AN INTRODUCTION TO RACE AND ETHNICITY

Dr. Alberto Pimentel Jr Origins of the Concept of Race

• According to social scientists, the concept of race has existed throughout human history.

• The classifcation of people as “different” can be traced back to ancient civilizations.

• Upon encountering people from another civilization, differences in appearance and behavior gave birth to a classifcation system.

• This classifcation system was largely based on physical characteristics but may have also included differences in social and cultural characteristics. Origins of the Concept of Race: Categorizing The Five Groups of Human Beings

• Carolus Linnaeus identifed human beings as “Homo sapiens” and within this classifcation, created “fve groups of man” in Systema Naturae (1758).

• The fve groups were initially based on geographical location and eventually, transformed into a classifcation based on the physical characteristic of skin color.

• The fve groups were:

• Americanus: (North and South America)- Red Skin; Choleric (quick-tempered); Straightforward; Eager; and combative.

• Africanus: (Africa)- Black Skin; Phlegmatic (sluggish); Slow; Relaxed; and Negligent.

• Asiaticus: (Asia)- Yellow Skin; Melancholic; Infexible; Severe; and Avaricious.

• Europeanus: (Europe)- White Skin and Muscular Body; Sanguine (warm); Swift; Clever; and Inventive.

• Monstrosus: (Located throughout the world)- Exaggerated physical characteristics such as giants, dwarfs, and men with a single testicle. Origins of the Concept of Race: Categorizing The Five Groups of Human Beings

• Carolus Linnaeus was European.

• His prejudice toward non-Europeans was evident in his description of each group.

• Europeans were described in positive terms.

• Non-Europeans were described as having signifcant defects. Origins of the Concept of Race: First Use of the Term “Race”

• Excluding the “Monstrosus” group, Johann Friedrich Blumenbach expanded the number of basic races to fve by analyzing the journals of explorers who traveled through the South Seas.

• Blumenbach was the frst person to use the term “race”.

• In 1775, Blumenbach initiated the approach of viewing race through the lens of phenotype.

• Phenotype: describes the observable characteristics of an organism and was used to categorize people by race.

• The fve race groups identifed by Blumenbach were based on region (geographical location) and skin color. Origins of the Concept of Race: First Use of the Term “Race”

• Caucasian Race (White Race): Originated in the Caucasus region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, which was the area thought by Christians to be the place where human beings frst emerged.

• Mongolian Race (Yellow Race): Located in Asia.

• Malayan Race (Brown Race): Located in Southeast Asia and South Sea Islands.

• Negroid (Black Race): Located in Africa.

• American (Red Race): Located in North and South America. Johann Friedrich Blumenbach Origins of the Concept of Race: First Use of the Term “Race”

• The race categories/groups created by Linnaeus and Blumenbach served as the foundation for developing a hierarchical classifcation of the human species (based on region, skin color, and temperament).

• At the top of this hierarchical classifcation were white Europeans.

• The classifcation structure and system favoring white Europeans attached value and meaning to the groups of people within the different categories.

• The racial meanings were exploited by white Europeans and shaped their interactions with black, brown, and red peoples. The Origin and Evolution of Race

Virginia passes a law denying rights to any “Negro, Linnaeus publishes Blumenbach uses phenotype to The Declaration of Mulatto, or American “Systems Naturae”, which defne four races based on color Independence declares that Indian”, which later includes fve groups of and location. “all men are created equal”. necessitated blood quantum man. rules to defne each race.

1705 1758 1775 1776

U.S Census used three racial categories: free whites, other free persons, and slaves.

1790 The Origin and Evolution of Race

The U.S Government Jim Crow laws rooted in The U.S passes the Emancipation Proclamation approves the Indian Morton uses craniometry beliefs about white Chinese Exclusion (13th Amendment) frees slaves in supremacy and black Removal At to force to suggest the superiority the U.S. The Black Codes are Act to restrict inferiority support enacted soon after, which restrict Native Americans from of white intelligence over separate but equal Chinese their land and to live in that of other races. black movement, employment, immigration to the political involvement, and segregation in public designated areas. freedom. spaces. U.S 1830 1843 1863 1876 1882

Eugenics is popular until it becomes associated with Nazi Germany

Early 1900s The Origin and Evolution of Race

The U.S and Japan forge a “Gentlemen’s Agreement” in The Census mails out which Japan agrees to only give Full social segregation by Tuskegee experiment endorsed by questionnaires so people can self- passports to Japanese professionals neighborhood begins as blacks the U.S government begins. It identify their race and ethnicity for One drop rule is challenged in emigrating to the U.S, and the city migrate to Northern and allows black men to die of syphilis the frst time. In previous decades, Louisiana and changed the next of San Francisco agrees to Midwestern cities. without treatment and lasts for 40 Census takers determined a year. desegregate white students from years. person’s racial and ethnic identity. Japanese students and Japanese descendants.

1907 1900-1940 1932 1960 1982

The U.S Census Bureau offers 15 racial choices, and people can identify with more than one race. 2010 The Role of Colonialism In Perpetuating The Construct of Race

• Racial meaning was applied to slavery in the United States.

• Although slavery had been practiced around the world for thousands of years and was common in early Europe, Asia, and Africa, in most cases, slaves were not determined by the color of their skin or their “race”

• They were generally captives from a war or neighbors who were subjugated. The Role of Colonialism In Perpetuating The Construct of Race

• The age of European colonialism (infused with ideas about racial superiority) contributed to the creation of a racialized system.

• In their travels throughout North and South America, Africa, and the Pacifc Islands, European explorers frequently engaged in genocidal warfare (they brought diseases which indigenous people had no immunity and engaged in extermination practices to gain natural resources, empires, and land).

• The indigenous people who survived the genocidal war were enslaved to the colonial powers of Spain, Portugal, England, France, and Holland.

• Europeans considered indigenous cultures inferior because they were non- Christian. The Role of Colonialism In Perpetuating The Construct of Race

• As black, brown, and red people learned English and converted to Christianity, the system of privilege created by whites sought to promote the narrative that black, brown, and red people were less than human.

• European Enlightenment thinkers and scientists sought to justify the system of exploitation and privilege by arguing Europeans were naturally superior (than those they conquered and enslaved) and due to the “natural” order of things.

• The belief in the natural superiority of whites serves as the foundation of a racialized system of privilege and power through which American society is crafted.

• Those who identify as white have often been granted access to privilege and resources that have historically been denied to non-whites. The Role of Colonialism In Perpetuating The Construct of Race

• The hierarchical ranking of perceived races is the basis for racism.

• Racism can be defned both ideologically and systematically.

• Ideological Racism: is the belief that groups of people are superior or inferior to other groups because of genetic, biological, or cultural differences.

• Racism can also be defned on a systemic level as a way to organize society.

• Although most people readily accept the fact that there are different groups of people with different physical characteristics, attributing intelligence and a hierarchical ranking to those differences has led to some of the greatest injustices in the world’s history.

• Most notably, the enslavement of Africans for centuries in North American history and the American Holocaust in which indigenous people were exterminated for European expansion.

• Systematic Racism: is a way to organize society based on inequality between races.

• This is perpetuated by structures, such as the justice and educational systems that favor one race over another through advantages, privileges, and head starts.

• Racialization: the process of extending racial meanings to a relationship, social practice, or group that had not been previously associated with race (occurred throughout the 19th and 20th centuries in the United States). The Difference Between Race and Ethnicity

• Race is based on Biological characteristics…

• Based on physical characteristics…

• Skin color, eye color, hair, size and shapes of body parts.

• Ethnicity is based on Cultural characteristics…

• Based on common ancestry, cultural heritage, and a common nation of origin. The Difference Between Race and Ethnicity

Race Ethnicity Defnition imposed by others Defnition determined by Symbolic Ethnicity: and cannot be changed by an members of the group and Is superfcially identifying with an individual. voluntarily accepted by them. ethnic group without suffering any negative effects. Based on social and cultural similarities; members may share physical characteristics, Based on physical differences. language, nation of origin, religion, customs, and ancestry. Hierarchical — one race is No ethnic ranking. superior to another.

Possible to belong to only a Possible to belong to several single race. ethnic groups.

Hierarchy establishes unequal Ethnicity is not generally used as a basis economic, social, and political power. for economic, social, and political power.

Source of collective or symbolic Source of collective identity. identity. Historical Underpinnings of Race: Scientifc Racism

• In the early 1800’s, Samuel Morton (a Philadelphia doctor), collected 800 skulls from around the world.

• He studied the skulls by pouring pellets into the empty cranium and calculating the size of the brain.

• Based on his studies, Morton claimed that he could identify a person’s race using these measurements. Historical Underpinnings of Race: Scientifc Racism

• According to Morton’s studies, he was able to rank the intelligence of races based on the size of the brain (from his measurements).

• Morton created the following rankings:

• Europeans (at the top of the list were the English)

• Chinese

• Southeast Asians

• American Indians

• Africans

• Morton published his “fndings” in the 1840s and these fndings were used to advocate for the admission of Texas as a slave state (to the Union) because Africans (according to Morton’s research), were of the lowest intelligence therefore, slavery was justifed. Historical Underpinnings of Race: Scientifc Racism

• Morton attempted to use phenotype to predict intelligence through the use of craniometry.

• Craniometry: the technique of measuring skulls as a way to classify people according to race, sex, or body type.

• Throughout the late 1800s and early 1900s, a variety of “scientifc” exhibitions displayed Africans and other indigenous people as the lowest on the evolutionary ladder and helped establish the concept of racial superiority into scientifc fact. Historical Underpinnings of Race: Eugenics

• Scientifc racism reached its peak before World War II when eugenics became popular in the United States and some European countries.

• Eugenics: the practice of selective breeding to improve the racial quality of future generations.

• Based on the hierarchical view of race, scientists suggested that governments could adopt measures to improve the racial qualities of future generations through selective breeding.

• Many U.S states had laws that prevented marriage between races and some states banned marriages by anyone seen as mentally unft.

• Classifying ftness was subjective…people who were considered epileptic, imbecilic, feebleminded, or poor were not allowed to marry.

Legitimizing The Construct of Race Through Laws

• In 1705, Virginia passed a law that denied any rights to a person determined to be “Negro, Mulatto, or American Indian”.

• In 1896, the Supreme Court’s ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson legalized segregation by race by upholding the constitutionality of racial segregation under the “separate but equal” doctrine.

• https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/plessy-v-ferguson

• In 1924, Virginia passed the Racial Integrity Act which established the “one drop rule”.

• The “one drop rule” defned a person as black if he or she had any African ancestry — even one drop of blood from an African ancestor.

• The “one drop rule” defned anyone of mixed ancestry as “colored” and forced them to undergo the same restrictive Jim Crow laws.

• Until 1967, it was illegal for whites to marry non-whites…referred to as miscegenation.

• https://www.teenvogue.com/story/miscegenation-laws-in-the-united-states-explained

• Hypodescent: a child of mixed heritage is automatically given the status of the parent with the lower racial status. Legitimizing The Construct of Race Through Laws

• Dominant group: those people in a society who control social, economic, and political power.

• Throughout American history, the dominant group has created laws for identifying a person’s race in order to keep those in the subordinate group on a lower position.

• Subordinate group: are people in a society who have little control of social, economic, and political power.

• The dominant group’s policies denied subordinate groups the rights that would allow them to compete for economic, social, and political power.

• To illustrate the dominant group’s desire to maintain power, laws governing blood quantum were enacted.

• Blood Quantum: is a government measurement of the percentage of a person’s heritage according to racial composition, using terms such as full blood, half-blood, and more outdated terms like mulatto, quadroon (1/4 black), and octoroon (1/8 black ancestry).

• Blood quantum is fueled by the assumption that “pure” races exist.

• Modern DNA research suggests that 30% of people identifed as white in the United States have one or more African ancestors and 58% of African Americans have the equivalent of at least one great-grandparent of white European descent. Legitimizing Race and Racism Through Segregation

• The myth of racial hierarchy is perpetuated through the segregation of people into separate living areas.

• For example, the term “ghetto”.

• Ghetto: is a neighborhood that is populated by members of one racial group and where most of the particular group’s members live, no matter the economic standing of the family or social problems of the neighborhood.

• Throughout the 1800s to World War II, the myths of race became even more solidly grounded in American society and the dominant political and social structure created urban black ghettos that enforced the segregation of blacks and whites in all parts of everyday life by denying employment and educational opportunities to non-white people.

• “The urban ghetto represents the key institutional arrangement ensuring the continued subordination of blacks in the U.S” (Massey, 1993). Legitimizing Race and Racism Through Segregation: Structural Racism

• The racial hierarchy determines many of the opportunities for the well-being of individuals and groups in the United States…the institution of health care illustrates the consequences of the racial hierarchy based on structural racism.

• Structural Racism: refers to a system in which policies, practices, and cultural norms act together in ways that perpetuate racial group inequity.

• In 1921, the Indian Health Service was created to provide medical care to Native Americans on reservations.

• Many Native American women turned to the Indian Health Service to support their reproductive health and between 1970-1980, over 70,000 sterilizations were performed at IHS facilities without the consent or knowledge of Native American women. Legitimizing Race and Racism Through Segregation: Structural Racism

• From 1932-1972, the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment occurred.

• The U.S Public Health Service enticed 399 poor black men, many of whom were illiterate, to participate in the experiment offering them free medical care.

• The men were unaware that they had syphilis and were told they were being treated for “bad blood”.

• Instead of providing effective treatment for syphilis, the government hospital agents prevented the men from receiving treatment, even after penicillin was discovered as an effective treatment in 1947.

• The experiment tested how long it took syphilis to kill a black man without treatment.

• The racist belief was that black people were less evolved and, therefore, they were not affected as seriously by disease as their white counterparts.

• At the conclusion of the 40 year experiment, 28 men died from syphilis, 100 more from related complications, and 19 children were born with congenital syphilis. Race and the United States Census

• When the frst census was taken in 1790, it counted people as either “free white persons”, “other free persons”, or “slaves”.

• To determine a state’s representation in the House of Representatives, the following was determined: “adding to the whole number of free persons…and excluding Indians…three ffths of all other persons”.

• Slaves were considered “other persons”, therefore, counted as three ffths of a person.

• Slavery required a racial hierarchy and the Constitution of the United States made it clear that African slaves and indigenous people were at the bottom of that hierarchy. Race and the United States Census

• Racial Formation: is the constant process of defning race according to social, economic, and political forces that refect the issues and conficts of the time.

• The U.S Census shows how racial thinking and racial categories babe undergone constant changes (every 10 years).

• The frst Census offered three options and nowadays, 15 options are offered (with an option to write in a racial group that does not appear on the form).

• Until 1960, the Census taker (not the person being counted) determined a person’s race.

• In 1850, the three choices were white, black, and mulatto.

• In 1870, the categories were expanded to include Chinese and Indian, and Census takers were instructed to employ the “one drop rule” to anyone who appeared to be of mixed race.

• In 1890, a category for Japanese was added and it was the only year that the blood quantum defnitions of “quadroon” and “octoroon” were used.

• In 1910, white census takers were instructed to distinguish between “full blooded negroes” and mulattos who had some “proportion or perceptible trace of negro blood”. All sociologists agree that race is a concept that is socially constructed rather than a group of meaningful biological categories. Classical Sociological Theories: Functionalist Theory

• Functionalist theory centers on the view that society is made up of many intertwined parts that all serve a purpose so that society can function effectively.

• This approach suggests that racial divisions must serve some purpose that is benefcial for society.

• Example: Racial divisions serve to fll lower-level jobs that other more powerful groups refuse to perform.

• Example: Societies need to agree on basic values and create a shared identity…racial divisions are a refection of natural divisions among groups, but if the divisions and conficts aren’t too great, then they encourage the lower and less powerful groups to join the more powerful groups by accepting their values and culture.

• In other words, the promotion of assimilation.

• Assimilation: is the process that involves a group gradually blending into the dominant culture. Classical Sociological Theories: Symbolic Interactionist Theory

• Focuses on individuals rather than groups and how each person constructs and reacts to the social environment.

• Focuses on how individual interactions of symbols recreate race and the patterns of inequalities between groups.

• Example: Because some people believe in a racial hierarchy and may believe in differences in personality and character attributed to race, individuals may adopt actions that reinforce racial divisions.

• These actions have effects on a personal level, such as whom a person sees socially and relies on for help, to broader effects on who a person hires, rents to, or even who is suspected of a crime. Classical Sociological Theories: Confict Theory

• Believe society can be viewed as a constant struggle between groups to gain economic, social, and political power.

• Focuses on group confict and suggests that the dominant class takes consistent actions to maintain its control.

• Example: Explains the effects of colonialism and the establishment of slavery as a way for the dominant, white, European nations to take resources from conquered nations to make themselves richer and to maintain power.

• Example: Scientifc racism supported European expansion and domination as natural and justifed, so that white domination could continue.

• Example: In the United States, a wide variety of government actions, such as Jim Crow laws and blood quantum regulations, served to reinforce white power and control.