Race

1

• Race
• Categories of people set apart from others
  because of socially defined physical
  characteristics
• Skin color
• Hair color
• Hair texture
• Facial features
• Eye color and shape
• Height
• Ethnicity
• Categories of people set apart from others
  because of cultural, religious, or national
  characteristics
• Language
• Different Beliefs
• Where did we come from?
• How will we get there?
• Where are we going?

• Prejudice
• Widely held negative attitudes toward a group
  (minority or majority) and its individual members
• Strong emotions difficult to change
• Racism
• An extreme form of prejudice that assumes
  superiority of one group over others
• Assumes own race/ethnicity is superior
• Beliefs are Justified because of natural
  superiority

2

• Minority Groups
• A group of people with physical or cultural
  traits different from those of the dominant group
  in the society
• Physical characteristics
• Skin color
• Facial features
• Language/Accents
• Religion
• Dominated by the majority
• Unequal share of goods, services, and privileges
• Presumed to be inferior
• Scapegoat
• A weak, convenient, and socially approved target
  often a minority
• Present when people cannot pinpoint the source of
  their problems
• Direct anger towards target
• Targeted individual/group shoulder the blame and
  pay terrible penalties for causing societys
  ills

• Discrimination
• Treating people differently based on ethnicity,
  race, religion, or culture
• Involves ACTING upon prejudiced/racists thoughts
• Avoiding social contact with members of minority
  groups
• Denying positions of authority
• Blocking access to more exclusive neighborhoods
• EXTREMES
• Hate Crimes
• Attacks or killing minority members

3

• Segregation
• Physical or social exclusion of minority groups
  from dominant group activities
• De jure Segregation by law
• Jim Crow Laws
• Separate waiting rooms for Blacks and Whites
• De facto Segregation by custom
• Sitting at different lunch tables, separated by
  race

• Cultural Pluralism
• Racial and ethnic groups cooperate while still
  retaining their distinctive identities and
  lifestyles
• Reflects desires of minority groups to cooperate
  with others, yet preserve their distinctive
  cultural heritages
• Tossed Salad
• Assimilation
• A process by which minority groups lose their
  distinctive identities and conform to cultural
  patterns of the dominant group
• Encouraged or required to adopt dominant culture
• Melting Pot