Chapter 9

Chapter 9Race and Ethnicity

Chapter Outline• Defining Race and Ethnicity• Race and Ethnic Relations• Theories of Race and Ethnic

Relations• Some Advantages of Ethnicity• The Future of Race and Ethnicity• A Vertical Mosaic

Race, Biology and Society

• Race refers to socially significant physical differences, such as skin color, rather than biological differences that determine behavioral traits.

• Racial distinctions are social constructs, not biological “givens.”

The Social Construction of Race

• Many scholars believe we belong to one human race which originated in Africa.

• Migration, geographical separation, and inbreeding led to the formation of more or less distinct races.

The Social Construction of Race

• Humanity has experienced so much intermixing that race as a biological category has lost meaning.

• Sociologists use the term “race” because perceptions of race affect the lives of most people profoundly.

Ethnicity, Culture, and Social Structure

• Race is to biology as ethnicity is to culture.

• A race is a category of people whose perceived physical markers are deemed socially significant.

• An ethnic group is composed of people whose perceived cultural markers are deemed socially significant.

Polling Question• Think about Whites in the U.S. compared to

ethnic and racial minority groups. To what extent do you agree with the following: Whites as a group are very distinct and different from ethnic and racial minority groups.A. Strongly agreeB. Agree somewhatC. UnsureD. Disagree somewhatE. Strongly disagree

Ethnic Groups• Differ in:

– Language– Religion– Customs– Values

The Vicious Cycle of Racism

Hispanic Americans• According to the U.S. Census

Bureau, nearly 39 million Hispanic Americans lived in the United States in 2003.

• The Bureau predicts they will number more than 96 million in 2050.

Racial and Ethnic Composition

Population by Hispanic Origin and Region, 2002

MexicanPuerto Rican Cuban Other

Northeast 2.4 58.0 13.3 30.2

Midwest 8.7 8.5 3.0 4.8

South 34.3 27.0 75.1 32.6

West 54.6 6.4 8.5 32.4

Institutional Racism• Institutional racism is bias inherent in

social institutions and often not noticed by members of the majority group.– Examples:

•When police single out African Americans for car searches.

•When department stores tell floorwalkers to watch for African American shoplifters.

Polling Question• Descendents of slavery in the U.S.

should be given economic restitution by the U.S. government for the consequences of slavery.A. Strongly agreeB. Agree somewhatC. UnsureD. Disagree somewhatE. Strongly disagree

Ecological theory• Distinguishes five stages in the

process by which conflict between ethnic and racial groups emerges and is resolved.

Stages of Ecological Theory

1. Invasion.– One group tries to move into the

territory of another. 2. Resistance.

– The established group tries to defend its territory and institutions.

3. Competition. – The groups compete for scarce

resources.

Stages of Ecological Theory

4. Accommodation and Cooperation.– The groups work out an

understanding of what to segregate, divide, and share.

5. Assimilation.– The minority blends into the

majority population and eventually disappears as a distinct group.

Split labor markets• A situation in which low-wage workers

of one race and high wage workers of another race compete for the same jobs.

• High-wage workers are likely to resent the presence of low-wage competitors, and conflict often results.

• Consequently, racist attitudes develop or are reinforced.

Native Americans• Expulsion and genocide best describe

the treatment of Native Americans by European settlers in the 19th century. – Expulsion is the forcible removal of a

population from a territory claimed by another population.

– Genocide is the intentional extermination of an entire population defined as a race or a people.

Native Americans• 1830 Indian Removal Act - Called for

relocation of all Native Americans to land west of the Mississippi.

• In the “Trail of Tears,” the U.S. Army rounded up all 16,000 Cherokees and marched them to Oklahoma. – 4,000 Cherokees died.

Native Americans• Late 19th century - government

adopted a policy of forced assimilation. • 1930’s and 40s - Roosevelt adopted a

more liberal policy:– Prohibited further breakup of Native

lands.– Encouraged Native self-rule and

cultural preservation.

Native Americans• 1950s - government proposed to

– end the reservation system– deny sovereign status of the tribes– cut off government services– stop protecting Indian lands held in

trust for the tribes.• The proposal was not implemented due

to strong resistance by the Native-American community.

Median Family Income Ratios, Black/White and Hispanic/White, U.S.,

1947–2001

Representation of Minority Groups in Television

White Prejudice and Discrimination against Blacks

Asian Americans, 2000Group Number % of TotalChinese 2.7 million 22.7Filipino 2.4 million 20.1Indian 1.8 million 16.0

Vietnamese 1.1 million 9.4Korean 1.1 million 9.0

Japanese 0.8 million 6.7

Six Degrees of Separation: Ethnic and Racial Group Relations

Polling Question• The problems of racial prejudice and

discrimination in U.S. society are over stated.A. Strongly agreeB. Agree somewhatC. UnsureD. Disagree somewhatE. Strongly disagree

Race and Ethnicity in the U.S.

• Reforms that would promote equality: – Affirmative action programs– Job training– Improvements in public education– Subsidized health care and child

care

Quick Quiz

1. Race is:a. an attitude that judges a person on

his or her group's real or imagined characteristics

b. a category of people whose perceived cultural markers are deemed socially significant

c. a social construct used to distinguish people in terms of one or more physical markers

d. the tendency to blame other racial or ethnic groups for one's own problems

Answer: c• Race is a social construct used

to distinguish people in terms of one or more physical markers.

2. Most sociologists believe race matters because it allows social inequality to be created and maintained.

a. Trueb. False

Answer: a• Most sociologists believe race

matters because it allows social inequality to be created and maintained.

3. An ethnic group is:a. an attitude that judges a person on

his or her group's real or imagined characteristics

b. a category of people whose perceived cultural markers are deemed socially significant

c. a social construct used to distinguish people in terms of one or more physical markers

d. the tendency to blame other racial or ethnic groups for one's own problems

Answer: b• An ethnic group is a category of

people whose perceived cultural markers are deemed socially significant.

4. We see institutional racism in practice when:a. police single out African Americans

for car searchesb. department stores tell their

floorwalkers to keep a sharp eye out for African-American shoplifters

c. banks reject African-American mortgage applications more than applications from white Americans of the same economic standing

d. all of these choices

Answer: d • We see institutional racism in practice

when police single out African Americans for car searches, department stores tell their floorwalkers to keep a sharp eye out for African-American shoplifters, and banks reject African-American mortgage applications more than applications from white Americans of the same economic standing.

5. The words that best describe the treatment of Native Americans by European settlers in the 19th century are:

a. race and ethnicityb. prejudice and discriminationc. scapegoat and minority groupd. symbolic ethnicity and

institutional racisme. expulsion and genocide

Answer: e• The words that best describe the

treatment of Native Americans by European settlers in the 19th century are expulsion and genocide.

6. _________________ is a policy that gives preference to minority groups if equally qualified people are available for a position.

Answer: affirmative action

• Affirmative action is a policy that gives preference to minority groups if equally qualified people are available for a position.