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Key Topics
CHAPTER 10
 10-1 U.S. Racial and Ethnic Diversity
 10-2 The Social Significance of Race and Ethnicity
 10-3 Our Changing Immigration Mosaic
RACE AND ETHNICITY
 10-4 Dominant and Minority Groups
 10-5 Some Sources of Racial-Ethnic Friction
 10-6 Major Racial and Ethnic Groups in the United States
 10-7 Sociological Explanations of Racial-Ethnic Inequality
 10-8 Interracial and Interethnic Relationships
U.S. Racial and Ethnic Diversity
Diversity in America
 There are 150 distinct ethnic
or racial groups in the U.S.
 Thirteen percent of
Americans are foreign born.
 The proportion of the
population that is white is
declining.
 The number of Americans
who identify themselves as
multiracial is increasing.
Racial and Ethnic Diversity
The Social Significance of Race and Ethnicity
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Social Significance
Social Significance
Race: a group of people who share physical
characteristics, such as skin color and facial features
 Examples: Whites and Blacks
 Race is a social construction.
Racial-ethnic group: a category of people that has
both distinctive physical and cultural characteristics
 Examples: Asian Americans, Hispanics
 In 1960, seven-five percent of the foreign born were from
Ethnic Group: a set of people who identify with a
common national origin or cultural heritage
 Examples: Italian Americans, German Americans,
Jewish
Europe.
 Today immigrants come primarily from Asia and Latin
America.
 Approximately 30% of foreign-born U.S. residents are
undocumented.
 The majority of the undocumented come from Mexico.
Immigration
Americans are ambivalent about immigration,
especially illegal immigration.
 Those opposed to immigration argue:


Low-skilled workers reduce the standard of living and overload
schools and welfare systems.
Immigrants are thought to use more government services and
pay less in taxes.
Immigration
Reasons to support immigration
Reasons to oppose immigration
Immigration
 Those in favor of immigration argue:


Immigrants provide services at low wages and take jobs most
Americans do not want.
Without new workers, the U.S. will not be able to support the
aging population.
Dominant and Minority Groups
 Dominant group: any physically or culturally
distinctive group that has the most economic and
political power, the greatest privileges, and the
highest social status.
 Not always the larger group in size—Under
apartheid, 10% of the South African population
controlled the population.
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Dominant and Minority Groups
Dominant and Minority Groups
 Minority group: a group of people who may be
subject to differential and unequal treatment
because of physical, cultural, or other characteristics.
 It does not refer to a numerical minority.
Dominant and Minority Groups
Genocide: the systematic attempt to kill all members
of a particular ethnic, religious, political, racial, or
national group
 Examples: colonists’ treatment of American Indians,
Holocaust
Dominant and Minority Groups
Segregation: the physical and social separation of
dominant and minority groups
 Examples: living in different neighborhoods or going
to different schools
 De facto segregation: informal
 De jure segregation: formal
Dominant and Minority Groups
Internal colonialism: the subordination of groups
within a nation
 Examples: African Americans, Hispanics
Dominant and Minority Groups
Assimilation: the process of conforming to the
culture of the dominant group
 Examples: learning the language, intermarrying
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Dominant and Minority Groups
Dominant and Minority Groups—Application
Pluralism: minority groups exist separately but enjoy
access to resources across all institutions
 Examples: Canada or the United States
 Also called multiculturalism
Identify the dominant/minority pattern:
 Massacres of minority Tutsis by dominant Hutu
group in Rwanda
 African Americans living in racially separate,
economically deprived neighborhoods
 French and German speakers coexisting peacefully in
Switzerland
Racial-Ethnic Friction
Racial-Ethnic Friction
 Racism: a set of beliefs claiming that one’s own
racial group is “naturally” superior to other groups
 Ethnocentrism: a belief that one’s own culture,
society, or group is inherently superior to others
 Prejudice: an attitude, positive or negative, toward
people because of their group membership
 Stereotype: an oversimplified or exaggerated
generalization about a category of people
 Discrimination: an act that treats people
unequally or unfairly because of their group
membership
 Individual discrimination: harmful action directed
intentionally on a one-to-one basis
 Institutional discrimination: unequal treatment due
to the everyday operations of society
Racial-Ethnic Friction—Application
Decide what type of racial-ethnic friction is illustrated
by each example.
 Pam believes that all Mexicans are lazy.
 A bank is less likely to give home loans to Latinos.
Racial-Ethnic Friction
Typology created by Robert Merton
 Active bigot: prejudiced discriminator
 Timid bigot: unprejudiced discriminator
 Fair-weather liberal: prejudiced nondiscriminator
 All-weather liberal: unprejudiced nondiscriminator
 Bobby refuses to work with Whites.
Discriminates
Does not
Discriminate
Prejudice
Not Prejudice
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Major Groups
Major Groups
Median household income of Latinos is
59% that of Asian Americans.
Many Latinos do become successful.
Major Groups
African Americans
 The second largest minority group
 14% of the population
 The only group brought to the U.S. involuntarily
 High rates of poverty
 Lowest median income of all racial-ethnic groups
 Success rates are increasing
Major Groups
American Indians
 2 percent of the population, growing
 More than 560 recognized tribes
 Experienced centuries of subjugation, exploitation,
and political exclusion
 High rates of poverty
 Economic progress in recent years
Major Groups
Asian Americans
 Comprise 6% of U.S. population
 Come from at least 26 countries
 Highest median income among U.S. minority groups
 High education levels
 Labeled the “model minority”
Major Groups
Middle Eastern Americans
 Come from about 30 countries
 Heterogeneous population
 Most are Muslim
 Tend to be better educated and wealthier than other
Americans
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Sociological Explanations of Racial-Ethnic
Inequality
Sociological Explanations
Functionalism argues that newcomers must
assimilate by adopting the dominant group’s ways.
 Racial-ethnic inequality provides a large pool of
cheap labor.
 Racial-ethnic inequality maintains the dominant
group’s current status.
 Discrimination can by dysfunctional.
Sociological Explanations
Conflict theorists see ongoing strife between
dominant and minority groups.
 Dominant groups protect their power and privilege.
 Economic inequality perpetuates racial hierarchies.
 Economic stratification pits minorities against each
other and low-income Whites.
Sociological Explanations
Sociological Explanations
Feminist theorists stress gendered racism.
 Gendered racism: the combined cumulative effects of
inequality due to racism and sexism
 Minority women face discrimination based on race,
gender, and social class.
Interracial and Interethnic Relationships
Symbolic interactionists emphasize learned
attitudes, norms, and values.
 Labeling and selective perception can increase
prejudice and discrimination.
 Images shape our perceptions.
 The contact hypothesis states that the more
people get to know members of a minority group
personally, the less likely they are to be prejudiced
against them.
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Interracial Relationships
Interracial Relationships
 Growing number of Americans are biracial or
 Miscegenation: marriage or sexual relations
multiracial.
 In the 2010 Census, three percent identified
themselves as two or more races.
 Anti-miscegenation laws declared unconstitutional
between members of different races
in 1967
 Racial-ethnic intermarriages are increasing and
account for 10% of married couples.
 Americans increasingly likely to approve
Chapter Review
1.
What is the difference between race and ethnicity?
2. What are the arguments for and against
immigration?
3. What are minority groups?
4. Describe the different patterns of group relations
and friction.
Chapter Review
5. Describe each of the major racial and ethnic groups
in the U.S.
6. Distinguish among the sociological explanations of
racial and ethnic inequality.
7. How are interracial/ethnic relations changing?
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