused aggression into a subordinate group

California Alien Land Law of 1913

Aimed at Japanese and other Asian immigrants; prohibited aliens from owning land, many from this group were later sent to internment camps

Model Minority Stereotype

Applied to a group that is seen as achieving significant education, professional, and socioeconomic success without challenging the existing establishment; the stereotype applied to a minority group that is seen as reaching higher educational, professional, and socioeconomic levels without challenging the majority establishment

Relations between Arab Americans and the dominant majority have been marked by mistrust, misinformation, and deeply entrenched beliefs. The ________ contributed significantly to cultural and political anti-Arab sentiment in the United States.

Arab-Israeli conflicts in the 1970s

Geographically, the Arab region comprises the Middle East and parts of Northern Africa (MENA). People whose ancestry lies in that area or who speak primarily Arabic may consider themselves

Arabs

Color-Avoidance Racism (sometimes referred to as "colorblind racism")

Avoidance of racial language by European-Americans that the racism is no longer an issue, which is generally professed as, "I don't see race-I see everyone as equal." The U.S. cultural narrative that typically focuses on individual racism fails to recognize systemic racism. It has arisen since the post-Civil Rights era and supports racism while avoiding any reference to race (Bonilla-Silva (2015). The vast majority of Americans (some sociologists suggest up to three-quarters) profess to be "color blind," which sociologists see as deeply problematic because it fails to recognize the social reality of minority groups in the U.S.

Ethnicity

Based on shared culture - the practices, norms, values, and beliefs of a group that might include shared language, religion, and traditions, among other commonalities

Prejudice

Biased thought based on flawed assumptions about a group of people

________ immigration came to an abrupt end with the Exclusion Act of 1882. This act was a result of anti-immigrant sentiment due to a depressed economy and loss of jobs. White workers blamed these migrants for taking their jobs. Because these men did not have the funds to return to their homeland, or to bring their families to the United States, they remained physically and culturally segregated in areas of large cities.

Chinese

________ are the second-largest Hispanic subgroup, and their history is quite different from that of other Hispanic groups. Their main wave of immigration to the United States started after Fidel Castro came to power in 1959, and reached its crest with the Mariel boatlift in 1980.

Cuban Americans

Historical Racism

Economic inequality or social disparity caused by past racism. For example, African-Americans have had their opportunities in wealth, education and employment adversely affected due to the mistreatment of their ancestors during the slavery and post-slavery period (Wilson 2012)

Interaction Theory

Focuses on how race and ethnicity provide strong symbols as sources of identity

Colorism

Form of racism, in which someone believes one type of skin tone is superior or inferior to another within a racial group. For example, if an employer believes a Black employee with a darker skin tone is less capable than a Black employee with lighter skin tone, that is colorism. Studies suggest that darker skinned African Americans experience more discrimination than lighter skinned African Americans (Herring, Keith, and Horton 2004; Klonoff and Landrine 2000)

The Indian Appropriation Acts

Funded further removals and declared that no Indian tribe could be recognized as an independent nation, tribe, or power with which the U.S. government would have to make treaties. This made it even easier for the U.S. government to take land it wanted

________ immigrants were not initially victimized in the same way that other white immigrants were. They settled in ethnic enclaves and established roots. However in the run up to World War I, sentiment turned against them strongly.

German

There is no minority or majority group that fits easily in a category or that can be described simply, however white ethnic Americans are made up of many immigrants including:

German, Irish, Italian, and Eastern European Immigrants

Immigration from ________ and ________ continued well into the late 19th century and early part of the 20th century, at which time the immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe began to arrive in larger numbers.

Germany and Ireland

Contact Hypothesis (Allport)

Gordon Allport's theory that emphasizes the importance of interpersonal communication in reducing stereotypes, prejudices, and discrimination

There are wide differences among the various origins that make up the Hispanic American population, as well as different names for the group itself. The 2010 U.S. Census states that ________ refers to a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race.

Hispanic or Latino

Later waves of immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe in the early 20th century were subject to intense discrimination and prejudice. In particular, the dominant group saw ________ immigrants as the dregs of Europe and worried about the purity of the American race.

Italian

________ immigration began in the 1880s. Many of these immigrants came to Hawaii to participate in the sugar industry; others came to the mainland, especially to agricultural pursuits in California.

Japanese

Native Americans once numbered in the ________ but in 2020, only ________ of U.S. population identify as Native American.

Millions; 2.9%

Cultural Racism

Occurs when the assumption of inferiority of one or more races is built into the culture of a society. For example, the European culture is considered supposedly more mature, evolved and rational than other cultures (Blaut 1992). A study showed that White and Asian American students with high GPAs experience greater social acceptance while Black and Native American students with high GPAs are rejected by their peers (Fuller-Rowell and Doan 2010)

Thomas Theorem

Once individuals define situations as real, they become real in their consequences

Stereotypes

Oversimplified generalizations about groups of people

Social Identity Theory (1979)

People examine their own identity as based on group membership (in-groups and out-groups)

Caucasian or White Race (Blumenbach)

People of European, Middle Eastern, and North African origin

American or Red Race (Blumenbach)

People of North American origin or American Indians

Malayan or Brown Race (Blumenbach)

People of Southeast Asian origin and Pacific Islanders

Mongolian or Yellow Race (Blumenbach)

People of all East Asian and some Central Asian origin

Ethiopian or Black Race (Blumenbach)

People of sub-Saharan Africans origin (sometimes spelled Aethiopian)

Individual or Interpersonal

Racism refers to prejudice and discrimination executed by individuals consciously and unconsciously that occurs between individuals. Examples include telling a racist joke and believing in the superiority of White people

The Dawes Act of 1887

Reversed the policy of isolating Native Americans on reservations, instead forcing them onto individual properties that were intermingled with White settlers, thereby reducing their capacity for power as a group

The focus of ________ theory would be on the inequalities of gender, social class, education, race, and ethnicity.

Social Conflict

Race

Socially constructed category that produces real effects on the actors who are racialized and refers to physical difference that a particular society considers significant, such as skin color

After the establishment of the United States' government, discrimination against Native Americans was codified and formalized in a series of laws intended to

Subjugate Native Americans and keep them from gaining any power

The first Arab immigrants came to this country in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were predominantly ________, and they came to escape persecution and to make a better life.

Syrian, Egyptian, and Lebanese Muslims

Racial Profiling

Systemic racism that involves the singling out of racial minorities for differential treatment, usually harsher treatment. The disparate treatment of racial minorities by law enforcement officials is a common example of racial profiling in the United States. For example, a study on the Driver's License Privilege to All Minnesota Residents from 2008 to 2010 found that the percentage of Latinos arrested was disproportionally high (Feist 2013). Similarly, the disproportionate number of Black men arrested, charged, and convicted of crimes reflect racial profiling

Systemic Racism, also called structural racism or institutional racism

Systems and structures that have procedures or processes that disadvantages racial minority groups. Systemic racism occurs in organizations as discriminatory treatments and unfair policies based on race that result in inequitable outcomes for White people over people of color. For example, a school system where students of color are distributed into underfunded schools and out of the higher-resourced schools

Expulsion

The act of a dominant group forcing a subordinate group to leave a certain area or even the country

Racial Steering

The act of real estate agents directing prospective homeowners toward or away from certain neighborhoods based on their race

White Supremacy

The belief that whites are racially superior and should dominate all races

White Privelage

The benefits people automatically receive simply by being part of the dominant group

Genocide

The deliberate annihilation of a targeted (usually subordinate) group

Double Consciousness (DuBois)

The feeling that one's identity is divided because of race

Pluralism

The ideal of the United States as a "salad bowl:" a mixture of different cultures where each culture retains its own identity and yet adds to the "flavor" of the whole (compare with "melting pot")

Sedimentation of Racial Inequality

The intergenerational impact of de facto (a matter of custom) and de jure (a matter or law) racism that limits the abilities of Black people to accumulate wealth

Segregation

The physical separation of two groups, particularly in residence, but also in workplace and social functions

Redlining

The practice of routinely refusing mortgages for households and business located in predominantly minority communities

Amalgamation

The process by which a minority group and a majority group combine to form a new group "melting pot"

Assimilation

The process by which a minority individual or group takes on the characteristics of the dominant culture

African Diaspora

The scattering of people with African ancestry all over the world, but predominantly to populations in North and South America; The dispersion of African peoples into other communities, especially those in North and South America, from the 16th to the 19th centuries

Social Construction of Race

The school of thought that race is not biologically identifiable

By 1705, Virginia passed which of these laws?

The slave codes which declared that any foreign-born non-Christian could be a slave, and be considered property

Culture of Prejudice

The theory that prejudice is embedded in our culture

Intersection Theory

Theory that suggests we cannot separate the effects of race, class, gender, sexual orientation, and other attributes

The Index, which has been published since 2005 and measures the overall equality level between Black people and white people notes that ________, especially in the areas of unemployment, insurance coverage, health, and economics. education.

True equality does not yet exist

U.S. slavery continued for 150 years. Black Africans were kidnapped from their own lands and shipped to the New World on the trans-Atlantic journey called the Middle Passage. Slave codes declared that the child of an enslaved was also enslaved,

Which created the slave class in the United States