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SAGE Publications, Inc., 2011.

Race and Ethnic Groups
Being Distinguishable from dominant group by features like appearance, language, religion
Excluded or denied full participation in economic, political, and other institutions
Less access to power, resources, prestige
Are stereotyped, ridiculed, condemned, or defamed, which justifies poor treatment
Develop collective identities, communities, and institutions to insulate themselves
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Race and Ethnic Groups
Determined by history and ideology
• A group that is a minority in one time or place may be a dominant group in other times and places
Dominant groups are not always the numerical majority
Ethnic and racial groups are the most common minority groups
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Race: a group identified by society because of certain biologically inherited physical characteristics
Racial classifications have been based on different combinations of characteristics
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Race and Ethnic Groups
In the 18 th and 19 th century, scientists developed four major race categories
• Mongoloid, Caucasoid, Negroid, Australoid
In the 1970s, the United Nations issued a
“Statement on Race”:
• All people are born free and equal
• Racism retards personal development
• (Racial) conflicts cost nations resources
• Racism creates international conflict
© Pine Forge Press, an Imprint of SAGE Publications, Inc., 2011.

Race and Ethnic Groups
Race categories are defined by society, often based on what is convenient for the dominant group
Racist doctrines lack any scientific basis
© Pine Forge Press, an Imprint of SAGE Publications, Inc., 2011.

Race and Ethnic Groups
Symbolic Interaction Analysis
If people believe something is real, it is real in its consequences
People believe race categories are real, which has real consequences:
People use race categories to classify themselves and others based on physical characteristics
The idea of race expanded from physical differences to psychological and moral differences
The idea of psychological and moral race differences has been used to justify discriminatory treatment
© Pine Forge Press, an Imprint of SAGE Publications, Inc., 2011.

Race and Ethnic Groups
Race was historically central to U.S. stratification
After WWII, African Americans developed a class structure based on occupation and income, similar to that of Whites
The African American middle class has grown
But the African American urban “underclass” has become increasingly unemployed and isolated
Has race declined in significance and class become more important?
Inequalities between blacks and whites remain
© Pine Forge Press, an Imprint of SAGE Publications, Inc., 2011.

Race and Ethnic Groups
Ethnic groups: membership is based on shared cultural heritage, often connected with national or geographic identity
The term “ethnic” includes most minorities and avoids problems of the term “race”
Some groups inhabit ethnic enclaves
Ethnicity is defined in part by the government
Census categories encourage diverse groups to think of themselves as parts of a larger category, or panethnicity (e.g., Asian, Hispanic)
© Pine Forge Press, an Imprint of SAGE Publications, Inc., 2011.

Race and Ethnic Groups
Race is a social construct that can change
Many countries are now multiracial due to migration
• The U.S. accepts more immigrants than any other country; 16% of the population is foreign born
Many individuals are now multiracial
• In the 2000 Census, 7 million or 2.3% of the U.S. population selected two or more racial categories
Yet the legacy of the “race” concept remains
© Pine Forge Press, an Imprint of SAGE Publications, Inc., 2011.

Prejudice & Racism
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Prejudice & Racism
Micro-Level Analysis:
Prejudice: attitudes that prejudge a group, usually negative and not based on facts
May be stimulated by meso- and macro-level events, but attitudes are held at the micro-level
Discrimination: differential treatment and harmful actions against minorities
Actions occur at micro-, meso-, and macro-levels
© Pine Forge Press, an Imprint of SAGE Publications, Inc., 2011.

Prejudice & Racism
Results partly from in-group loyalty and information overload
Stereotyping: categorizing the personal qualities of large groups of people based on racial or ethnic features
Distorted ideas are passed down through culture
Ideas applied to all group members and used to justify discrimination and inequality
Self-fulfilling prophesy: minorities may incorporate prejudiced views of themselves into their behavior
© Pine Forge Press, an Imprint of SAGE Publications, Inc., 2011.

Prejudice & Racism
Frustration-aggression theory: acts of prejudice and discrimination are carried out by individuals who cannot achieve their goals and direct their anger and frustration at vulnerable minority groups
Scapegoating: a minority group is blamed and victimized for acts carried out by others, as the perpetrator cannot vent frustration on its real target or cause
What these theories don’t explain: why only some people vent their frustrations on others, why particular groups become scapegoats
© Pine Forge Press, an Imprint of SAGE Publications, Inc., 2011.

Prejudice & Racism
an institutional arrangement that favors one racial group over another, with intentional or unintentional consequences for minority groups
• Not just individual bigotry
Ideological racism: justification of discrimination using pseudo-scientific ideas
Symbolic racism: opposition to policy that would make real equality possible, often by people claiming not to be racist
Institutional racism: discrimination hidden within meso-level systems
© Pine Forge Press, an Imprint of SAGE Publications, Inc., 2011.

Discrimination
Meso-Level Analysis
actions taken against members of a minority group
Individual discrimination (micro level): action against minority members by individuals
Institutional discrimination (meso level): intentional or unintentional actions by organizations and institutions that restrict minority members
Discrimination and prejudice often work together and reinforce one another
© Pine Forge Press, an Imprint of SAGE Publications, Inc., 2011.

Discrimination
Purposeful (de jure) discrimination: built into the law or explicit organizational policies
Unintentional (de facto) discrimination: results from policies that have unanticipated consequences favoring one group over another
• Side-effect discrimination: practices in one institutional area that have a negative impact due to links to other areas
• Past-in-present discrimination: practices from the past that may no longer be allowed today but continue to affect people anyway
© Pine Forge Press, an Imprint of SAGE Publications, Inc., 2011.

Macro-Level Analysis
The form of dominant and minority group relations depend on several factors:
Who has more power
Dominant group needs for labor and other resources that could be provided by minorities
The cultural norms of each group
The social histories of the groups
Physical & cultural distinctions between groups
The times and circumstances
© Pine Forge Press, an Imprint of SAGE Publications, Inc., 2011.

Macro-Level Analysis
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Macro-Level Analysis
Genocide: systematic effort by dominant group to destroy a minority group
Subjugation: subordination of one group by another that holds power and authority
Population transfer: removal of minority group from a region or country, often forced
Assimilation: forced or chosen social and cultural merging of groups in which minority members may lose their original identity
Pluralism: each group maintains its culture and institutions but has recognized equity in society
© Pine Forge Press, an Imprint of SAGE Publications, Inc., 2011.

Macro-Level Analysis
Explaining Dominant/Minority Group Relations:
The dominant group protects its privileges and resources by creating a “lesser” group
Factors contributing to hostility over resources
If two groups are identifiably different, “we” versus
“they” thinking may develop
If two groups want the same scarce resources, hostilities are likely to arise
If one group is more powerful, intense dislike and misrepresentation of each group by the other is likely
© Pine Forge Press, an Imprint of SAGE Publications, Inc., 2011.

Macro-Level Analysis
Explaining Dominant/Minority Group Relations:
, cont.
Split Labor Market Theory
The labor market has two levels:
• Primary market – “good” jobs
• Secondary market – “bad” jobs
Minorities are more likely to work in secondary jobs
Competition for secondary jobs sets minorities against each other and against low-income Whites
Employers enjoy reduced threats to their dominance and profit from cheaper labor
© Pine Forge Press, an Imprint of SAGE Publications, Inc., 2011.

Macro-Level Analysis
Explaining Dominant/Minority Group Relations:
Minority groups often serve as pools of cheap, marginally employed labor, and this has several functions for society:
Provide a labor force to do “dirty work”
Make possible occupations which service the poor
Buy goods others do not want
Set examples for others of what not to be
Allow others to feel good about giving to charity
© Pine Forge Press, an Imprint of SAGE Publications, Inc., 2011.

Macro-Level Analysis
Explaining Dominant/Minority Group Relations:
Prejudice and discrimination are passed on from generation to generation through cultural transmission
Socialization, macro-level structures, and media stereotypes all contribute to transmission
Cultural stereotypes do not generate inequality by themselves, but they do stabilize it
© Pine Forge Press, an Imprint of SAGE Publications, Inc., 2011.

Prejudice, Racism & Discrimination: Effects
Individual Effects
Poverty, ill-health, lack of property, enslavement, war
Low self-esteem, poor self-concept
Organizations and communities
Loss of talents of excluded individuals
Cost of government subsidies necessitated by lack of opportunities
Cultural costs
Loss of contributions to cultural production
© Pine Forge Press, an Imprint of SAGE Publications, Inc., 2011.

Prejudice, Racism & Discrimination: Effects
Individual reactions
Assimilation and Passing
Acceptance
Avoidance
Aggression (indirect, displaced)
Meso- to macro-level reactions
Change-oriented Action
© Pine Forge Press, an Imprint of SAGE Publications, Inc., 2011.

Prejudice, Racism & Discrimination: Effects
Meso- to macro-level reactions to discrimination:
Attempts to bring about change at the institutional and societal levels
Model comes from India’s Mahatma Gandhi and has been followed in the U.S. by Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. and others
© Pine Forge Press, an Imprint of SAGE Publications, Inc., 2011.

Policy
Individual or small group solutions: educational workshops, group encounters, therapy
Group contact: integrated housing, employment, and education; especially successful when groups must cooperate to achieve a goal
Institutional & societal strategies: lobbying, legislation, watchdog monitoring, information dissemination, social protest
© Pine Forge Press, an Imprint of SAGE Publications, Inc., 2011.

Policy
Affirmative Action legislation: three policies intended to fight institutional racism
Strict affirmative action: affirmative or positive steps to prevent unintended discrimination
Quota systems: require employers to hire a certain percentage of minorities
Preference policies: based on the belief that due to institutional discrimination, sometimes people must be treated differently in order to be treated fairly
© Pine Forge Press, an Imprint of SAGE Publications, Inc., 2011.

Policy
Global issues and ethnic conflicts are interrelated
The United Nations passed the Declaration of
Universal Human Rights after the Holocaust to ensure the rights of all, regardless of nation
National governments and privately funded groups advocate for international human rights that transcend national boundaries
© Pine Forge Press, an Imprint of SAGE Publications, Inc., 2011.