Chapter 10
Racial and Ethnic Minorities
With which racial/ethnic
characterization do identify with the
most? Choose only one.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
Anglo (white, non-Hispanic)
Hispanic
African American, black
Native American (American Indian)
Asian
Other


What Cues, or markers did you use to
identify your self?
Are these physical, cultural, or based on
ancestry?
The Concept of Race



Race refers to a category of people who
are similar because of physical
characteristics.
Races have been defined along genetic,
legal, and social lines, each presenting its
own set of problems.
Go to the American Anthropological Association’s statement on Race.
http://www.aaanet.org/stmts/racepp.htm
Genetic Definitions of Race


Differences in traits, such as hair and
nose type, have proved of no value in
making classifications of human beings.
Similarities appear to be far greater than
any physical differences including skin
color.
Legal Definitions



There has been little consistency among the
legal definitions of race.
The state of Missouri made “one-eighth or
more Negro blood” the criterion for nonwhite
status.
As recently as 1982, a dispute arose over
Louisiana’s law requiring anyone of more than
1/32 African descent to be classified as black.
Social Definitions

In the 2000 census people were able to
declare as members of any one or more
of five categories:
 American Indian/Alaskan Native
 Asian
 African-American
 Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
 White
Facts about Racial Intermarriage
There are over 3 million interracial marriages a year in the
United States.
Interracial marriages represent 5.4% of all married
couples. This is up from 1% in 1970
The most common types of intermarriages are between
white men and Asian or multiple-race women.
Marriage between minority racial groups is much less
likely.
The least common type of interracial marriage is between
white and blacks.
Facts about Racial Intermarriage
People who intermarry are younger and better
educated than average couples.
Three million children are growing up in interracial
families. This is up from 900,000 in 1970.
Black men are much more likely to intermarry than black
women. Ten percent of black men have a nonblack
spouse.
More than 10% of the married couples in Hawaii,
California, Oklahoma, Alaska, and Nevada were
interracial.
The Concept of Ethnic Group




An ethnic group has a distinct cultural tradition
that its own members identify with and that may
not be recognized by others.
They adhere to customs, maintain similarity in
family patterns, religion, and cultural values.
They often possess distinct folkways and
mores; customs of dress, art, and
ornamentation; moral and value systems; and
patterns of recreation.
The group is may be devoted to a monarch,
religion, language, or territory.
The Concept of Minority

Louis Wirth’s definition of a minority:
 A group of people who, because of
physical or cultural characteristics, are
singled out from others in society for
differential and unequal treatment, and
who therefore regard themselves as
objects of collective discrimination.
Question

Which of the following would qualify as a
minority group in U.S. society according
to the sociological definition of the term?
A. homosexuals
B. the elderly
C. people with disabilities
D. all of these choices are correct
Answer: D

Homosexuals, the elderly and people
with disabilities would qualify as a
minority group in U.S. society according
to the sociological definition of the term.
Prejudice

An irrationally based negative, or
occasionally positive, attitude toward
certain groups and their members.
Discrimination

Differential treatment, usually unequal
and injurious, accorded to individuals who
are assumed to belong to a particular
category or group.
Institutionalized Prejudice
and Discrimination

Complex societal arrangements that
restrict the life chances and choices of a
specifically defined group, in comparison
with those of the dominant group.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/15/business/aclu-to-sue-morgan-stanley-over-mortgage-loans.html?hp&_r=0
Question

The problems of racial prejudice and
discrimination in U.S. society are over
stated.
A. Strongly agree
B. Agree somewhat
C. Unsure
D. Disagree somewhat
E. Strongly disagree
Social Functions of Prejudice



A prejudice helps draw together those
who hold it.
When two or more groups are competing
for access to scarce resources it is easier
to write off competitors as unworthy.
Prejudice allows us to project onto others
those parts of ourselves that we do not
like and therefore try to avoid facing.
Patterns of Racial and Ethnic
Relations
1.
2.
3.
Assimilation - groups with different
cultures come to have a common culture.
Pluralism - development and coexistence
of separate racial and ethnic group
identities within a society.
Subjugation – subordination of one group
and the assumption of of authority,
power, and domination by the other.
Patterns of Racial and Ethnic
Relations
4.
5.
6.
Segregation - a form of subjugation,
refers to the act, process, or state of
being set apart.
Expulsion - forcing a group to leave the
territory in which it resides.
Annihilation - deliberate extermination of
a racial or ethnic group.
Racial and Ethnic Makeup of
U.S. Population, 2000 and 2050
Cities With Large Hispanic
Populations, 2000
Place and State % Hispanic of Total Population
El Paso, TX
76.6
San Antonio, TX
58.7
Los Angeles, CA
46.5
Houston, TX
37.4
Dallas, TX
35.6
Cities With Large Hispanic
Populations, 2000
Place and State
Phoenix, AZ
San Jose, CA
New York, NY
Chicago, IL
San Diego, CA
% Hispanic of Total Population
34.1
30.2
27.0
26
25.4