Race and Ethnic Inequality

1. Race and Ethnic Inequality

2. Introduction…. • Why are minority group members in most countries poorer than dominant group members? This can be answered in part by considering individual causes of prejudice and racism, physical and cultural differences that distinguish groups of people, and the fact that human beings have a tendency to create “we” and “they” categories and to treat those who are different as somehow less human.

3. Race and Ethnic Inequality…. • Identity indifference of many majority group members (composed of whites in this society) creates an atmosphere in which racist acts are tolerated. • Indifference also exacerbates the feelings of isolation experienced by blacks in a predominantly white society--which includes college campuses. • The meaning of the problem and the diminished quality of life it imposes on minorities may be summed up in terms of citizenship rights; economic opportunities; the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; and the right to dignity as a human being.

4. Sources of Prejudice and Discrimination—Emotional…. • The Scapegoat Theory of prejudice proposes that members of dominant group use discrimination against members of weak target groups to vent their frustration and disappointment. • The Realistic Group Conflict Theory proposes that when groups in society are perceived to be competing with one another for resources, intergroup hostility can be aroused, which leads to prejudice.

5. Sources of Prejudice and Discrimination—Emotional…. • Social Identity Theory proposes that prejudice can make people feel good about themselves because they see their own group as better than the derogated outgroup. • Integrated Threat Theory unifies several other theories by proposing that prejudice toward an outgroup results from four types of perceived threats: realistic threats, symbolic threats, threats stemming from intergroup anxiety, and threats arising from negative stereotypes.

6. Why We Hate (Monteith and Winters)…. • We may not admit, but we are plagued with xenophobic tendencies. Our hidden prejudices run so deep, we are quick to judge, fear and even hate the unkown. • Despite our better nature, it seems, fear of foreigners or other strange-seeming people comes out when we are under stress. That fear, known as xenophobia, seems almost hardwired into the human psyche.

7. Why We Hate (Monteith and Winters)…. • The Melting Pot…. • Social Identity: The drive to completely and quickly divide the world into “us” and “them” is so powerful that it must surely come from some deep-seated need. • Hidden Bias: Not many of us will admit to having strong racist or xenophobic biases. • Beyond Xenophobia: If categorization and bias come so easily, are people doomed to xenophobia and racism?

8. Reducing Prejudice…. • One idea for reducing prejudice is through direct contact with members of the disliked group…. • Another idea for reducing prejudice is the color-blind approach, which suggests that we should categorize other people as individual persons rather than as members of groups…. • A contrasting perspective is multiculturalism, which proposes that different cultural groups within a society should each maintain their own identity while simultaneously respecting all other groups….

9. Understanding Race Relations…. • Education, as well as exhortation and propaganda, are ineffective means of changing race relations. Cooperative, equal-status contacts improve race attitudes, while competitive, unequal-status contacts arouse hostilities. Social revolution is often followed by new persecutions rather than by new acceptances.

10. Conclusion…. • As we travel around our social world, the people we encounter gradually change appearance. As human beings, we are all part of “we,” there is a tendency to define those who look different as “they.” • Minority or dominant group status affects most aspects of people’s experience in the social world. • Migration, war and conquest, trade, and intermarriage have left virtually every geographical area of the world populated by groups of people with varying ethnicities.

11. Conclusion…. • Because minority status is determined by history and ideology, the minority group could be the dominant group in a different time or society. • Dominant groups are not always a numerical majority.