Racial and Ethnic Inequality
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Chapter 3 Outline
Basic
Definitions
• Racial Group
• Ethnic Group
• Dominant vs. Subordinate Group
Social
Behavior
Sociological
Perspectives on Race
Inequalities among
racial & ethnic groups
• Racism
• Prejudice
• Individual and Institutional discrimination
•
•
•
•
Social –Psychological
Symbolic Interactionist
Functionalist
Conflict
• Native Americans
• African Americans
• Latinos (Hispanic Americans)
• Asian and Pacific Americans
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Defining race
 Biological definition of race:
 Population differs from another because of some genes.
 Today no “pure” races exist due to generations of
intermixing.
 Sociologists view race as a social construct
 Classification based on social and political values
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Racial Group
 A racial group is:
 A category of people who have been singled out
 Seen as inferior or superior than other groups
 Determined by subjectively defined physical
characteristics (such as skin color, hair texture, eye
shape).
Examples of
Racial Groups
African
Americans
Native
Americans
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Asian
Americans
Ethnic Group
 An Ethnic Group is:
 A group distinguished from others.
 Seen as inferior or superior.
 Distinguished on the basis of cultural or nationality
characteristics.
Characteristics
of an
ethnic group
Unique
cultural
characteristics
Sense of
community
Belief your
group is
best
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Born into
category
Tendency to
occupy
distinct area
Dominant and Subordinate Groups
Dominant Group:
Subordinate Group:
 Advantaged compared to
 Are disadvantaged compared
other groups in society
 Have superior resources and
rights in a society
 Can be determined by race,
ethnicity, gender, sexual
orientation, or other factors
 In the U.S. the dominant
group is associated with
white-skin privilege.
to other groups
 Face unequal treatment,
prejudice, or discrimination
 See themselves as objects of
discrimination
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Racism and Prejudice
 Racism: beliefs and practices which justify unequal
treatment of racial and ethnic groups.
 White racism is present in the U.S. and denies people of
color opportunities.
 Prejudice: negative attitude toward a particular group.
 Based on faulty generalizations
 Stems from ethnocentrism (assumption one’s group is
superior)
 Also influenced by stereotypes (overgeneralizations
about all members of a group.)
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Discrimination
 Individual Discrimination:
 One on one acts against subordinate group by dominant
group.
 Generally stems from prejudice.
 Institutional Discrimination:
 Involves day to day practices of institutions.
 results in harmful impact on subordinate group
members.
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Sociological Perspectives on Race
 Social Psychological Perspective:
 Frustration-aggression hypothesis:



Individuals who are unable to achieve a set goal become
frustrated
Individuals then develop aggression
Aggression taken out on scapegoat (person blamed for
causing the problem can either be real or perceived.)
 Authoritarian Personality:
 Tendency to be more prejudice
 See world as threatening and are intolerant of subordinate
groups
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Symbolic Interactionist
 Racial Socialization:
 Process of social interaction containing messages about
one’s racial/ethnic group.
 Can be direct via contact with parents, peers, teachers,
others
 Also indirectly through media images
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Functionalist:
 Focus on social order and stability as being important.
 Assimilation:
 Process where subordinate group members become
absorbed in dominant culture
 Seen by functionalists as stabilizing
 In complete form it becomes amalgamation (melting
pot; characteristics of different groups blend together
into new group)
 Anglo-conformity model: assimilation whereby
subordinate group is expected to conform to AngloSaxon population
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Functionalist (cont.)
 Ethnic Pluralism:
 Diverse racial and ethnic groups coexist
 Maintain separate identities and cultures
 Segregation:
 Spatial and social separation of people
 Based on race/ethnicity, class, gender, religion or other
social characteristics.
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Conflict
 Class perspectives:
 Historically African Americans were enslaved because
they were the cheapest and best workers
 Contemporary theory

Split-labor market theory: U.S. economy divided into 2
sectors.
 Primary sector: higher paid workers with job security
 Secondary sector: lower paid workers in more hazardous jobs.
 Dominant group generally in primary sector
 Subordinate group generally in secondary sector
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Conflict (cont.)
 Gendered Racism:
 Interaction of gender and race resulting in exploitation
of woman of color.
 Women of color face double discrimination in labor
force.
 Internal Colonialism:
 Members of a racial/ethnic group are placed under
control of the dominant group.
 Racial/ethnic groups who have experienced this remain
in subordinate positions longer than those who haven’t.
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Conflict (cont.)
 Theory of racial formation:
 Government has large role in defining racial and ethnic
relations.
 Policies and actions placing one group in a subordinate
position
 Immigration and naturalization laws also influence
relations between racial and ethnic groups.
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Racial Composition in the U.S.
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Native Americans
 Population of 15 million inhabited land when
Columbus arrived in 1492.
 White Europeans conquered and colonized the Native
Americans
 Engaged in genocide (deliberate killing of a people)
 1830: Indian Removal Act passed:
 Became wards of the government
 “Trail of tears”
 Children were Americanized.
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Native Americans (cont.)
 Today Native Americans:
 Make up 1.5% of population
 1/3 live on reservations
 Are the most disadvantaged racial/ethnic group in the
U.S.
 Have high rates of unemployment, school dropout,
suicide and infant mortality.
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African Americans
 First brought to North American as slaves in 1619.
 Slavery abolished in 1863:
 In South: de jure segregation- laws that enforced
segregation
 In North: de facto segregation- separation and inequality
due to custom.
 Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1965 ended de jure
segregation.
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African Americans (cont.)
 Today African Americans:
 Make up 13% of population
 Have made significant political gains
 Still face significant discrimination in many areas of
society.
 Are portrayed stereotypically as “welfare mothers” and
“criminals”
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Latinos (Hispanic Americans)
 Puerto Rico became a U.S. possession in 1917 and
citizens allowed unrestricted migration to U.S.
 In late 1950’s refugees immigrated to U.S. from Cuba to
flee from Fidel Castro’s communist takeover.
 Mexicans have immigrated to the U.S. when there has
been a need for agricultural workers
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Latinos (cont.)
 Today Latinos:
 Are growing in number in the U.S.
 Have a high poverty rate
 Have a high unemployment rate
 Still face significant discrimination in many areas of
society.
 Depicted by media as drug lords or illegal aliens.
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Asian and Pacific Americans
 Chinese workers came to America between 1850 and
1880.
 Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 ended immigration
 Japanese immigrants forced into internment camps
during WWII.
 Today many highly educated professional immigrating
from India and Pakistan.
 Many immigrants have come recently from other parts
of Asia (Vietnam, Thailand, and others)
 Hawaiian Islands became 50th state in 1959 (many
people of Asian decent inhabit the islands)
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Asian and Pacific Americans (cont.)
 Today Asian and Pacific Americans:
 Have high educational levels
 Have high median income levels
 Have relatively low poverty rates
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Median Family income
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Solutions to Racial and Ethnic Inequality
 Functionalist:
 Restructure Social Institutions
 Conflict:
 Struggle and Political Action
 Interactionist:
 Teach cultural diversity to unlearn prejudice and
discrimination
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