the united states is among the most racially and ethnically heterogeneous societies in the world
TRANSCRIPT
The United States is among the most racially and ethnically
heterogeneous societies in the world.
a category composed of people who share biologically transmitted traits that members of a society deem socially significant.
Three categories of race in the US
White
Black
(East) Asian
(19th century terms: Caucasoid, Negroid, Mongoloid)
The United States is one of the few places where race is based entirely on skin color. What other characteristics could be used to
determine race?
The one drop rule If you have even one ancestor who is black,
then you are considered black.
Some people argue that race is becoming lesssignificant in the US. Do you agree or disagree?
a shared cultural heritage
Ethnic options the ability of whites in US society to pick and
choose with which ethnic group they want to be identified.
Ethnic enclave a segment of a community in which many of the
residents share a common heritage and where their needs are catered (grocery stores, restaurants, entertainment, religious institutions, etc.)
Minority groupa category of people, distinguished by physical
or cultural traits, who are socially disadvantaged.
Pluralism racial and ethnic minorities are distinct but
have parity
Miscegenation biological reproduction by partners of different
racial categories
Assimilation the process by which minorities gradually
adopt patterns of the dominant culture
Melting pot vs. Salad bowl
Segregation physical and social separation of categories of
people
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) the Supreme Court approved legally enforced
segregation as long as the law did not make facilities for blacks inferior to those of whites.
Brown v. Topeka Board of Education (Brown v. Board) (1954) The Supreme Court ruled that “separate but equal”
does not work. Segregated schools provide African Americans with inferior schooling.
Prejudice rigid and irrational generalization about an
entire category of people (can be based on race, ethnicity, class, sex, or any other category)
Racism the belief that one racial category is innately
superior or inferior to another
StereotypeStereotype – a prejudicial, exaggerated
description of some category of people
Scapegoatperson or category of people, typically, with
little power, whom people unfairly blame for their own troubles
Discrimination any action that involves treating various
categories of people unequally
Institutional Discrimination bias in attitudes or action inherent in the
operation of society’s institutions
Genocide the systematic annihilation of one category of
people by another
What are some examples?