Racial and Ethnic Inequality

1
Chapter 9

• Racial and Ethnic Inequality

2
Chapter Outline

• A Framework for Racial and Ethnic Inequality
• The Maintenance of Inequality Basic Processes
• Race and Ethnic Inequalities in the United States
• The Future of Racial and Ethnic Inequality in the
  United States
• Ethic Relations in Comparative Perspectives

3
Race and Ethnicity

• Race refers to a category of people set apart due
  to physiological traits.
• Ethnicity refers to a social group seen as
  sharing cultural traits, including language,
  styles of dress, and religion.
• Ethnic and racial identities are social
  constructions.

4
The Social Construction of Race and Ethnicity

• Race refers to presumed genetic transmission of
  physical characteristics.
• Ethnicity refers to socialization into cultural
  characteristics.
• The social construction of race and ethnicity is
  the process through which a culture defines what
  constitutes a race or an ethnic group.

5
The Semicaste Model

• Derived from the conflict perspective.
• Social classes are hierarchically ordered within
  racial categories.
• There is a black and a white upper, middle, and
  lower class.
• Races display very similar orders of internal
  inequality.  

6
The Semi-Caste Model
7
Patterns of Interaction

• Interaction between majority and minority groups
  fall into four categories
• Conflict occurs when a struggle over scarce
  resources is not governed by shared rules of
  engagement.
• Accommodation occurs when distinctive cultures or
  subcultures live in harmony.

8
Patterns of Interaction

1. Acculturation occurs when members of a minority
   group take on the culture of the majority group.
2. Assimilation has occurred when social
   distinctions between a majority and a minority
   group have fallen away.

9
of Income of Families by Race and Ethnicity,
2000
Income Quintile African American Hispanic White
Poorest fifth 3 4 5
Second fifth 9 9 10
Third fifth 16 15 16
Fourth fifth 25 23 23
Richest fifth 47 49 47
10
Factors Contributing to Prejudice

• Cultural norms - may include hateful norms
  directed at racial or ethnic categories.
• Institutional patterns - related to economic
  competition or conflict over scarce resources.
• Personal factors - some personality patterns
  appear to encourage prejudice.

11
Relationships betweenPrejudice and Discrimination
12
Personality Factors That Lead to Prejudice

• Authoritarianism - tendency to obey authorities
  however they may be legitimated.
• Frustration - may result in seeking out
  scapegoats to blame.
• Ideology of the American dream - encourages
  prejudice toward the socially disadvantaged.

13
White Ethnic Groups

• Include French, Dutch, Spanish, and English.
• Ethnicity is no longer a primary standard for
  stratification among whites.
• The place of unhyphenated whites in the
  multicultural mix of the United States is not
  assured.

14
African-Americans

• Largest minority group in the U.S., making up
  some 13 of the population.
• Arrived involuntarily - as slaves.
• Most African Americans could trace their ancestry
  in America to the early colonial period.

15
African-Americans and Social Conditions

• Politics - proportion of blacks in public office
  remains quite small.
• Education - 15 of blacks graduate from college
  (compared with 25 of whites)
• Economic disadvantages Low earnings and the
  number of female-headed families contribute to
  lower incomes levels.

16
Education by Race and Hispanic Origin, 2000
17
Poverty by Race and Hispanic Origin, 2000
18
Family Structure by Race and Hispanic Origin, 2000
19
 Hispanics

• Majority are of Mexican heritage, Latinos have
  also arrived in America from Cuba, Puerto Rico,
  and many Central and South American nations.
• Will make up about 20 of the U.S. population by
  the year 2050.

20
Hispanics

• Rapid growth rates raises concerns
• New immigrants are young and poorly educated
  resulting in lower income levels.
• Concerns among non-Hispanic Americans over
  competition for jobs.
• Increasing immigration results in segregation.

21
Asian Americans

• 4 of the U.S. population.
• From Japan, China, South Asia, the Philippines,
  and Southeast Asia.
• Have the highest average household income of any
  major ethnic group.
• Japanese and Chinese-Americans surpass whites in
  educational attainment.

22
Native Americans

• Represent more than 200 tribal and linguistic
  traditions.
• The most disadvantaged of ethnic groups.
• Overall rates of suicide, alcoholism, and infant
  mortality are shockingly high on most Indian
  reservations.