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Race and Ethnicity: Key Concepts
 Ethnicity refers to the cultural practices and overall outlook of a given community; groups formed on the basis of ethnicity have common cultural characteristics that separate
them from others within a given population. Ethnic differences are
wholly learned, although they are sometimes depicted as "natural."
Race refers to physical characteristics, such as skin color, that are
treated by members of a community or society as socially
significant—as signaling distinct cultural characteristics. Many popular
beliefs about race are mythical. There are no distinct characteristics
by means of which human beings can be allocated to different races. The term racialization refers to the process of using race to classify individuals or groups. Within a racialized social system, an individual's life chances are all influenced by his/her racial assignment.
Racism is prejudice based on socially significant physical distinctions.
A racist is someone who believes that some individuals are
superior, or inferior, to others as a result of racial differences. When racism is embedded in the very structure and operation of a society it is called institutional racism.
Displacement and scapegoating are psychological mechanisms associated
with prejudice and discrimination. In displacement, feelings
of hostility become directed against objects that are not the real
origin of these anxieties. People project their anxieties and insecurities
onto scapegoats. Prejudice involves holding preconceived
views about an individual or group; discrimination refers to actual
behavior that deprives members of a group of opportunities open
to others. Prejudice usually involves stereotypical thinking—thinking
in terms of fixed and inflexible categories.
Race and ethnicity can be the basis for minority group formation. A minority group is a group of people who are disadvantaged socially, politically, and economically relative to the dominant group in society. In addition, members of a minority group experience prejudice and discrimination and usually develop a sense of group solidarity as a result of this.
Ethnic Relations
Beginning in the fifteenth century, global migratory movements
resulting from exploration, colonialism, and slavery created multiethnic
populations in various regions of the world and therefore
ethnic and racial antagonism. In part, racism has persisted because it justified inequalities based on race and ethnicity within these regions.
The most inhumane form of group relations in human history is genocide. Ethnic cleansing, genocide directed at specific ethnic groups. has occurred in many parts of the world. While not as inhumane as genocide, segregation, the physical separation of ethnic groups, is another form of ethnic group relations.
Four models of possible future developments in race and ethnic relations
can be distinguished—the first stressing Anglo-conformity,
or assimilation, the second the melting pot, the third pluralism, and
the fourth multiculturalism. In recent years there has been a tendency
to emphasize the fourth of these avenues, whereby different
ethnic identities are accepted as equal and separate within the
context of the overall national culture.
Global Migration
Today, migration appears to be on
the rise as part of the process of globalization. The increase in migration has led some scholars to label the contemporary period as the "age of migration." Four tendencies characterize current migration patterns: acceleration, diversification, globalization, and feminization.
A diaspora is when an ethnic population is displaced from its homeland and dispersed into foreign areas. The most common experience is for this population to be forced out of its homeland involuntarily because of persecution and violence.
Ethnic Relations in the United States
A remarkable diversity of ethnic minorities is found in the United
States today, each group having its own distinctive cultural characteristics.
Some of the most important minority communities numerically,
after blacks, are Native Americans, Mexican Americans,
Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Chinese, and Japanese.
The history of ethnic relations in the U.S. is often one of struggle. Successive waves of non-white minority groups have fought to defend the integrity of their culture and to advance their social position in the face of persistent prejudice and discrimination.
An important distinction must be drawn between those minorities
that came to America as willing immigrants and the colonized
peoples who either were here already (Native Americans, Mexican
Americans) or were brought by force (African Americans) and
who were generally incorporated by violence. Racism targeted at
these latter groups has been most persistent and most destructive.
Racial and Ethnic Inequality
On most measures (educational attainment, occupational achievement, unemployment, income, and health), minorities continue to lag behind whites. In some instances, the status of African Americans has shown some improvement, but the status of Latinos remained the same or even lagged behind that of African Americans and whites.
Gender discrimination compounds the difficulties facing women of color; about half of African American and Latino families that depend primarily on women's incomes live in poverty.
While surveys show that the overall level of prejudice has been declining, some sociologists argue that racism can still be expressed in subtle ways that serve to defend the position of privileged groups. These attitudes continue to underlie quite rigid patterns of discrimination.
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