Race is Socially Constructed

1. Race is Socially Constructed

2. US Racial Groups in 2000 • White, not Hispanic 69% • African American / Black 12-13% • Asian 3-4% • American Indian 1 – 1.5% • “Other” (most are Hispanic) 5-6% • Hispanic/Latino (of all races) 12-13% • Nearly half “white Hispanic” • Nearly half “other” • Rest black, American Indian, Asian

3. Racial composition of the US: 2000

4. Racial Composition of the US • White, not Hispanic 69% • African American / Black 12-13% • Asian 3-4% • American Indian 1-1.5% • “Other” (most are Hispanic) 5-6% • Hispanic/Latino (of all races) 12-13% • Nearly half “white Hispanic” • Nearly half “other” • Rest black, American Indian, Asian

5. Race is Constructed • Racial categories & boundaries are not natural but created. • Constructions of race and politicized nature of language go together. • There is always political contestation over who is in a group, who is out, how many groups there are, what their boundaries are, what their names are • Group names & definitions & boundaries in the US today are fluid, shifting

6. Race Seems “Natural” But Isn’t • Race as used in US is not a biological concept. Social, not physical. • We all have a single common origin in Africa. Reality of migration, intermarriage throughout human history: constant mixing • People from different parts of the world do differ in appearance, but with ill-defined boundaries and relatively minor differences between them • What is NOT biological or natural is the division of people into three or four non-overlapping groups

7. “Race” as a social construct • Race as the concept we use today created in the wake of European colonial conquests as justification for domination • Old contrast was Christian vs. infidel. Debate was whether baptized “Indians” had the rights of personhood. • Race won as a biological justification for hierarchy: some people are “naturally” superior to others, should rule • Key ideas of “race” are that racial groups do not overlap AND that some “races” are superior to others • Cultural differences are “naturalized” as due to biology • Reality of mixed race. Different boundaries in different places, for different groups

8. Racial boundaries are socially defined • In the US, there is a strong boundary around “Black” and “White” versus others in the US • “Black” = any known Black ancestor • Many “Black” people have lighter skin than many “White” people • Many people are obviously of mixed descent, but correct classification as “Black” or “White” is socially important, people want to know what you “really” are • Generally considered an injury to falsely classify a “White” person as “Black” • “Passing” = a light-skinned “Black” person “pretends” to be ‘White” • “Mixes” between other groups are more recognized

9. Race is Social But it is Still “Real” • Things that are believed to be real are real in their consequences • In some societies, religion or language or culture is the barrier. The barriers are still real. • What “race” you are in the US has enormous social, economic, and political consequences that will affect you whether you “believe” in race or not.

10. Naming Is Not Trivial But There Is No Way to “Get It Right” • Racial groupings in US originate in European conquest, enslavement of others. Naming others is tied to an ideology justifying domination. • Other groups became race conscious in response. • Subordinate groups reject dominant names and re-name themselves as part of political contestation over hierarchy. • There are always disputes within a group about how to name themselves which are tied to politics.

11. African American / Black – part 1 • Black, Negro, African American, Afro-American. • (New immigrants have ethnic identities: African, Nigerian, Jamaican, Puerto Rican, Haitian etc. ) • Reality of mixed ancestry & ethnic differences and of white racism lumping people together • Politicized cycles & ongoing themes in naming. • Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Negro: • changing meanings & the late 1960s shift from Negro to Black • African American (and Afro-American 1970s): ties to Africa, minimizing race

12. African American / Black – part 2 • “Nigger” always an insult, linked to oppression and humiliation. Many would be offended at even seeing it written on this slide. • “Colored” was the term used by genteel racists under segregation; is not an insult term but will usually be heard as offensive. Sometimes used by older Black people • “Black” is a term of pride for many people and is rarely offensive even to those who do not use it • African American is increasingly preferred, especially among the college-educated, but increasing immigration from Africa may reduce its appeal

13. American Indian • Indian is the European name, but a self-name in much casual use. (People from India object.) • Tribal/national Identities: Lakota, Navajo, Cherokee, Chickasaw. (Variation in balance between tribal identity and US/American identity) • Much mixing, intermarriage • Native American: politics & confusion. Shift to “American Indian” as preferred. • Also: indigenous, first nations (Canadian & some US), “real Americans” or “first Americans”

14. Asian: part 1 • Asian & Pacific Islander created as a political category in US political context: includes South Asians & Polynesians • Asian vs. Asian American • Asians are people from Asia • Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent • Most in category do not use it, have ethnic identity instead: Chinese, Chinese-American, Korean, Korean-American, Hmong etc.

15. Asian – part 2 • “Asian American” is a self-identity of 3rd + generation persons with no real ties to Asia (like Europeans) • US racialized experiences turn ethnic identities into racial identities. Vincent Chin case. • “Oriental” not meant as an insult, but often be taken as such by young activists. • “Jap” “Chink” “Gook” etc. are all insults.

16. Hispanic/ Latino-Latina - part 1 • Two different names for the same basic group • Refers roughly to those descended from Spanish-speaking people of the Americas • The different names cut differently in their emphais • Hispanic emphasizes Spanish language, Spanish surname: people from Spain are Hispanic, people from Brazil are not • Latino emphasizes origins in the Americas • Many people prefer an ethnic identity: Mexican, Puerto Rican, Dominican, Guatemalan, Colombian, etc. • Non-Mexicans resent being called Mexican

17. Hispanic/ Latino - 2 • People in the category differ (often strongly) on whether they prefer Hispanic or Latino/a, and the distinctions made between the terms vary across regions and between groups • Mexicans identify as Mexican. Mestizo (mixed Indian/white), racialized: “La Raza.” • Mexican = a person from Mexico • Mexican American = an American of Mexican descent • Chicano = an alternate positive identity for Mexican Americans, originally radical & political; now emphasizing not an immigrant [but considered an insult by Mexicans or non-Mexican Latinos] • Insults: Spic, greaser, beaner etc.

18. “Minority” or “Person of Color” • Lumps together everyone who is “not White” • Often used by Whites to refer to “others” • Used by “minorities” or “people of color” as the term for coalition and common political action • a “secondary” identity • Political signification isn’t the same as dictionary definition • “Colored Person” was the term of genteel racism • “Person of color” is a political term seeking to link everyone with a common enemy, links US minorities to 3rd world “southern hemisphere” struggles • “Minority”is sometimes resented as a label, while others use it comfortably in contrast to “majority group”

19. White –1- • White as opposed to Black or colored (or Indian) • Jews, southern Europeans, Irish seen as different “races” ~ 1900 by scientific racists • Lawsuits over who was “white” 1900-1940 (Japanese, Arabs, Indians) because naturalized citizenship was restricted to “white persons” • Those who remember immigrant generation may have ethnic identity: German, Italian, etc.

20. White –2- • “Caucasian” originates in scientific racism (Caucasoid, Negroid, Mongoloid) but today used widely • European American: reaction to African American, de-centers white sense of entitlement • American vs. North American vs. United Statesian in response to Latin American claims to name “American” • “American” or “Just plain American” implies assumption that “plain” Americans are White. This assumption is an implicit political claim.