Ethnicity

Ethnicity

• Ethnicity – Identity with a group of people who share the cultural traditions of a particular homeland or hearth

• Race – Identity with a group of people who share a biological ancestor

• Nationality – Identity with a group of people who share legal attachment and personal allegiance to a particular country

• Nationality and ethnicity are similar concepts in that membership in both is defined through shared cultural values

• Race distinguishes blacks and other persons of color from whites

Example:

Ethnicity: MayanNationality: Guatamalan

Regional Concentrations of Ethnicities• African Americans clustered in the Southeast– Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, South

Carolina, and Mississippi• Hispanics clustered in the Southwest– Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and California

• Asian Americans clustered in the West– Hawaii and California

• American Indians in the Southwest and Plains states

Distribution of Ethnicities In the United States

African-Americans in the U.S.

Fig. 7-1: The highest percentages of African Americans are in the rural South and in northern cities.

Hispanic Americans in the U.S.

Fig. 7-2: The highest percentages of Hispanic Americans are in the southwest and in northern cities.

Asian Americans in the U.S.

Fig. 7-3: The highest percentages of Asian Americans are in Hawaii and California.

Native Americans in the U.S.

Fig. 7-4: The highest percentages of Native Americans are in parts of the plains, the southwest, and Alaska.

Concentration of Ethnicities in Cities• African Americans highly clustered in cities– ½ of African Americans live in cities– Concentrations contrast greater at state level• Ex. 85% of Detroit and only 7% of rest of Michigan

• Hispanics also clustered in cities– Especially in the north• New York City 1/4 Hispanic – 1/16 in rest of New York• High in Los Angeles – about equal to state average in

other cities


Concentration of Ethnicities in Cities• Clustering of ethnicities in neighborhoods within

cities– Early twentieth century Midwestern cities attracted

ethnic groups from Southern and Eastern Europe• European ethnic neighborhoods still exist

– Ex. Chicago –


Ethnicities in Chicago

Fig. 7-5: African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, and European Americans are clustered in different areas of the city.

Ethnicities in Los Angeles

Fig. 7-6: Hispanic, white, African American, and Asian areas in and around Los Angeles.

African American Migration Patterns• Immigration from Africa to the American

colonies in the eighteenth century• Immigration from the U.S. South to northern

cities during the first half of twentieth century• Immigration from inner-city ghettos to other

urban neighborhoods during the second half of the twentieth and first decade of the twenty-first century


African American Immigration to the North• Booming industrial cities in the North (combined

with reduced demand for labor in the south) • African Americans migrated in two main waves– 1910’s and 1920’s and 1940’s and 1950’s (before and

after the wars)–Whites were used in war efforts or in labor disputes• War stimulated the production war materials (factories)


African American Migration in the U.S., 20th century

Fig. 7-8: 20th century African American migration within the U.S. consisted mainly of migration from the rural south to cities of the Northeast, Midwest, and West.

Expansion of the Ghetto• African Americans clustered into neighborhoods• Densities within neighborhoods began to increase– Half-million African Americans jammed into

Chicago’s 8 square-kilometer South Side ghetto• Poor living conditions

– Baltimore’s West Side area expanded from 3 square kilometers (1950) to 25 square kilometers (1970)• See figure 7-9


• Racism – Belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race

• “Separate But Equal” doctrine established in 1896 with Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson– Equality did not mean whites/blacks had to mix socially

• Brown v. Board of Education (1954) found having separate schools was unconstitutional – Racial separation branded minorities and inferior and

inherently unequal

Differentiating Ethnicity and Race

Race in the United States• “White Flight” – Emigration of whites from an area in

anticipation of blacks immigrating into the area– Ex. Detroit = white population dropped 1 million between 1950

and 1975 and another 1/2 million between 1975 and 2000• Blockbusting – real estate agents convinced white

homeowners living near a black area to sell their houses at low prices, preying on their fears that black families would soon move into the neighborhood and cause property values to decline

• Redlining – a process by which banks draw lines on a map and refuse to lend money to purchase or improve property within the boundaries

Division by Race in South Africa• Apartheid – physical separation of different races

into different geographic areas– Cornerstone of South African policy– Four races, each having different legal status• Black, white, colored (black and white), or Asian

– Laws determined where people could live, attend school, work shop, and own land• Blacks restricted to certain occupations and paid lower wages• Blacks could not vote or hold political office


• South African government established ten so-called homelands for blacks– Designed to isolate races–White minority government expected every black to

become a citizen– South African government attempted to declare

segregated areas independent countries, but no other countries recognized the claim


Black “Homelands” in South Africa

Fig. 7-10: During the apartheid era, South Africa created a series of black “homelands” with the expectation that every black would be a citizen of one of them. These were abolished with the end of apartheid.

Division by Race in South Africa• Apartheid laws repealed in 1991– Restrictions on property ownership and classification

of people at birth by race– National elections held in 1994• Nelson Mandela country’s first black president• Whites guaranteed representation for five years

• South Africa governed by black majority– Other countries have reestablished economic and

cultural ties– Political equality, but blacks still much poorer


Nation-States• Self-determination – Ethnicities have the right

to govern themselves• Nation-state – State whose territory corresponds

to that occupied by a particular ethnicity that has been transformed into a nationality– Territory of a state rarely corresponds precisely to

the territory occupied by an ethnicity

Rise of Nationalities

• Nation-states in Europe– Ethnicities transformed into nationalities throughout

Europe during the nineteenth century• Austria-Hungary and Ottoman Empires dismantled

following World War I – European boundaries redrawn• Denmark: There are no perfect nation-states– Almost completely unified (Danes speak Danish)– Areas not unified – southern border, Faeroe Islands,

and Greenland


Nationalism• Nationalism – Loyalty and devotion to a

nationality – sense of national consciousness that exalts one nation above all others– States foster nationalism by promoting symbols of the

nation-state, such as flags and songs• U.S. = Star Spangled Banner and U.S. Flag

• Negative effects of nationalism– Sense of unity in one nation can be achieved through

creation of negative images of other nation-states• Nationalism great example of centripetal force –

attitude that tends to unify people and support the state


• Centripetal Force – directed toward center• Centrifugal Force – Spreads

outward from center

• Multi-ethnic state - state that contains more than one ethnicity– Ex. Belgium = contains Flemish (Dutch speaking) and

Walloons (French speaking)• Multinational state – contain two ethnic groups

with traditions of self-determination that agree to coexist peacefully by recognizing each other as distinct nationalities– Ex. United Kingdom = contains four main

nationalities (England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland)

– Former Soviet Union/ Even modern Russia

Multinational States

Former Soviet Union: Largest Multinational State• Under the Soviet Union there were 15 republics

based on the 15 largest ethnicities– Less numerous ethnicities not given same recognition– 15 republics are now 15 independent countries


Republics of the Soviet Union

Fig. 7-11: The Soviet Union consisted of 15 republics that included the country’s largest ethnic groups. These all became independent countries in the early 1990s.

Russia: Largest Multinational State• 39 officially recognized nationalities –Many desire independence– 20% of country is non-Russian

• Independence movements flourishing because Russia is less willing to suppress these movements– Chechens are troublesome group (Sunni Muslims)

• Russians in other states are now minorities and feel discriminated against


Turmoil in the Caucasus• Caucasus region located between Black and

Caspian seas • Area has several ethnicities with Azeris,

Armenians and Georgians the most numerous– Other important ethnicities include: Abkhazians,

Chechens, Ingush, and Ossetians• Kurds and Russians also in the area

• Each ethnicity wants to become sovereign nation-state


Turmoil in the Caucasus• Azeris (Azerbaijanis)– 7 million live in Azerbaijan, 16 million in

northwestern Iran, – A fragmented state – western part of country is

separated from rest of Azerbaijan by corridor belonging to Armenia

• Armenians– Independent state after World War I, but taken over

and divided by Soviet Union and Turkey– Independent country again after 1991 (from U.S.S.R.)


Turmoil in the Caucasus• Armenians and Azeris have been at war with each

other since 1988 over boundaries– Conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh • Enclave within Azerbaijan (occupied by Armenians)

• Georgians – Georgia is diverse with different groups having own demands– 84% Georgians– Cultural diversity source of unrest• Abkhazians desire to become independent nation-state• Ossetians want to become part of Russia – unite with North

Ossetia (already part of Russia)


Ethnic Clashes to be reviewed

• Ethiopia- Eritrea• Sudan• Somalia• Lebanon• Sri Lanka

Ethnic Clashes

• Ethnic Cleansing – a process in which a more powerful ethnic group forcibly removes a less powerful one in order to create an ethnically homogeneous region

• A few examples:– Rwanda– Holocaust– Armenia– Bosnia

Ethnicity

Documents

cities of african americans

south african americans

european americans

californiaasian americans

united statesafricanamericans

united states ethnicities

northern cities

group of people