Race and Ethnicity

A.     What is a Race?

Robertson (1989:193) describes a race as a group of people who share similar physical (genetic)
characteristics.

1.     Racial Categories

Racial categories are human creations.  As a biological concept, the term race is almost
meaningless. The intense sociological interest in race is due to the fact that people attack
meaning and values, either real or imaginary, to physical differences between groups of people.

B.     What is an Ethnic Group?

An ethic group shares similar cultural characteristics and culture is learned. Characteristics that
might define an ethnic group would include a common language, religion, national origin,
dietary practices, etc.  An ethnic group may be distinguished from another group by a high level
of social interaction.   Ethnic groups perceive themselves as a cultural unit.

C.     What is a Minority Group?

A minority is a category of people who lack power, privilege, and prestige in social, political or
economic spheres.

 Minorities must always be understood in relation to others in the social structure.

A minority groups lacks power, prestige, and privilege in relation to others. They
are unable to achieve their will. They lack resources to support their own interests
effectively.
 Minority groups are people who are singled out for unequal treatment.
 Minorities have a shared sense of identity.
 Minorities may actually be a numerical majority (e.g., women in American
society).

D.     Racism

Racism refers to attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors that favor one group over another. Racism
involves an ideology (a belief structure) that explains racist beliefs.  The minority group might be
seen as biologically inferior and, therefore, practices involving their domination and exploitation
are reasonable. Others may justify racist beliefs by citing scientific evidence.  Regardless, a
pervasive ideology (belief structure) exists to validate the unequal expectations held by the
majority.
 III.     Origins of Racial and Ethnic Minorities

Typical explanations for the existence of minority groups would be like that presented in Charon
(1985:379). They would include the following:

A.     Voluntary Migration

Voluntary migration is not really a good explanation by itself. Swedes and Germans do not
experience minority status when they migrate to the US.

B.     Slave Transfer

Slave transfer can surely account for minority status, but this is merely a specific form of the
more general category called colonialism.

C.     Colonization

Colonialism (or conquest) is the primary cause of racism (From Huaco's Social Theory notes:
Fall, 1987)

1. A conquest occurs when one group conquers another culture.

2. The conquered are immediately placed at the lower end of society.
3. To justify the degraded position of the conquered, the conquerors learn to despise
the conquered.

If you want to end racism, you have to decolonize. For example, give minorities a share of the
surplus taken from them during slavery. Programs such as busing, having pretty minority girls
win beauty contests, etc. will not end racism. Such programs benefit those individuals, but will
not address the ultimate problem of racism.

IV.     Why do Minorities Continue in Society?

A.     Minorities Lack Power Resources.

Resources could take the form of property, money, position, or organization.

B.     People in Society Benefit

Members of the elite as well as members of the general population benefit from the existence of
minorities.

From the stand point of the general public minorities provide scapegoats. Deviantizing minorities
takes the minority out of competition for jobs, housing, and education.
From the point of view of the elite, minorities represent groups where more profit can be
extracted.

C.     Culture and Structure are Generally Accepted

Most people accept the structural and cultural patterns in society and see little reason to change
them. It takes a long time for social patterns to develop. Those patterns seem functional,
especially to those who benefit from their existence. Therefore, those who benefit are more
resistant to change.

Remember the idea of "Tyranny of the majority?" Most of the population is willing to let a
minority of people suffer high rates of unemployment and poverty.

D.     Changing the Status Quo Is Costly

Change means that those with resources will have to pay higher taxes as well as give up existing
advantages. In the 1990s Americans are not very interested in paying taxes either..

V.     Patterns of Race and Ethnic Relations

A.     Amalgamation

The amalgamation model [melting-pot theory] sees the dominant culture as a conglomeration of
all groups in society. Each group actively desires to be a part of the dominant culture and makes
an important contribution to the whole. Each group mixes freely with the other groups.

Example: Mexico

Blacks, Indians, and those of Spanish dissent mix much more freely than do races in
the United States. Benito Juarez became the first Indian president in 1860 while the
U.S. only contemplated its first Black President in 1984. In Mexico many people are a
mix of Indian and Spanish. In the U.S. we hesitate to even acknowledge the
contributions of minority groups.

B.     Assimilation

Assimilation is the process of being absorbed into the mainstream of the dominate culture.  The
assimilation model demands that other groups conform to the dominant culture. New comers are
to be socialized into the dominant culture that is already present.

Example: "English Only."

Example:  People who change their name to one that resembles names of members of
 the dominant culture.

The notion of assimilation, however, is a very complex issue. Usually the dominant culture
actively desires a minority who is culturally similar (in language and ideology). There are limits
to the "closeness" that the dominant group will accept. It seems as though the dominant culture
will accept minorities that assimilate culturally, but there is resistance when minorities want to
assimilate structurally and thus achieve full citizenship rights in society.

C.     Pluralism (Salad Bowl Theory)

In a pluralist society unique groups coexist side by side. The uniqueness of each group is
considered a trait worth having in the dominant culture. Note our fascination with unique
cultures.

Example: American Indians in Santa Fe selling art work.

The consequence of living in a pluralist society is recognition and tolerance of cultural and
ethnic diversity.

D.     Segregation

Segregation is the spatial and social separation of categories of people by race/ethnicity, class,
gender, religion, or other social characteristics (Kendall, 1998:51). 

Explanations include economic inequality, prejudice, and personal preference.

Segregation can occur at work, in neighborhoods where people live, or in social activities
(Appelbaum and Chambliss, 1997:266)

VI.     Prejudice and Discrimination

A.     Definitions

1.     Prejudice

Prejudice refers to a positive or a negative attitude or belief directed toward certain people based
on their membership in a particular group. The root word of prejudice is "pre-judge."

3.     The Relationship between Prejudice and Discrimination

Prejudice (an attitude) and discrimination (a behavior) are related concepts but one does not
automatically mean that the other is present. Some argue that prejudice occurs as a justification
for discrimination. They argue, citing the slave trade, that people cannot brutalize their peers. On
the other hand, masters had to brutalize their slaves. In order to rationalize inhuman behavior
toward humans, the master would believe an ideology which suggested that the slave was
inferior and, therefore, domination was justified. Robert Merton developed a typology which
compared prejudice to discrimination. He suggested that there were four possible combinations.

Stereotypes
 A stereotype is a mental image which assumes that whatever is
believed about a group is typical for the entire group. Stereotypical
thinking is unavoidable in social life and it is not automatically
bad. "The essence of prejudicial thinking, however, is that the
stereotype is not checked against reality. It is not modified by
experiences that counter the rigid image (Robertson, 1989:202).
Scapegoating
 Scapegoating occurs when one blames one's troubles on someone
else who is relatively powerless. This may occur when one group
feels threatened, but are themselves powerless to act against the
actual source of the threat.
Social Environment
 All of the above are rather psychological. There is also the social
context. Our attitudes and behaviors are learned within a social
context.

C.     Forms of Discrimination

"Discrimination occurs when the dominant group regards itself as entitled to social advantages
and uses its power to secure them at the expense of minority groups" (Robertson, 1989:204).
There are two forms of discrimination.

1.     Personal

Personal discrimination occurs when one member in society treats another member (or group) in
society differently based on some criteria (like race or ethnicity).

2.     Legal

Robertson (1989:204) provides a formal definition of legal discrimination. He contends that legal
discrimination is "unequal treatment, on the grounds of group membership, that is upheld by
law."

3.     Institutional

Although legal discrimination in the U.S. has ended (in terms of racial and ethnic categories of
people), institutional discrimination remains a major barrier to social equality. Institutional
discrimination refers to unequal treatment that is entrenched in social institutions. One example
would be segregated housing. Another idea here would be the concept of blocked opportunities.
 VII.     Women as Minorities

A.     Women are like other minorities in that

1. Women lack power relative to men. They do not hold high position and have
fewer resources.
2. Women lack privilege relative to men
3. Women lack prestige
4. Women are also developing a consciousness of themselves as a separate category
of people with common interests. They are beginning to work together to achieve
common goals.

Assignment:

Q1) what is the difference between Race and ethnicity? Explain with example (5)

Q2) Write down the forms of discriminations that exists along with examples (12)