Exploring Race 1 and Ethnicity Chapter Outline Ranking Groups Types of Groups ■ Listen to our Voices Problem of the Color Line Does Race Matter? Biracial and Multiracial Identity: Who Am I? ■ research Focus Multiracial Identity Sociology and the Study of Race and Ethnicity The Creation of Subordinate-Group Status The Consequences of Subordinate-Group Status Resistance and Change Matrix of Domination: Minority Women Conclusion Summary Key Terms/Review Questions/Critical Thinking 1 M01_SCHA6338_07_SE_C01.indd 1 1/24/12 5:08 PM 2 CHAPTER 1 / ExPloRing Race and ETHniCiTy H I g H l I g hts inority groups are subordinated in terms of power and Mprivilege to the majority, or dominant group. A minority is defined not by being outnumbered but by five characteristics: une- qual treatment, distinguishing physical or cultural traits, involuntary membership, awareness of subordination, and in-group marriage. Subordinate groups are classified in terms of race, ethnicity, religion, and gender. The social importance of race is derived from a process of racial formation; any biological significance is relatively unimpor- tant to society. The theoretical perspectives of functionalism, conflict theory, and labeling offer insights into the sociology of intergroup relations. Immigration, annexation, and colonialism are processes that may create subordinate groups. Other processes such as extermination and expulsion may remove the presence of a subordinate group. Signifi- cant for racial and ethnic oppression in the United States today is the distinction between assimilation and pluralism. Assimilation demands subordinate-group conformity to the dominant group, and pluralism implies mutual respect among diverse groups. Minority women are more likely to be poor, which creates what sociologists have termed the matrix of domination. Although domi- nant groups seek to define the social landscape, groups who experience unequal treatment have in the past resisted power and sought signifi- cant social change and continue to do so today. The United States has a Black president but when his parents were married in 1961 in Hawaii, the marriage of a White person and Black African would have been illegal in 22 of the other states. Shoppers in supermarkets readily find seasonings of chili peppers, cumin, ginger, and roasted coriander, reflecting M01_SCHA6338_07_SE_C01.indd 2 1/24/12 5:08 PM CHAPTER 1 / ExPloRing Race and ETHniCiTy 3 the influx of immigrants and their food tastes being accepted by more and more Americans. yet recent research shows that if a person with a strong accent says, “Ants do sleep,” we are less likely to believe it than if said by someone with no accent. Race and ethnicity is exceedingly com- plex in the United States. A Methodist church in Brooklyn founded by European immigrants more than a century ago is now operated by latino parishioners whose numbers have dwin- dled to 30. To keep the church going they lease space to a growing Chinese Methodist church, which numbers over a thousand. Meanwhile, in nearby Queens, a Methodist church split Barack Obama’s historic campaign between Latin Americans and Caribbean immi- and his elevation to becoming the grants has just made room for a separate Paki- 44th president of the United States stani Methodist congregation. in January 2009 marks a significant moment in U.S. history. The fact Also consider the racial and ethnic stere- that he is the first African American otypes that are shamelessly exhibited on Hal- (and also the first non-White loween, when many young adults view the person) to serve as president dem- onstrates how much progress has festivities as a “safe” way to defy social norms. been achieved in race relations College students report seeing fellow White in this country. it also serves students dressed in baggy jeans wearing gold to underscore both how long it has taken and how much more chains and drinking malt liquor to represent needs to be accomplished for the “gangstas.” Some add blackface makeup to United States to truly be “a more complete the appearance. Such escapades are perfect union” as stated in the Constitution. not limited to misguided youth. National retail- ers stock a “Kung Fool” ensemble complete with Japanese kimono and a buck-toothed slant-eyed mask. Also available is “Vato loco,” a stereotyped caricature of a bandana-clad, tattooed Latino gang thug. Racial and ethnic tensions are not limited to the real world; they are also alive and well in the virtual world. Hate groups, anti-Jewish organizations, and even the Ku Klux Klan thrive on Web sites. Such fringe groups, enjoying their First Amendment rights in the United States, spread their messages in many languages globally via the Internet, whereas the creation of such hate sites is banned in Canada, Europe, and elsewhere. Facebook has emerged as a significant way in which people interact, but it also is a means to learn about others by their online profile. Already by 2007, colleges and universities cited Facebook as the major source of prospective students (or their parents) requesting roommate changes even before arriv- ing on campus, because of the intended roommate’s race, religion, or sexual orientation (Collura 2007; dolnick 2010; lev-Ari and Keysar 2010; Mueller, dirks, and Picca 2007; Working 2007). M01_SCHA6338_07_SE_C01.indd 3 1/24/12 5:08 PM 4 CHAPTER 1 / ExPloRing Race and ETHniCiTy The United States is a very diverse nation and is becoming even more so, as shown in Table 1.1. In 2010, approximately 24 percent of the population was members of racial minorities, and another 16 percent or so were Hispanic. Table 1.1 Racial and Ethnic Groups in the United States Number in Percentage of Classification Thousands Total Population Racial Groups Whites (non-Hispanic) 194,553 63.0 Blacks/African Americans 34,658 11.2 native Americans, Alaskan Natives 2,476 0.8 Asian Americans 14,229 4.6 Chinese 3,106 1.0 Asian Indians 2,602 0.8 Filipinos 2,476 0.8 Vietnamese 1,482 0.5 Koreans 1,336 0.4 Japanese 767 0.2 Pacific Islanders, Native Hawaiians, and other Asian Americans 2,460 0.8 Ethnic Groups White ancestry (single or mixed, non-Hispanic) germans 50,708 16.5 irish 36,915 12.0 English 27,658 9.0 italians 18,085 5.9 Poles 10,091 3.3 Scottish and Scotch-irish 9,417 3.1 French 9,412 3.1 Jews 6,452 2.1 Hispanics (or Latinos) 50,478 16.3 Mexican Americans 31,798 10.3 Puerto Ricans 4,624 1.5 Cubans 1,785 0.6 Salvadorans 1,648 0.5 dominicans 1,415 0.5 guatemalans 1,044 0.3 other Hispanics 8,164 2.6 TOTAL (ALL GROUPS) 308,746 Note: All data for 2009 except three racial groups listed at top, Hispanic total and subgroups, and total population figure, which are for 2010. Percentages do not total 100 percent, and subheads do not add up to totals in major categories because of overlap between groups (e.g., Polish American Jews or people of mixed ancestry such as Irish and Italian). Source: 2009 data from American Community Survey 2010:Tables B02006, B03001, C04006; 2010 data from Davidson and Pyle 2011:117; Ennis et al. 2011; Humes et al. 2011. M01_SCHA6338_07_SE_C01.indd 4 1/24/12 5:08 PM RAnKing gRoUPS 5 2010 2050 (projected) African Americans Asian 12.7% and other 5.7% Hispanic Hispanic White 30% 15.1% non-Hispanic White 46% non-Hispanic 65.7% African Americans 15% American Indian Asian 0.8% and other 9% Figure 1.1 Population of the United States by Race and Ethnicity, 2010 and 2050 (Projected) According to projections by the Census Bureau, the proportion of residents of the United States who are White and non-Hispanic will decrease significantly by the year 2050. By contrast, there will be a striking rise in the proportion of both Hispanic Americans and Asian Americans. Source: Bureau of the Census 2010b. These percentages represent four out of ten people in the United States, without counting White ethnic groups or foreign-born Whites. As shown in Figure 1.1, between 2010 and 2050, the Black, Hispanic, Asian, and Native American portion of the population in the United States is expected to increase from about 40 percent to 54 percent. Although the composition of the popula- tion is changing, problems of prejudice, discrimination, and mistrust remain. Ranking Groups in every society not all groups are treated or viewed equally. Identifying a subordinate group or a minority in a society seems to be a simple task. In the United States, the groups readily identified as minorities—Blacks and Native Americans, for example—are outnumbered by non-Blacks and non–native Americans. However, minority status is not necessarily the result of being out- numbered. A social minority need not be a mathematical one. A minority group is a subordinate group whose members have significantly less control or power over their own lives than do the members of a dominant or majority group. In sociology, minority means the same as subordinate, and dominant is used interchangeably with majority. Confronted with evidence that a particular minority in the United States is subordinate to the majority, some people respond, “Why not? After all, this is a democracy, so the majority rules.” However, the subordination of a minority M01_SCHA6338_07_SE_C01.indd 5 1/24/12 5:08 PM 6 CHAPTER 1 / ExPloRing Race and ETHniCiTy involves more than its inability to rule over society. A member of a subordinate or minority group experiences a narrowing of life’s opportunities—for success, edu- cation, wealth, the pursuit of happiness—that goes beyond any personal short- coming he or she may have. A minority group does not share in proportion to its numbers what a given society, such as the United States, defines as valuable.