Soc 215 Final Exam
How do we view animals as they relate to humans that own them
"Dangerous" dogs are associated with black people/drugs/violence
Ted Talk Summary
"Do people deserve to die for the crimes they've committed?" "Do we deserve to kill?" We have a difficult time talking about race in this country but we need truth and reconciliation US has highest incarceration rate in the world "Our humanity depends on everyone's humanity" "We will ultimately be judged by how we treat the poor, the condemned, the incarcerated" "The opposite of poverty is not wealth, it's justice" "Each of us is more than the worst thing we've ever done"
Plessy v. Ferguson
"Separate but equal" Made segregation in public facilities legal
Functionalist Theory
- Durkehim, Parsons - social arrangements exist to perform some function in society - Societies tend toward stabilization, equilibrium, consensus
Merton's four typologies of prejudice and discrimination
- Unprejudiced nondiscriminator (All-weather liberal) - Unprejudiced discriminator (Fair-weather liberal) - Prejudiced nondiscriminator (Timid Bigot) -Prejudiced discriminator (All-weather Bigot)
Crime and arrest rates across race and gender
1 out of 3 black males between 18-30 yo are in jail, prison, probation, or parole 93% of inmates are male Largest groups in US correctional system: Black, Hispanic, White
Bryan Stevenson's Four Pillars to Create Social Change
1. Choose to get proximate 2. Change the narrative 3. Protect our hopefulness 4. Do things that are uncomfortable
What are the various responses from minority groups to the subordinate status?
1. Feigned or real acceptance 2. Displaced aggression 3. Avoidance 4. Assimilation
Joe Sullivan
13 yo, mental disabilities, severe neglect and abuse by father Record of misdemeanors Broke into home with two older boys, stole money/jewelery Homeowner (lena bruner) was assaulted that afternoon by a "dark colored boy" Gulley and McCants were apprehended within minutes; Gulley accused Joe of sexual battery Seminal fluid and blood evidence were destroyed before the defense could test them Trial lasted less than one day Lawyer was later suspended and never reinstated Convicted and sentenced to life without parole Appointed appellate counsel felt there were no legitimate Sent to adult prison at 13 yrs old - despite mental disabilities - life without parole Repeatedly raped and sexually assaulted Attempted suicide multiple times Developed multiple sclerosis (stress induced) eventually forcing him into a wheelchair
Mentally Ill offenders (consequences and protection)
14 states have no minimum age for trying children as adults 70% of children 14 y/o and younger sentenced to life imprisonment w/o parole are children of color Children are 5x more likely to be victims of sexual assault in adult prisons
Minors imprisoned as adults (consequences and protection)
14 states have no minimum age for trying children as adults 70% of children 14 y/o and younger sentenced to life imprisonment w/o parole are children of color Children are 5x more likely to be victims of sexual assault in adult prisons
Charlie
14 yrs old, less than 100 lbs, not quite 5' Was to be tried as an adult for murdering his mother's abusive boyfriend, George, who was a police officer Placed in an adult prison where he was raped and sexually assaulted repeatedly Stevenson able to have him moved to protective custody and eventually a nearby juvenile facility Case was transferred to a juvenile court Mr. and mrs. Jennings: built a lifelong connection with charlie and supported him and his mother
Racial/ethnic composition of the current population
2/3 of Americans are Non-hispanic Whites Hispanics are largest minority group African Americans are second largest minority group
Wrongful Convictions
333 post conviction DNA exonerations - most are minorities, eyewitness is leading cause 1 in 9 people on death row is innocent
Percentage of those in poverty who were Non-hispanic White
41.2% (compared to being 63.9% of total population)
Public defenders
80-90% of felony defendants are too poor to hire their own attorney 76% of county-based public defenders have a caseload which exceeds limits 40% of county-based public defender offices have no investigator on staff
Race of prosecutors involved
95% of all elected prosecutors are white Lowest % being minority men and women
Ethnocentrism
A tendency to view one's own group as the norm and therefore superior
Exonerate
Absolve someone from blame
Wage Gap among ethnic groups
African Americans have smallest wage gap within their racial group White women make 79 cents to every dollar a man makes Latinas make least money Blacks are 2.5x more likely to experience poverty than Whites Asians have highest median income Whites have 13x more wealth than Blacks, 10x more wealth than Hispanics
Symbolic racism
Aka conative, opposition to progressive social policies and denial of existing racial inequalities (fair-weather liberals)
Cognitive Prejudice
An exaggerated belief associated with a category of people
Individual Racism
Any behavior by an individual that leads to unequal treatment
Persuasive Communication
Any communication intended to influence attitudes, beliefs, or behavior Can reduce prejudice, but more effective in reinforcing open-mindedness
Racial Profiling
Any police-initiated action based on race, ethnicity, or national origin rather than on a person's behavior Often based on explicit stereotypes Overwhelming evidence that race is not a valid predictor of criminal behavior
How do White Supremacists portray Whites?
As victims, the oppressed group in society, the victims of a conspiracy that is said to involve jews, blacks, communists, homosexuals etc.
Affective Prejudice
Attitude
Uniform Crime Reports (UCR)
Based on arrest figures and reports supplied by law enforcement Stats are limited, minorities less likely to contact police, incidents of rape and assault are underreported excludes white collar and organized crime African Americans 5-6x more likely to be imprisoned than whites Black women 3x more likely than white women to be imprisoned
Conative Prejudice
Behavioral
Case Summary of Walter McMillian
Brought in on sodomy Monroe county, AL Arrested for murder of Ronda Morrison Trial moved to Baldwin county - 9% black Jury (11 White, 1 African American) Multiple alibi witnesses udge, Robert E. Lee Key overrode the jury's sentencing verdict for life and sentenced him to death Only FL and AL allow this; frequently practiced in AL In 91% of these cases the judges replaced life verdicts with death sentences Stevenson took on the case in postconviction States witnesses had lied Prosecution had illegally suppressed exculpatory evidence 1993: conviction was overturned and Walter was released Spent 6 years on death row Walter died in Sept. 2013 under hospice care Suffered from dementia, likely trauma induced
Execute
Carry out death sentence
What were the primary goals early on in the Civil Rights movement; how did they change/why
Civil rights movement: assimilation Black Panthers/Black power movement: more separatist and pluralist
What conditions are required for a successful social movement?
Collective dissatisfaction Communication network Resources Sense of efficacy Leadership
Blauner's perspective of the colonized minority
Colonized minority (group conquered or annexed by force) - African Americans, Mexican Americans, Native Americans, Puerto Ricans Internal Colonialism: Forced to participate in a different society, subject to unfree labor, isolated from dominant group, culture subject to attack Leads to.... Castelike patterns, less assimilation, greater exploitation, lower status, oppositional identity
Islamophobia
Dislike of or prejudice against Islam or Muslims, especially as a political force
Assimilation
Dominant group accepts minority group in some aspects of social life Majority/minority groups become integrated into common culture and social structure
Noel's conditions for ethnic stratification?
Ethnocentrism Competition or opportunity for exploitation Unequal Power
Jimmy Dill
Executed april 2009 Very unhelpful legal assistance - did not present evidence in his defense or investigate
Case Summary for Henry
First Case Death row inmate Talking to him for hours Bryan first human contact in long time Profound for bryan
Ethnicity
Generally recognized by themselves or others as a distinct group, based on social or cultural characteristics such as nationality, language, religion
Three Strikes Rule and consequences of it
Gives automatic prison sentences to persons convicted of a felony who have previously been convicted of 2 or more violent crimes or felonies Ineffective at reducing crime rates Increases prison population
Changes in prejudice and discrimination towards Black following the Civil War
In the south: Prejudice, discrimination, ideological racism intensified Jim Crow Segregation Lynching In the north: OK until blacks fled from lynchings in the south Increased competition, surge of racism Sundown towns, riots in cities
What are the primary causes for racial inequality?
Institutional racism - goes back centuries, integrated into law
Which groups are most likely to be targeted in a hate crime?
Jews Post election - Most anti-immigrant, then anti-black, anti-Muslim, anti-LGBT - Women
Mandatory Sentencing
Judges forced to incarcerate violent and habitual criminals Example - Three Strikes Rule (ineffective at reducing crime rates, increased prison population, applied to low-level offenders)
Determinate Sentencing
Judges must impose a specified sentence for a given offense, dependent on the crime and offender's past record
Peremptory Strikes
Jury pools legally mandated to represent community population, but not under peremptory strikes It is illegal to cut jurors based on race or gender, but this is hard to prove
Asian American Demographics
Largest Groups: Chinese, Asian Indian, Filipino
Arab American Demographics
Largest Groups: Lebanese, Egyptian, Syrian
Latino demographics
Largest groups: Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban
Jewish Americans
Less than 2% of US Intermarriage rates >50% Higher levels of education, median incomes than national population Half life in the northeast Highly Urbanized Jews targeted most often for their faith (hate crimes)
Pros and Cons of assimilation
Majority/minority groups become integrated into common culture and social structure Minorities often lose aspects of individuality/culture
What is public opinion regarding mass incarceration?
More than 2/3 of voters say it's important for the country to reduce its prison population Cost is too high Prisons don't rehabilitate Sentences are disproportionately severe Almost 90% agree drug addicts and mentally ill should be in treatment facilities
Plea Bargaining
More than 90% plea out Reduces caseloads, so encouraged
Therapy
Most effective at reducing prejudice that serves personality needs
Education
Most effective when prejudices are mild and communities are not highly polarized Most effective at reducing cognitive and explicit prejudice Least effective for deeply entrenched prejudice
Pros and Cons of Separatism
Most likely to increase inequality Population transfer is necessary --> almost impossible to implement
Pros and Cons of pluralism
Multiculturalism
Most likely to graduate from high school
Non-hispanic Whites
Fluid competitive Race Relations
Open formalized discrimination is prohibited Majority controls social institutions Discrimination still exists Heightened competition and conflict Example: US and Great Britain
Racial Disparities on Death row
Over 75% of victims in capital cases were white compared to 50% of all murder victims Death penalty is 11x more likely when victim is white than if victim is black 22x more likely if defendant was black and victim were white
Brown v. Board of Education
Overturned Plessy v. Ferguson, made segregation illegal based on premise that separate schools could not be equal
What are the best strategies to removing prejudice?
Persuasive Communication Education Intergroup Contact Simulation/Experimental Exercises Therapy
Histories of Blacks, Chicanos, and NA similar/different according to Noel's theory?
Plantations vs. Reservations Same: Ethnocentrism, competition over land, potential gain (labor), unequal power Different: AA - continuous contact, labor exploitation NA - isolation, land exploitation Chicanos - Ethnocentrism (manifest destiny) Unequal Power Competition for land and exploitation of labor
What are the levels of bias built into the criminal justice system?
Plea Bargaining Race of prosecutors Public defenders Peremptory strikes Bail Wrongful convictions
What conditions are most likely to increase the frequency of hate group activity?
Poor economic conditions and growing economic inequality Heightened competition, scarcity of resources, perceived threat Statements/actions of political leaders Reaction to progressive change
Class System
Position based on achieved status -
Mendez v. Westminster
Preceded Brown v. Board Banned segregation in schools against Mexican Students in Orange county, CA
What is racial formation and how does it work
Process by which society is continually creating and transforming racial categories. Driven by political interest, used to look at race as being socially constructed. The content/importance of racial categories are determined by social/economic/political forces Example: White people separate themselves from African Americans and other minorities. They place themselves above any class and are associated with power and freedom
Prosecutor
Public official, institutes legal proceedings against defendant
Sentence
Punishment assigned to a defendant found guilty by a court
Bryan Stevenson's biography
Raised in Delaware Went to Christian College Harvard Law - interned with southern prisoners defense community in Atlanta Matriarchal grandmother had a large impact on him
2010 Fair Sentencing Act
Reduced crack cocaine v. powder cocaine sentencing disparity from 100:1 to 18:1 eliminated the 5 year mandatory minimum for simple possession of crack cocaine
Batson v. Kentucky
Related to peremptory Strikes
Changes in prejudice and discrimination toward Chicanos following the Civil War
Rigid Competitive Race relations dual-wage system, segregation Zoot Suit riots
Changes in prejudice and discrimination towards Asians following the Civil War
Rigid competitive race relations Chinese Exclusion Act Exec. Order 9066 - Japanese Internment Camps
Intergroup Contact (Contact Hypothesis)
Says contact with people in racial or ethnic groups other than one's own can break down prejudice by showing fears about out groups are unfounded, or don't fit preconceptions Increased contact in a particular setting may lead to increased acceptance only in that situation Important to have equal status - people from racial or ethnic groups involved should be similar in status and power
Rigid Competitive Race Relations
Similar to caste Perceived threat of competition extensive open conflict status and mobility largely determined by race Examples: jim crow, apartheid
Paternalistic Race Relations
Similar to caste system competition prohibited no racial conflict Examples: Slavery in US and SA
Simulation/Experimental Exercises
Simulated experiences with discrimination More effective at reducing affective and unconscious prejudice
Race
Socially defined group of people who are generally considered to be physically distinct in some way (skin color, hair texture)
Conflict Theory
Society is made up of groups with conflicting self interests Marx, Mills, Dubois One group becomes dominant Consensus is rare, artificial, short term
Pluralism
Some aspects of culture/social structure are shared, others remain separate
White ethnic groups that immigrated to US since 1900 are from where
Southern and Eastern Europe Went to Northeast and Great Lakes States Non-protestant
Explain Adorno's research findings related to Authoritarian Personality
Strict Child rearing practices and strong adherence to authority lead to frustration, scapegoating, projection. Authoritarianism increases with instability at the individual/collective level
Scapegoating
Taking out feelings of frustration/aggression on someone other than the true source
Bail
The 8th amendment that forbids excessive bail is frequently violated
Discrimination
The unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people on the grounds of race, age, sex
What does it mean to say race is socially constructed
There is no genetic basis for race - it is socially defined on the basis of arbitrary physical characteristics
Why do we measure race and ethnicity?
They change over time based on social construction, help permit measurement of school segregation, racial inequalities in income and employment, and other indicators of discrimination
Projection
To minimize, avoid, or deny undesirable characteristics in oneself by exaggerating those same characteristics in others
Separatism
Two or more racial/ethnic groups occupying same area have own cultures and own separate sets of social institutions
Herbert Richardson
Vietnam war vet with mental disability and PTSD Had an obsession with an old girlfriend, wanted to get her attention so he built a bomb and placed it in her house across the street. Was going to deactivate bomb before it went off but 2 young girls found it and shook it Bomb exploded killing 1 girl, deafening and traumatizing the other Sent to life in prison without parole? 11 years on death row, lawyer would not appeal case and said it was fair sentence Executed
Longest life expectantcy
White Women
What is optional ethnicity
Whites have the option of highlighting ethnic identity or just being white Can shed identities as needed
Avery Jenkins
Wrote to Bryan in prison Father murdered before born, mother died of drug overdose when he was one 19 foster homes by age 8, age 10 - locked in closet and denied food, beat him. Taken into the woods and tied to a tree and was left 13 addicted to drugs, 15 seizures and psychotic episodes, 17 homeless 20 stabbed and killed an elderly man during psychotic episode
Trina Gartner
Youngest of 12 Alcoholic ex-boxer dad who abused her siblings, herself, and her mom Mom died of sickness Accidentally started fire in a boys house she wanted to hang out with Convicted of 2nd degree murder and sentenced to life without parole - even when judge said she had no intent to kill At 16, raped by a correctional officer and became pregnant By 30, in wheelchair from sclerosis
Minority Group
any group that is inferior in society, they are discriminated against by those in the majority (subordinate)
Institutional Racism
arrangements or practices in social institutions that tend to favor one group over another Can be de jure or de facto
Graham v. FL
banned life w/o parole sentences for juveniles convicted of non-homicide offenses Joe Sullivan
Miller v. AL
banned mandatory life w/o parole sentences for all juveniles who committed a violent crime
Ideological racism
belief that some races are biologically, intellectually, or culturally inferior to others (scientific racism, social darwinism)
National Crime Victimization Surveys
by US department of Justice surveyed 70,000 people Over half of violent victimizations were nor reported to the police
Verdict
decision on issue in a civil or ciminal case
Disenfranchise
deprive someone of a right or privelege
Name conditions necessary for the contact hypothesis to succeed
equal status non-competitive interdependence institutional support opportunity to become friends
Majority Group
holds the most wealth, power, and status regardless of size (dominant)
De Jure segregation
intentional and written into law
Defense attorney
lawyer, defense of someone being charged for criminal activities
De facto segregation
not written into law (school segregation, school calendars)
Incarceration
prison
Life-without-parole
prison, no getting out
Death Penalty
punishment of execution
Roper v. Simmons
supreme court banned death penalty for those who committed their crimes prior to 18 years old
Prejudice
tendency to think of/react to everyone based on their particular category
Defendant
the accused
Capital punishment
the legally authorized killing of someone as punishment
Caste System
two or more rigidly defined and unequal groups based on ascribed status - what you are born into
What is breed specific legislation
we can discriminate against certain groups of people by banning dogs commonly owned by that group example: ban pit bulls from white neighborhoods, keep black people out
