Chapter 8

Racial and Ethnic Inequality

Race and Ethnicity

Race and ethnicity are ascribed characteristics that define categories of people. Each of these characteristics have been used as bases of social stratification that is, cultures have thought it right and proper that some people receive more scarce resources than others simply because they belong to one category rather than another.

Understanding Racial and Ethnic Inequality

The Social Construction of Race and Ethnicity
Race

refers to a category of people treated as distinct based

on physical characteristics to which social importance has been assigned.

Ethnicity

an ethnic group is a category whose members are

thought to share a common origin and important elements of a common culture.
The social construction of race and ethnicity is the process by which a culture defines what constitutes a race or an ethnicity.

Understanding Racial and Ethnic Inequality

Majority and Minority Groups
A majority group is culturally, economically, and politically dominant.

A minority group is culturally, economically, and politically subordinate.

Although minority groups are usually smaller than majority groups, that is not always the case.

Although the U.S. is not fully pluralistic, children from different races and ethnic groups interact easily in many settings.

Understanding Racial and Ethnic Inequality

Patterns of Interaction
Pluralism is the peaceful coexistence of separate and equal cultures in the same society. Assimilation is the process by which members of a minority culture lose their defining cultural features and adopt those of the majority culture.

Understanding Racial and Ethnic Inequality

Patterns of Interaction
Downward assimilation is the process in which descendants of immigrants become assimilated not into mainstream America, but instead into the underclass world of long-term poor, U.S.-born minorities.

Conflict
Racial and ethnic conflict can take the form of slavery, concentration camps, or exile. In the extreme, conflict results in genocide: mass killing to destroy a population. For much of the 20th century in the U.S., conflict was reflected in laws and customs that forbade social, political, and economic participation by minorities.

Understanding Racial and Ethnic Inequality

Patterns of Interaction
Since 2003, the Sudanese government has promoted racial stereotyping of Sudanese Africans as inferior in order to control valuable lands and water supplies. The slaughter of Sudanese Africans by Sudanese Arabs like these Janjaweed militia members has been encouraged. Before the conflict over resources in Sudan, ethnic identity was fluid and intermarriage was common.

Theoretical Perspectives on Racial and Ethnic Inequality

Structural-Functional Theory

Explains how some groups benefit from racial

Acknowledges dysfunctions of social conflict. Focus on how societies change gradually and
continue to function smoothly without conflict.
Example: The belief that African Americans were less than human helped southern white plantation owners to justify slavery. While horrific for slaves, this allowed the white southern economy, culture, and social institutions to function smoothly.

and ethnic inequality.

Theoretical Perspectives on Racial and Ethnic Inequality

Conflict Theory

Examines inequalities between majority and

minority groups from conflict over scarce resources Suggests that some groups have advantages due to historical circumstance
ex. access to technology; existence of slavery

Documents how disadvantaged groups are

kept from gaining access to social advantages such as good schools, jobs, housing, etc.

Theoretical Perspectives on Racial and Ethnic Inequality

Symbolic Interactionism

Focuses on how everyday interactions

Contributes to our understanding of the

changing meanings of basic concepts like race and ethnicity over time because of social interaction.

reinforce racial and ethnic inequality.

Theoretical Perspectives on Racial and Ethnic Inequality

Home foreclosures among African Americans have soared in recent years, as bankers encouraged people to take on more mortgage debt than they could afford and especially targeted African Americans for some loans.

Maintaining Racial and Ethnic Inequality

Prejudice
Refers to an irrational, negative attitude toward a category of people. Racism: the belief that inherited physical traits associated with racial groups determine abilities and characteristics of a group member and provide a legitimate basis for unequal treatment. Color-Blind Racism: the belief that all races are created equal and that racial equality has been achieved. Failure to succeed is the fault of the minority member.

Maintaining Racial and Ethnic Inequality

Prejudice

A stereotype is a preconceived, simplistic idea

about the members of a group. Explaining Prejudice: Research focuses on three factors: socialization scapegoating competition over scarce resources

Maintaining Racial and Ethnic Inequality

Factors Contributing to Prejudice

Socialization learning hate and fear as social

norms directed at racial or ethnic categories. Scapegoating when people or groups who fail in their own goal attainment blame others for their own failures. Competition for scarce resources attitudes of prejudice related to the belief that gains for other racial and ethnic groups mean losses for ones own group.

Maintaining Racial and Ethnic Inequality

Maintaining Prejudice: The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy The belief that a situation exists causes the situation to become real. This is an important mechanism for maintaining prejudice.
Example: If Christians believe that Jews think they are superior to others, then they avoid socializing with Jews. When Christians subsequently observe Jews hanging out only with other Jews, they take this as confirmation of their belief.

Maintaining Racial and Ethnic Inequality

Discrimination

The unequal treatment of individuals on the

basis of the category they belong to.

Prejudice is an attitude
Discrimination is behavior
Example: If your boss thinks that African Americans are less intelligent than whites (prejudice), he will likely pay his African American workers less (discrimination).

Maintaining Racial and Ethnic Inequality

Segregation
The physical separation of minorities from the rest of the population. In the U.S., discriminatory housing has been illegal since 1960s. Segregation still remains common for two reasons: 1. economic differences across groups 2. unfair treatment of certain groups

Sociology and you

Prejudice and stereotypes are not limited to ethnic group relationships. If you have ever assumed that older people are more interested in playing cards than in having sex, you have engaged in stereotyping.
If stereotypes like this one lead you to conclude that older people are less capable and worthy than are younger people, you would be exhibiting prejudice.

If those prejudices led you to decide against hiring an older person, you would be engaged in discrimination.

Maintaining Racial and Ethnic Inequality

Institutional Racism

Refers to situations in which everyday

practices and social arrangements are assumed to be fair, even though they systematically reproduce racial or ethnic inequality.

Institutional racism produces unequal results

School segregation and tracking reinforce
racial inequality in the United States. for majority (dominant) and minority groups.

Maintaining Racial and Ethnic Inequality

Institutional Racism
Discrimination and prejudice against Gypsies or Roma remain common in parts of Europe. Forced evictions, terrible housing conditions, and substandard schooling result. Almost all Roma children are placed in schools for the mentally handicapped. Officials argue that placements are based on standardized tests. This policy makes it impossible for Roma children to succeed.

Maintaining Racial and Ethnic Inequality

Multiplying Disadvantages

Prejudice, discrimination, segregation, and

Racial and ethnic groups display similar
internal patterns of stratification. institutionalized racism construct inequality, which is reinforced and multiplied by social class inequality.

While non-Hispanic white median income is

1.5 times higher than other groups, the median net worth (wealth) of non-Hispanic whites is 18 times higher.

Racial & Ethnic Inequality in U.S.

White Americans

Ethnicity is no longer a primary standard for The place of unhyphenated whites in the
stratification among whites due to mixed heritage.
multicultural mix of the United States is less a melting pot and more an assimilation to a dominant language and culture. Ethnic identities have declined. whites rarely think of themselves as having a race. simply because they are white.

More of a focus on white racial identity as invisible White privilege refers to the benefits whites receive

Racial & Ethnic Inequality in U.S.

African-Americans

Arrived involuntarily as slaves. Most African Americans

today are descended from slaves. After slavery ended, legal (i.e. poll taxes) and violent illegal (i.e. lynchings) barriers systematically excluded African Americans. Comprise 12.6% of the U.S. population. Current concerns: neighborhood segregation infant mortality short lifespan for males continued economic disadvantage educational attainment lag Economic disadvantages due to two factors: 1) African American workers earn less than whites. 2) African American families are less likely to have two earners.

Racial & Ethnic Inequality in U.S.

Hispanics

Hispanic Americans (Latinos) are an ethnic group rather than a racial category. Majority (~66%) are of Mexican heritage. Latinos have also arrived in America from Cuba, Puerto Rico, and other Central and South American nations. Experiences of different Hispanic groups vary.
(i.e. Wealthy exiled Cubans were welcomed as refugees, whereas other Hispanic groups face prejudice and discrimination)

Hispanics constitute 16.3% of the U.S. population, making them the largest minority group in the country.
Current Concerns: most poorly educated group greatest likelihood of living in poverty

Hispanic Americans in the U.S. Hispanic Americans are most

common in the states that border Mexico. Florida has received many immigrants over the years from Central and South America. As well, many Hispanics have settled in large cities in New Jersey, New York, and Illinois.

Racial & Ethnic Inequality in U.S.

Asian Americans

About 3.6% of U.S. population. Segmented immigration: descendants of 19th-century immigrants (Japan & China); post-WWII immigrants (Philippines, Korea, India); recent refugees from Southeast Asia. Historical experiences of Asian immigrants went from hostility, violence, and internment to being a desirable group with high mobility and educational attainment. Current concerns: entrance to Ivy League schools difficult income and promotional disparity

Racial & Ethnic Inequality in U.S.

Native Americans
Less than 1% of U.S. population. Nearly half live in Oklahoma, Arizona, California, and New Mexico. Historical experiences of subjugation, forced relocation, removal of children to boarding schools, Trail of Tears More than 200 tribal groups with different cultures and languages.

Current concerns: most disadvantaged group lowest rates of education highest rates of alcoholism and premature death impoverished and isolated reservations prejudice and discrimination persists

Racial & Ethnic Inequality in U.S.

Arab Americans

Much less than 1% of U.S. population. Immigrants or children of immigrants from North Africa and Middle East (Morocco, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Lebanon)

Diverse traditions, but share common linguistics and cultural and historical traditions.
66% Christian; 33% Muslim

High education attainment and median income levels.

Current concerns: anti-Arab views since 9/11 hate crimes against them more common discrimination

Racial & Ethnic Inequality in U.S.

Like many other Americans, most Arab Americans take pride in both American culture and their own distinctive cultural traditions.

David Horowitz
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaTtj9 Mc000

Racial & Ethnic Inequality in U.S.

Multiracial Americans

Comprise about 2.9% of American population. Absolute number of multiracial Americans has increased more than 20 times over last half century; significant numbers of mixed race individuals now selfidentify as multiracial rather than choosing only one parents race. Current concerns: social and systemic resistance to multiracial identification pressure to identify a single racial slot

The Future of Racial and Ethnic Inequality in the U.S.

Combating Inequality: Race versus Class

Minority group social status has improved overall in

U.S., yet inequality remains. Current debate: Can inequality better be reduced by focusing on race or on class? Double jeopardy is having low status on two different dimensions of stratification (i.e. race and social class). Effect of double jeopardy disadvantages snowball. Some strategies promote full employment and better jobs for all Americans (class focus); others focus on race and ethnicity.

The Future of Racial and Ethnic Inequality in the U.S.

Strategies for Ending Inequality
Most sociologists focus on strategies aimed at reducing racial and ethnic discrimination.

Antidiscrimination laws: outlaw discrimination on the

basis of race, color, religion, sex, and national origin.

Affirmative action laws: require employers, schools,

and others to increase the representation of groups that historically have experienced discrimination.

Affirmative action has proven much more contentious than antidiscrimination laws.

The Future of Racial and Ethnic Inequality in the U.S.

Affirmative action categorization of racial/ethnic groups Some evidence suggests that country is dividing into
(nonwhite) as people of color implicitly reinforces longstanding white/nonwhite divide. three groups: whites, African Americans, and Hispanics.

A New Racial/Ethnic Divide?

Most evidence reveals a new divide: black/nonblack. Intermarriage between whites and Hispanics, Asians, Children born to white/African American parents are
and Native Americans is more common. identified as only one race/ethnicity: African American

This does not happen to children of other mixed parents.

Where This Leaves Us

Racism and interethnic conflict are worldwide These conflicts can be lessened or eliminated. Ideas about race and ethnicity are social Prejudice and discrimination can be reduced
by: difficult, yet crucial. constructions that change as societies change.
1) combatting institutional and subtle racism 2) addressing social class inequalities

problems.

Economic hard times make social change very