Racial and Ethnic Inequality

The Sociology of race

• What is race?

• Is race still significant? Does the color of one’s skin affect life chances? Access to valued resources?– Quality education? Employment? Equal treatment in

the criminal justice system?

• Complex and volatile topic

Lecture Outline

• I. The Significance of Race

• II. The Social Construction of Race

• III. Prejudice and Discrimination

I. The Significance of Race

How do we define Race and Ethnicity?

Minority Groups• Racial group: refers to a category of people who are

believed to share physical characteristics that are deemed socially significant.

• Ethnic group: group set apart from others primarily because of its national origin or distinctive cultural patterns

• Minority group: subordinate group whose members have significantly less control or power than members of dominant or majority group– Race? What other groups are minority groups? What

characteristics create minority groups?

Dominant and Minority GroupsOther characteristics that may make a group subject to unequal treatment: gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, skin color, ability status.

Are dominant groups always larger than minority groups?

• Are you “color-blind”? What does it mean to be “color-blind”?

– Are children color blind?

Why talk about Race? Is Racial Inequality a Social Problem?

• One Argument: Race no longer matters– There is equal opportunity due to civil rights movement– We live in a color-blind society

• Do we? Have we reached the promise land that MLK spoke of in 1963?

• Opposition (Sociological): Race structures society and is highly significant.While trends may be encouraging, and there are no longer legally enforced forms of racial domination, racial inequality is widespread racism certainly still exists, although it is much less overt/hidden

-Race and ethnicity organize societies and play a large role in fueling violence around the globe.-Existence of hate crimes and hate organizations (Increasing rates of membership)-Existence of racial inequalities-Poverty rates-Treatment in the Criminal Justice system-Prejudice and discrimination towards minority groups

II. Race-A Social Construction

– Each society socially constructs the meaning of symbols

• Social Construction of Race– What does this mean?

Race as a social construct

• We know race is socially constructed because the meaning of race has been inconsistent.

• The meaning of race has changed– 1?– 2?

Example: Race changing over time

• The idea of “white” and “black” and “other” has evolved over time.– Thoughts?

Example: Race changing over time

Since 1790, the census has never measured race in the same way in the U.S. “Mulatto” was in the 1800 census, but taken out a few

decades later“Mexican” was considered a race in 1930, but in the next

census, they were counted as whiteAsian Indians were considered white in 1970The term “negro” still appears on today’s census, in

addition to “African American”In the earliest census measurements, survey takers

would assign your race to you.

Example: Race across cultures

• How many races are in the United States?• Brazil?– http://www.zonalatina.com/Zldata55.htm

The Social Construction of Race

• Racial Formation: Basically, racial categories have been created, shaped, re-shaped, and destroyed throughout history depending on the social and historical context.– -Social, economic, and political forces create and

perpetuate racial categories and meanings

• Race is NOT biologically/genetically real, but it is very real in the social sense.

Biological Meaning and Race

• A mistaken notion

• Race is not a biological reality

• The absence of pure races– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9YMCKp5my

I

A Brief History of Race

• Race became the tool through which Europeans could justify the domination, enslavement, and exploitation of racially “othered” groups. Which groups?

• Since race became a social construct, it has been used by those in power (dominant groups)to deny “others” (minority groups) access to valued resources. What types of resources?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UZS8Wb4S5k

III. Prejudice and Discrimination

• What’s the difference?

Prejudice

• Prejudice: “pre-judge”

– Attitudes of aversion and hostility towards the members of a group simply because they belong to it and are presumed to have negative qualities attached to group membership

• A subjective phenomenon: A State of mind

– Stereotypes-Unreliable generalizations about all members of a group

• How do people become prejudiced?

Theories of Prejudice

• Frustration-aggression theory

• Socialization theories

• Structural Theories

Discrimination • The acts that arise from prejudices– Members of a group are denied the privileges, prestige,

power, legal rights, equal protection under law, and other societal benefits available to members of dominant group

– 2 main levels• 1.

– i.e. Not inviting a co-worker to lunch based on their race-subtle– i.e. hate crimes-blatant and dangerous

• 2.

Institutionalized discriminationInstitutionalized

discrimination: how discrimination is woven into the fabric of societyLooks at a culture of racismDoes not look at individuals as

racists

The Denial of opportunities and equal rights that result from the normal operations of society and institutions– Edu, CJS, HCS, economy,

politics, etc

Institutional Discrimination ExamplesHousing: Home mortgage and car loans

Thomas and Passell found that controlling for income and credit scores, Latinos and African Americans were 60% more likely to be rejected for loans than whites or receive higher interest rates

The Criminal Justice SystemDifferential Sentencing and drug policiesDeath penaltyRacial Profiling

The Education systemRacial Minorities are disproportionately represented in low-income neighborhoods, where schools and teachers are underfunded.

I.e.: Discrimination in the economy

• Studies show that discrimination on the job market continues at institutional level

– Can your name affect the possibility of a call back for an interview?

– Who is more likely to get a call back on a resume?• A white male who has served jail time or a black male

who has served no jail time?

Institutionalized discrimination

• Environmental racism:– Low income communities and areas with significant

minority populations are more likely to be located near hazardous waste sites, dumps, and have higher air pollution which results in higher levels of health issues and related deaths

• I.e.: Location of toxic waste sites on native American reservations

Institutionalized discrimination

• One mechanism of institutional discrimination is gatekeeping: – decisions upon which people are admitted to

offices and positions of privilege, prestige, and power within society and are treated fairly• Who are gatekeepers?

– Individuals in personnel, HR, managers in the workplace, landlords, loan officers, police officers, teachers

– When enough individuals, gatekeepers, act in a way that is discriminatory, individualized racism can become institutionalized