Race and Ethnic
Group
Stratification:
Beyond “We” and “They”
Soc 100
Dr. Santos
What Characterizes Race and Ethnic
Groups?
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Minority groups
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Distinguishable
Excluded or denied full participation
Defined and valued differently
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usually less favorably
Stereotyped, ridiculed, condemned, or otherwise
defamed
Develop collective identities
What Characterizes Race and Ethnic
Groups?
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Minority groups are formed historically and
sustained by ideology & social practice
Dominant groups are not always a numerical
majority, but always hold power
Ethnic and racial groups are the most common
minority groups in the world, but also castes,
indigenous tribes, oppressed nationalities
The Concept of Race
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Race is a group within the human species that is
identified by a society as presumably having
certain biologically inherited physical
characteristics that are significant
Racial classifications have been based on
numerous physical characteristics, usually
accompanying European colonial expansion in
the American, Asia, and Africa.
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Became highly “academic” in the 19th century
Origins of the Concept of “Race”
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Race relation problems are social-historical in origin
– Racist doctrines lack any scientific basis
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Pre-Darwin: climate theories, polygenesis vs. monogenesis
In the 1970s, the United Nations issued a “Statement on
Race” that stated:
– All people are born free and equal both in dignity and in
rights
– Racism stultifies personal development
– (Racial) conflicts cost nations money and resources
– Racism foments international conflict
Social Construction of Race: Symbolic
Interaction Analysis
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Social significance is the idea from Symbolic
interaction theory that social consequences
constitute reality: “when people believe something
is real, then it becomes real in its consequences.”
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All individuals classify objects, including humans
People assigned group membership, in part, on
physical appearance as an easy classificatory scheme
Classifications are used to scientifically study humans
Classifications can provide individuals with an identity
The Significance of Race versus Class
• Racial stratification was the central stratification
system in the US for many years
• Inequality between Blacks and Whites persist
– Residential segregation persists
– Wealth & income inequality persist
– Socioeconomic indicators show persistent inequality
• The class division of Black America is growing
– Two in five African Americans are middle-class
– A Black underclass persists in inner-city areas
Ethnic Groups
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Ethnic groups are groups where membership is
based on shared cultural heritage and is often
connected with a national or geographic identity
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Many racial groups are ethnic groups
Some ethnic groups concentrated in ethnic enclaves
The federal government plays a central role in
creating ethnic groups & regulating ethnic
relations
Processes that Keep Minorities
Unequal from the Dominant Group
PROCESS
RESULT
Stratification
Minority status
Prejudice
Poor self-concept, negative relations with
others
Negative attitudes, stereotypes, selffulfilling prophecy
Racism
Discrimination
Poor jobs, income, education, housing
Negative Contact
Hostilities, war, conflict between groups
Prejudice and Racism: Micro-Level
Analysis
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Prejudice are attitudes (thoughts and feelings) that
prejudge/devalue a group, usually negatively and not
based on facts
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Stereotyping is the categorization of large numbers of people by
prejudiced individuals
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Often distorted, oversimplified, or exaggerated ideas
Passed down over generations through the culture and tradition
Applied to all members of a group
Used to justify prejudice, discrimination, and unequal distribution of
resource
A self-fulfilling prophesy is the incorporation of stereotyped
behavior into an individual’s view of themselves
Explanations of Prejudice: Micro-Level
Analysis
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Frustration-aggression
theory is a theory which
states that acts of
prejudice and
discrimination are
motivated by anger and
frustration individuals feel
when they cannot achieve
their work or goals
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Scapegoating is a form of
aggressive action
motivated by frustration
against minority groups
because an individual is
unable to vent frustration
toward the real target or
cause
Racism
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Racism is any attitude, belief, or institutional
arrangement that favors one racial group over
another; this favoritism may result in intentional or
unintentional consequences for minority groups
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Ideological racism
Symbolic racism
Institutional racism
Discrimination: Meso-Level Analysis
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Discrimination is actions taken against members of a minority
group
– Individual discrimination is action taken against minority
group members which can take the form of exclusion,
avoidance, or violence
– Institutional discrimination intentional and unintentional
actions engrained in the normal or routine part of the way an
organization operates that have consequences that restrict
minority group members
• Side-effect discrimination
• Past-in-present discrimination
Discrimination and prejudice are often found working together
and reinforce one another
Dominant and Minority Group Contact:
Macro-Level Analysis
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The form of dominant and minority group relations
in a nation depend on several factors:
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Who has more power
The quest of the dominant group for scare resources,
including land, labor, and commodities
The cultural norms of each group: ethnocentrism
The social histories of the group
The times and circumstances
Types of Group Relations
Theoretical Explanations of Dominant-Minority
Group Relations: Conflict Theory
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Privileged people perpetuate prejudice and discrimination
against minority group members to keep privileges and
resources
Three critical factors contribute to hostility over resources
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If two groups of people are identifiably different then “we” versus
“they” thinking may develop
If the groups come into conflict over scarce resources that both
groups want for themselves, hostilities are very likely to arise
If one group has much more power than the other, intense dislike
between the two groups and misrepresentation of each group by
the other is virtually inescapable
Theoretical Explanations of Dominant-Minority
Group Relations: Conflict Theory
• Split Labor Market theory -- characterizes the
labor market as having two levels
– Primary labor market, held by native workers
– Secondary labor market, reserved for inmigrants
Theoretical Explanations of Dominant-Minority
Group Relations: Structural Functional Theory
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A cheap pool of labors who are in and out of work
serves several functions for society
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A cheap pool of labor provides a labor force to do “dirty
work”
They make occupations which service the poor
possible
They buy goods others do not want
They set examples for others of what not to be
They allow others to feel good about giving to charity
Theoretical Explanations of Dominant-Minority
Group Relations: Structural Functional Theory
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Prejudice, racism, and discrimination are
dysfunctional for society in many ways
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They result in a loss of human resources
They cost society due to poverty and crime
They maintain hostilities between groups
And they fuel disrespect for those in power
Theoretical Explanations of Dominant-Minority
Group Relations: Cultural Explanations
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Prejudice and discrimination are passed on
from generation to generation through
cultural transmission through socialization,
institutional structures, and media
stereotypes
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Stereotypes limit the opportunities available to
minority group members
The Effects of Prejudice, Racism, and
Discrimination
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Individual Effects
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Unequal life chances, health, and access to property
Victims can also have low self-esteem from devalued status in
society
Organizations and communities
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Lose the talents of individuals they exclude
Government subsidies cost millions but made necessary by lack of
opportunities for minority individuals
Cultural costs
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Attempts to justify racism by stereotyping and labeling
Minority Reactions to Prejudice,
Discrimination, and Racism
• Five common reactions to dealing with a
minority group status:
– Assimilation
– Acceptance
– Avoidance
– Aggression
– Change-oriented Collective Action
Policies to Reduce Prejudice, Racism,
and Discrimination
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Micro-Level Policies
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Individual or Small Group Therapy
Meso-Level Policies
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Organized group contact
Macro-Level Policies
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Lobbying, educational information dissemination, canvassing
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Government agencies
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Civil Rights Commission, Fair Employment Practices
Commission, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
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Legislation
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Nonviolent Resistance
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Protest marches, rallies, watchdog monitoring, and boycotts
Policies to Reduce Prejudice, Racism,
and Discrimination
Policies to Reduce Prejudice, Racism,
and Discrimination
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Affirmative Action is a social policy created to
change the unequal distribution of resources
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Strict affirmative action is a policy that involves
affirmative or positive steps to make sure that
unintended discrimination does not occur
Quota systems are policies that require employers to
hire a certain percentage of minorities
Preference policies are policies based on the belief that
sometime people must be treated differently in order to
treat them fairly and to create equality
Global Movements for Human Rights:
Macro-Level Policies
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Global issues and ethnic conflicts in the social world are
interrelated
The United Nations passed a Declaration of Universal
Human Rights after the Holocaust to ensure that every
global citizen is awarded particular human rights
National governments and privately funded advocacy
groups work for international human rights