SOCW 410 4a&b

DISCRIMINATION IN AMERICAN SOCIETY

Week 4

Difficult Conversations

Discrimination

• The causes of discrimination in U.S. society are complex

• Discrimination must have moral, social, and theological underpinnings

Three Main Theories of Discrimination

• PsychologicalWhen people cannot direct their

aggression at the real sources of their rage, they seek a substitute target.


• Normative-culturalSuggests that individuals hold prejudicial attitudes because of their socialization.


• EconomicOccurs when a dominant group

discriminates to maintain their economic and political advantages.

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Racism

• Discrimination against & prejudicial treatment of a racially different minority group

• A pattern of racial discrimination that is strongly entrenched in a society is called: – Institutional racism

Institutional example

Bill Dedman on Redlining



African Americans

• Demography of African Americans• African Americans in Poverty• The “Diswelfare” of African Americans

– Poverty– Family Structure– African American Businesses

Individual example

http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=7165444



Hispanic Americans

• Hispanic Poverty and Income• Diversity in the Hispanic Population

American Indians

– Reservations and Poverty– Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978

• http://thedailyshow.cc.com/videos/189afv/the-redskins--name---catching-racism

http://thedailyshow.cc.com/videos/189afv/the-redskins--name---catching-racism






Asian Americans

• 25+ Asian-Pacific subgroups

• High median family income• Asians in the U.S. have experienced more

subtle forms of discrimination

Redlining and Segregation

Gee, 2002. A multilevel analysis of the relationship between institutional and individual racial discrimination and health status. Am J Public Health, 92: 615-623

Individual example• MSNBC, 1998:

– “American Beats Out Kwan”

• Seattle Times, 2002:– “American outshines Kwan,

Slutskaya in skating surprise.”

Model Minority

Racism

• Racism: I hate green people

• Racial prejudice: All green people want to steal my car

• Racial discrimination: I'm not letting a green man work for my company. He'd steal my car!

Redlining

• State investigations


Immigrants and Immigration

• The pace of economic growth in the 1990s would have been impossible without: – The influx of immigrants who contributed to job

growth• Guest Workers• Immigration-Based Discrimination in Europe



Women and Society

• Violence and Sexism• The Feminization of Poverty

– Transfer programs• Myths Around Women and Work• Income and Job Disparities Between Men and

Women


Women and Society

• Day Care: A Barrier to Female Employment– The U.S. is the only industrialized country in the

world without paid maternity leave


Women and Society

• Other Obstacles Faced by Working Women– Comparable worth– Dual-labor market

• Abortion and Women’s Rights• Gender Discrimination in an International

Context



Gays and Lesbians: Two Populations at Risk

• Gay Rights• the Military• Gay and Lesbian Family Life• AIDS and the Gay Community• An International Perspective on LGBT Rights


Ageism

• Ageism is a problem in a consumer-oriented

society that idolizes youth

• Elderly Poverty and Social Programs

• Health Care and the Elderly


People with Disabilities

• Disability is a difficult term to define• A newer definition—the psychosocial model—

– Views disability as a socially defined category• The greatest stride in disability rights occurred

on July 26, 1990– Americans with Disabilities Act






Legal Attempts to RemedyDiscrimination

• Attempts to eliminate discrimination are a relatively recent development

• Plessy v. Ferguson

Legal Attempts to RemedyDiscrimination

• Desegregation and the Civil Rights Movement– Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas– Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of

Education• Affirmative Action









• Discrimination takes many forms in the United States and elsewhere

• Discrimination can lead to poverty• Discrimination has profoundly negative effects

There’s no such thing as a single-issue struggle, because we don’t

live single-issue lives.”Audre Lorde (1934-1992,

Black Lesbian Writer and Activist

• http://www.newblackfilm.com/trailer/

• http://www.ted.com/talks/yoruba_richen_what_the_gay_rights_movement_learned_from_the_civil_rights_movement?language=en

http://www.ted.com/talks/yoruba_richen_what_the_gay_rights_movement_learned_from_the_civil_rights_movement?language=en






Group #1:Immigration Debate A

• Immigration to the United States should be encouraged by federal policies

• Immigration to the United States should be discouraged by federal policies

Group #2: Immigration Debate B

• Immigrants should have the same civil and employment rights as anyone else in America

• Illegal immigrants should have the same civil and employment rights as anyone else in America.

Group #3: Affirmative Action Debate A

• Affirmative action is a good means of correcting historical patterns of injustice.

• Affirmative action is harmful to the disadvantaged groups it seeks to assist.

Group #4: Affirmative Action Debate B

• Affirmative action should be mandatory for all public and private institutions,

• Affirmative action should be mandatory for only public institutions.

Date post:	27-Jul-2015
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SOCW 410 4a&b

Government & Nonprofit