Links

LINKS http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cW

s5jRuGoM KKK neighbors

***Neo Nazi doc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ixt8P4hkUQ

**Prison Industrial Complex: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpfGcroH4X8 (start at 2:40)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mFgKvhEBIQ

DISCRIMINATIONPart #1 Pgs 80-96

MANIFESTATIONS OF INDIVIDUAL DISCRIMINATION Measurement is nearly impossible

How many times a day are people denied access to opportunities and equal treatment by individuals in the course of their daily lives simply because of their race?

Hate crimes Offenders are motivated to choose a victim because of

some characteristic The concept of hate violence/crime is relatively new in

national vocabulary-1980’s 1990-The Department of Justice and the Hate Crimes

Statistics Act

INDIVIDUAL DISCRIMINATION: HATE CRIMES 2010-6600 reported hates crimes-Many more unreported

47% race motivated 13% Ethnicity motivated 20% Religion 19% Sexual Orientation

Common: Vandalism against property and intimidation I.e.: Burning of Mosques; Death threats and harassment

Of the 4800 hate crimes against people-48% involved assault, murder, or sexual violence

Common in many environments

Most commonly targeted groups? Gays, Jews, African Americans, and more recently, Arab Americans

African Americans still most commonly targeted racial group

WATCHDOG ORGS Many grassroots groups who fight

against hate crimes and discrimination and play an important role assisting law enforcement and drawing attention to hate crimes as serious social problem that needs to be combated. I.e.: Anti–defamation league; NIAPV; SPLC;

NGLT

HATE GROUPS 2009 SPLC Study-888 active hate groups in U.S.

With an estimated 50,000 active members. Recent increases in numbers-Internet

KKK membership has quadrupled in the last 30 years What makes combating hate groups and their messages difficult?

Majority defined as white nationalist groups Believe in supremacy of “white race” and vie for a

separate, exclusive, white America Often have names like: Euro American Student Union;

Institute for Historical Review; Conservative Citizens Council

HATE GROUP MEMBERSHIP Who joins hate groups?

All classes-Both genders-Educated and uneducated alike Most prominent in states with large, non-white populations where there

is segregation between whites and non-whites and groups recruit with message that whites are the new minorities and victims

Groups actively use internet to recruit youth and offer games, music, and alternative “history” lessons about slavery, the Holocaust, MLK, and affirmative action.

Many websites do not at first glance appear to be white supremacist

Built on foundation of lies and propaganda

INDIVIDUAL DISCRIMINATION: HATE GROUPS

Hate Organizations and Ideology Film

Think about: What is the basis of the white nationalist belief

system? What are their primary arguments in support of their

cause? How do they attempt to recruit new members and

support? To what degree are these groups a threat to society,

racial minorities, and whites?

Jot down your thoughts and other questions as you watch the film to share with the class.

UNDERSTANDING DISCRIMINATION Discrimination:

The denial of opportunities and equal rights to individuals and groups because of prejudice or for other arbitrary reasons

Individual vs. Institutional A large shift in focus to institutional discrimination by

social scientists

The invisibility of institutional discrimination and color blindness

DISCRIMINATION AND RELATIVE DEPRIVATION

Relative deprivation The conscious experience of a negative discrepancy

between one’s expectations and reality

Although many minorities may have high incomes, good jobs, and homes in nice areas, a minority group’s position as a whole relative to other groups in society offers evidence of discrimination

Discrimination may be evident, but it is the job of the social scientist to understand where it is occurring, which is not always an easy task

DISCRIMINATION AND ABSOLUTE POVERTY

Absolute deprivation A fixed standard on a minimum level of subsistence below

which a individual or family should not be expected to live

Relative poverty vs. absolute poverty

Racial minorities have higher rates of absolute poverty/deprivation

Higher child poverty rates-one in three children African American and Latinos 2x more likely to live in poverty

What is the poverty line for a family of four in America? An Individual?

TOTAL DISCRIMINATION The combination of current discrimination

and past discrimination has a cumulative effect on individuals and groups of minority status

An understanding of a individual’s position in society must take into account discrimination that one suffers from now and in the past

Chart on page 84 of text

INSTITUTIONAL DISCRIMINATION Characteristics of institutional discrimination

Mostly subtle and complex-occurs in daily operations of institutions=“woodwork racism”

How do schools, health care companies, the CJS, banks, and workplaces treat some groups unfairly?

Woven into the fabric of society-rarely questioned

Often unintentional yet evident

Covert acts committed collectively against an entire group. When enough individuals commit acts of discrimination it becomes

institutionalized

INSTITUTIONAL DISCRIMINATION “Despite the fact that civil rights laws and cultural beliefs do

not condone discrimination, and have created punishments for such acts, informal acts of discrimination may be so widespread that discrimination becomes institutionalized, even in the face of formal prohibition” (Aguirre and Turner, 2013) Can occur amongst real estate agents, loan officers, police officers,

teachers, politicians, etc

If individual acts of discrimination is widespread, these institutions discriminate on a wide scale and we see evidence of unequal treatment of some minority groups such as high rates of relative and absolute deprivation, poverty, incarceration, unfair hiring in jobs, segregation in housing, and unequal schooling.

EXAMPLE #1-EMPLOYMENT Discrimination in hiring/job seeking

Does your name influence getting an interview or how seriously your resume will be taken?

Emily Walsh vs, Lakisha Washington Greg baker vs Jamal Jones

Who is more likely to get hired, a black male with No felony record, or a white male with a felony record?

Pg 84-85 of your text

EXAMPLE #2-HOUSING Studies by National Fair Housing Alliance and Department

of Housing and Urban Development found that discriminatory housing practices are still routine:-Redlining and racial steering

Redlining: mortgage companies deny loans for houses in minority neighborhoods.Racial steering: realtors discourage minorities from moving into certain neighborhoods.

Home mortgage and car loans Thomas and Passell found that controlling for income and credit scores, Latinos and

African Americans were 60% more likely to be rejected for loans than whites* Studies document that black and Hispanic homebuyers will pay higher interest

rates than whites with similar credit ratings

These practices maintain segregation-Who is doing the discriminating? Arguably rental agents, landlords, homebuyers themselves, loan officers. When widespread, results in institutionalized discrimination

EXAMPLE #3-SCHOOLING American schools are more racially segregated than ever

before-linked to segregation in housing The majority of funding for public schools come from local tax

dollars, as a result: Racial Minorities are disproportionately represented in low-income

neighborhoods, where schools and teachers are underfunded. Impoverished schools offer fewer college prep and AP courses Poor black and Latino students are more likely to be tracked into lower

performing classes, even when they have similar grade to whites A recent study shows that teachers give higher grades to students of

their own race (Ouazad 2008) 70% of teachers in American classrooms are white, middle class, and female

Think about the examples of Francisco and Daisy in the film: Waiting for Superman

EXAMPLE 4-THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM “Nowhere are racial disparities greater than in the criminal

justice system” (Markus and Moya 2010)

Scholarly studies consistently show that racial minorities are more likely to be stopped, interrogated, arrested, prosecuted, and given harsh sentences (including the death penalty)

Closely intertwined with social class issues

The prison population has increased fivefold since 1980, and most of those incarcerated are black and Latino men

Black and Latinos make up 28% of U.S. population, but 66% of the prison population

Hispanic men are 3x, and black men 8x, as likely as white men to be in prison

CRIME AND THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

The Criminal Justice System Prisons

Population steadily increasing

U.S. has highest incarceration rate in world

Why?

THE AMERICAN PUNISHMENT FRENZY

Punitive policies Imprisonment of non-violent offenders 1980’s-The drug war

Mandatory minimums Three strikes laws Plea bargains

In 2007, the United States had the highest incarceration rate in the world

Over 7 million people in prison, jail, or under correctional supervision

RACE AND THE CJS The “War on Drugs” has wreaked havoc

on poor communities of color Despite the fact that whites are just as and

if not more likely to use drugs as people of color, policing of drug behavior primarily happens in poor-non-white communities-

feeds the prison boom

Michelle Alexander-The New Jim Crow

RACE AND THE CJS Racial profiling- African Americans and Latinos are more likely to

report be stopped, questioned and frisked without due process than whites-

When stopped in cars, more likely to have car searched, be fined, and be arrested

According to the bureau of justice, police are more likely to use force on Black and Hispanic citizens

Unjust sentencing Poor people of color experience disadvantages in defending themselves in

court of law Harsh sentencing for drugs associated with lower income communities of

color-Crack Cocaine 5 grams of Crack=minimum 5 years in prison 500 grams of powdered cocaine =5 years; Anything less than 500 grams is a

maximum 1 year sentence

Many see this disparity as blatant institutionalized racism

Unjust sentencing and the death penalty Controlling for other factors, blacks are

more likely than whites to be sentenced to death for capital offenses

People accused of killing whites are four times more likely to be sentenced to death than people accused of killing blacks

THE AMERICAN PUNISHMENT FRENZY The Prison Industrial Complex

Correctional expansion continues not because it decreases crime and creates a safer public, but because it serves the interest of certain powerful groups that benefit from tough on crime policies and continue to push for punitive policies through lobbying political leaders and running million dollar ad campaigns

Private prison corporations Prison guards Union Prison labor benefits government, corporations and a variety

of businesses with vested interests in correctional expansion I.e.: Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mFgKvhEBIQ

Is it right that corporations make profit on keeping bodies in cells and lobbying congress to maintain “tough on crime” strategies??

FILM: THE HOUSE I LIVE IN

“The War on drugs has never been about drugs”

How have ideas, beliefs, and policies concerning crime and deviance related to drug use and abuse been constructed in ways that benefit individuals in positions of power? Politicians The elite Dominant vs. minority groups Law enforcement agencies Upper class vs. lower class White collar criminals vs. street criminals

Reframes the discussion. The drug war is a social problem itself