Chapter 9 Inequalities of Race and Ethnicity Minorities

Chapter 9 Inequalities of Race and Ethnicity

Minorities • Minorities – a group of people w/ physical or cultural traits different from those of the dominant group • Numbers alone do not make you a minority – Ex. Women in the U. S. • Key factors – Has distinctive physical or cultural characteristics which can be used to separate if from the majority – The minority is dominated by the majority • Majority hold an unequal share of desired goods, services, and privleges – Minority traits are often believed by the dominant majority to be inferior – Members of the minority have a common sense of identity with strong group loyalty – The majority determines who belongs to the minority through ascribed status

Race • Race – people sharing certain inherited physical characteristics that are considered important w/in a society • In sociology, social attitudes and characteristics that relate to race are more important than physical differences • No scientific evidence that connects any racial characteristic w/ innate superiority or inferiority

Ethnicity • Ethnicity – group identified by cultural, religious, or national characteristics • Ex. Language, religion, values, beliefs, norms, and customs • Ethnocentrism – main cause for negative attitudes toward ethnic minorities

Racial and Ethnic Relations • If minority groups are - accepted leads to assimilation, if rejected leads to conflict • Assimilation – the blending or fusing of minority groups into the dominant society • Anglo-conformity – the most prevalent pattern of assimilation in America – Traditional American institutions are maintained – Immigrants are accepted as long as they conform to the “accepted standards” of the society • Others must either give up or suppress its own value

Racial and Ethnic Relations • Melting Pot – all ethnic and racial minorities voluntarily blend together • Tossed salad – traditions and cultures exist side by side – many Sociologist prefer this idea – Cultural Pluralism – desire of a group to maintain some sense of identity separate from the dominant group • Accommodation – an extreme from of cultural pluralism. Occurs when a minority maintains its own culturally unique way of life

Patterns of Conflict • Genocide – the systematic effort to destroy an entire population – Most extreme version – Ex. – Holocaust, Hutu vs. Tutsis, Serbians’ “Ethnic Cleansing” of Muslims in Bosnia and Kosovo • Population transfer – a minority is forced either to move to a remote location or to leave entirely – Ex. - Native Americans • Subjugation – process by which a minority group is denied equal access to the benefits of society – Most common pattern of conflict – De jure segregation – denial of equal access based on the law • Ex. – U. S. schools before Brown vs. Board of Ed. – De facto segregation – denial of equal access based on everyday practice • Ex - Neighbors not selling homes to certain races, businesses not promoting certain minorities