LG - Chapter 3

The belief that certain racial or ethnic groups are inferior and discriminatory practices against them are justified

Action

The thoughts of hating/not liking someone or something

Thoughts

o  Individual discrimination

        Actions against minority members by individuals

        Actions may range from avoiding contact with minority group members to physical or verbal attacks against minority group members

o  Institutional discrimination

      Practiced by the government, social institutions, and organizations

      May include segregation, exclusion, or expulsion

Says the difference between racial and ethnic groups are largely cultural

Solution is assimilation

A process where minority group members become part of the dominant group, losing their original identity

1. Cultural Assimilation – change of cultural patterns (ex. Learning English)

2. Structural assimilation – interaction with members of the dominant group

3. Martial assimilation – intermarriage

4. Identification assimilation – developing a sense of national identity

5. Attitude receptional assimilation – absence of prejudiced thoughts among dominant and minority group members

6. Behavioral receptional assimilation - no more discrimination

7. civic assimilation - absensce of conflict

Focuses on how the dynamics of racial and ethnic relations divide groups while maintaining a dominant group

Dominant group may be defined according to racial or ethnic categories, but can also be defined according to social class

Instead of relationships based on census (or assimilation), relationships are based on power, force, and coercion

Ethnocentrism and racism maintain the status quo by dividing individuals along racial and ethnic lines

Feminist theory intersects w. multiculturalism through the analysis of multiple systems of oppression including categories of race, class, sexual orientation, nation of origin, language, culture, and ethnicity

Race is a social construct

We learn about racial and ethnic categories through our social interaction

Racial categories and identities serve as intersections of social beliefs, perceptions, and activities that are reinforced by enduring systems of rewards and penalties

Home ownership grew among white middle-class families after WWII, when veterans had access to government and credit programs making home ownership more affordable

However, blacks and other minority groups have been denied similar access because of structural barriers such as discrimination, low income, and lack of credit access

In a voluntary, employment-based health care system, racial and ethnic minority group members are more likely to be uninsured or publicly insured

Minority patients are less likely to receive the level of care provided to nonminority patients for the same condition regardless of their insurance status