Chapter 11 Racial Inequality In Conflict and Order

Chapter 11 Racial Inequality In Conflict and Order: Understanding Society, 11 th edition This multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law. The following are prohibited by law: any public performance or display, including transmission of any image over a network; preparation of any derivative work, including the extraction, in whole or in part, of any images; any rental, lease, or lending of the program.

Racial and Ethnic Minorities • The most important characteristic of a minority group is that it is dominated by a more powerful group (majority group). – The terms majority and minority describe power differences. • The concept of race is a social invention. – It is not biologically significant. – Racial groups are set apart and singled out for unequal treatment.

Racial Categories • Racial formation – Society is continually creating and transforming racial categories • The U. S. Census Bureau measures race on the basis of self-identification. – In 2000 people were allowed to record themselves in 2 or more racial categories. – Of the U. S. population 2. 4% identified themselves as multiracial.

Racial Categories • Ethnicity is a social category that allows for a broader range of affiliation. – Ethnic groups are distinctive on the basis of national origin, language, religion, and culture. • Racial ethnic group refers to groups that are socially subordinated and remain culturally distinct within U. S. society. – It includes the systematic discrimination of socially constructed racial groups and their distinctive cultural arrangements. Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2007

Differences among Racial and Ethnic Groups African Americans Latinos Asian Americans Native Americans Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2007

Explanations of Racial and Ethnic Inequality • Deficiency theories view minority-group members as unequal because they lack some important feature common among the majority. – These deficiencies may be biological or cultural (such as culture of poverty). Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2007

Explanations of Racial and Ethnic Inequality • Bias theories place the blame for inequality on the prejudiced attitudes of the dominant group. – These theories however, do not explain the discriminatory acts of the unprejudiced, which are aimed at preserving privilege. • Structural discrimination theories argue that inequality is the result of external constraints as opposed to internal cultural factors. Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2007

Explanations of Racial and Ethnic Inequality • Four main features of institutional discrimination – Forces of history shape present conditions – Discrimination can occur without conscious bigotry – Institutional discrimination is less visible than are individual acts of discrimination – Discrimination is reinforced by the interrelationships among the institutions of society Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2007

Figure 11. 2 – Percent of the Population, by Race and Hispanic Origin: 1990, 2000, 2025, and 2050 (Middle-Series Projection) Source: U. S. Bureau of the Census, 1997. “Population Profile of the United States: 1997, ” Current Population Reports, Series P 23 -194. Washington, DC: U. S. Government Printing Office, p. 9. Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2007

Racial Stratification from the Order and Conflict Perspectives • Order Perspective – Order theorists accent patterns of inclusion, orderly integration, and the assimilation of racial groups. – Order theorists are concerned with how minorities adapt to the core society. Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2007

Racial Stratification from the Order and Conflict Perspectives • Conflict Perspective – Conflict theories are critical of assimilation theories for ignoring social conditions that exclude racial minorities from full participation in U. S. society. – Racial stratification exists because certain segments of society benefit from it. – Racial ethnics are located in the larger society in ways that prevent their assimilation. Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2007

Discrimination Against Blacks and Hispanics: Continuity and Change • Civil rights legislation improved the status of some racial-ethnics, yet the overall position of Blacks and Latinos relative to Whites has not improved. • Large gaps remain in work, earnings and education. • Global and economic transformations have contributed to the persistent poverty in U. S. centers. Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2007

Figure 11. 4 – Homeownership Rates by Race and Ethnicity of Householder, 1994 -2003 Sources: Betsy Leondar-Wright, Meizhu Lui, Gloribell Mota, Dedrick Muhammad, and Mara Voukdis, 2005, State of the Dream 2005: Disowned in the Ownership Society. Boston: United for a Fair Economy, p. 11. www. faireconomy. com. Reprinted by permission. Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2007

Figure 11. 5 – Family Poverty Rates by Race, 1988 -2003 Sources: Betsy Leondar-Wright, Meizhu Lui, Gloribell Mota, Dedrick Muhammad, and Mara Voukdis, 2005, State of the Dream 2005: Disowned in the Ownership Society. Boston: United for a Fair Economy, p. 10. www. faireconomy. com. Reprinted by permission. Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2007

Contemporary Trends and Issues in U. S. Racial and Ethnic Relations • Growing Racial Strife • More Racially Based Groups • Native Americans Hit Hard by Violent Crime • Profiling and Maltreatment • Campus Racial Tension • Economic Polarization in U. S. Inner Cities • Racial Policies in the New Century Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2007