GOALS:
1. Describe what minority, race, and ehtnicity are.
2. What is the difference between prejudice and discrimination? Give an example of
each.
3. Explain how one of the following perspectives explains racial inequliaties:
functionalist, conflict, or symbolic interactionists.
4. How can the internet spread prejudic?
5. Explain how minority groups are discriminated against. Choose one group
(African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans) and explain the
history of their discrimination and what challenges they still face in America today
as a result of prejudice.
6. What can you do to reduce your own prejudices?
MINORITY
minority is NOT about size or #
- a group of people with physical or cultural traits different from those of the
dominant group in the society
KEY FEATURES OF A MINORITY
1. Distinctive physical or cultural characteristics that can
be used to separate them from the majority
2. Dominated by majority: fewer opportunities for good
education, goods and services
3. Minority traits are often believed my majority to be
inferior. Used to justify mistreatment. ex: job
discrimination because all Latinos are
lazy. Stereotype!
4. Members of the minority have a common sense of
identity w/strong group loyalty. “we” and “they”
mentality
5. The majority determines who belongs to the
minority through ascribed statues. At birth when race
is involved.
RACE
people sharing certain inherited physical characteristics
that are considered important w/in a society.
No scientific basis for racial classifications: most
scientists consider them arbitrary and
misleading. More dif genetically because tall and
short people of the same race than b/w people of dif
race and the same height.
NO scientific evidence that connects any racial
characteristics with innate superiority or inferiority. No
innate dif in athleticism or intelligence among various
races.
ETHNIC MINORITY
group identified by cultural, religious, or national
characteristics
CULTURAL differences not physical
why are minorities seen as inferior? ethnocentrism:
judging others in terms of one’s own cultural
standards.
RACIAL AND ETHNIC RELATIONS
assimilation: when groups are accepted or rejected-conflict
Most common assimilation: Anglo-conformity
tossed salad v. melting pot analogy
cultural pluralism: desire of a group to maintain some sense of
identity separate from the dominant group.
3 BASIC PATTERNS OF CONFLICT
genocide, population transfer, and subjugation
population transfer: minority forced to move “trail of tears”
Most often: subjugation: when a minority is denied equal access
to the culture and lifestyle
segregation (separate but “equal” facilities)
defacto segregation: denial of equal access based on everyday
practice. Ex: homeowners don’t want to sell to blacks
THEORIES OF PREJUDICE AND DISCRIMINATION
prejudice: widely held negative attitudes towards a group and its individual
members
racism: extreme form of prejudice that assumes superiority of one group
over others
How is discrimination dif from prejudice? Discrimination is an action,
prejudice is a thought
hate crime: crime motivated by prejudice
Stereotypes: distorted, exaggerated or oversimplified image applied to a
category of people
FUNCTIONALIST
functionalist: dysfunctions caused by these practices:
when minorities are exploited or oppressed, the social, political,
educational and economic costs to society are high BUT majority
culture feels good about themselves.
CONFLICT PERSPECTIVE
Majority uses prejudice and discrimination as weapons
of power to control minority
SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONIST PERSPECTIVE
Members of society learn to be prejudice from parents
-language itself can be negative. Ex “black” has neg
connotations.
self-fulfilling prophecy: an expectation that leads to behavior that
causes the expectation to become reality
MINORITY GROUPS IN THE US
institutionalized discrimination: unfair practices that grow out of
common behavrios and attitudes and that are a part of the
structure of society. Ex: seniority structure in getting jobs:
minorities used to be shut out of those types of jobs and can’t
catch up
Minorities in urban, low budget schools have lower quality
teachers and education because unable to afford training, tech
etc...
African Americans USED to be largest minority, now
Latinos. about 14%
PLIGHT OF AFRICAN AMERICANS
Barriers to African American Assimilation: easy to see dif, origins from slave
labor mentally hard to overcome
Income inequality: abt 62% of avg white income
job market: almost 2X as likely to work low elevel service jobs
hidden unemployment: unemployment that includes people not counted
in the traditional unemployment categories
To what degree are African Americans making advances? education is
trad path to economic gain.
At each level of schooling, black men tend o gain less than their white
peers BUT more thatn 25% of blacks now work in professional and
managerial positions. Lawyaers, accountants, teachers etc
business ownership up 45% from 1997-2002
inc in political presence in U.S. gov’t
LATINOS
fastest growing minority group
only 57% have completed high school
85% of non-latinos complete high school.
Many work in low paying jobs. Home ownership inc
but still behind national average.
growing presence in politics
NATIVE AMERICANS
Tribal groups as dif as dif nationalities
Suffering from over 100yrs of discrimination
fewer grad hs than any other major minority
group
only 1 in congress
Gaming on Reservations: inc revenues but
what about culture?
ASIAN AMERICANS
4 % of pop
many dif nationalities and ethnicities
Chinese and Japanese esp have made huge progress
because of emphasis on education
REVIEW
1. Describe what minority, race, and ehtnicity are.
2. What is the difference between prejudice and discrimination?
Give an example of each.
3. Explain how one of the following perspectives explains racial
inequliaties: functionalist, conflict, or symbolic interactionists.
4. How can the internet spread prejudice?
5. Explain how minority groups are discriminated against. Choose
one group (African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native
Americans) and explain the history of their discrimination and
what challenges they still face in America today as a result of
prejudice.
6. What can you do to reduce your own prejudices?