Race and Ethnicity

Definition of Race, Ethnicity and Minority Groups

According to the Cambridge Dictionary of Sociology, the terms 'race' and 'ethnicity' "are political constructs that have been used to classify humans into ethnic groups based on socially significant and identifiable characteristics" (Hunt, 2006, p.496)¹.

At face value, the terms 'race' and 'ethnicity' may seem the same - maybe even interchangeable, in every day or academic contexts. However, a closer look at each of these terms and their attached meanings reveals another story.

What is Race?

We know something is a social construct when it changes between different places and eras. Race is one of those concepts - it now has less to do with our ancestral heritage and more to do with superficial, physical traits.

Social science scholars and organizations have taken a strong stance against biological understandings of race, as related to characteristics like geography, ethnic groups or skin color. We now understand race to be a social construction or a pseudoscience, designed to justify racist and unequal practices.

What is Ethnicity?

The terms 'ethnicity' or 'ethnic group' are used to define social differences that appear to be related to race (but as we now know, they are not).

Fig. 1 - We now understand race to be a social construction, designed to justify racist and unequal practices.

What are Minority Groups?

According to Louis Wirth (1945), a minority group is "any group of people who, because of their physical or cultural characteristics, are singled out from the others in the society in which they live... and who therefore regard themselves as objects of collective discrimination"².

In sociology, minority groups (sometimes called subordinate groups) are understood to lack power, as opposed to the dominant group. Positions of minority and domination are hardly numerical - for example, in South African Apartheid, Black people formed most of the population but also faced the most discrimination.

Dollard (1939) identified the scapegoat theory, which describes how dominant groups focus their aggression and frustration on subordinate groups. A prominent example of this is the genocide of the Jewish people during the Holocaust - whom Hitler blamed for Germany's socioeconomic downfall.

Difference Between Race and Ethnicity in Sociology

Now we know the difference between 'race' and 'ethnicity' concepts - the former is a social construct based on unfounded biological ideas, and the latter comprises a shared culture with reference to aspects like language, food, dress and religion.

It's also important to explore how these concepts can be used as a source of social, cultural, economic and political differences.

Studying Prejudice, Racism and Discrimination in Sociology

Prejudice refers to the beliefs or attitudes that someone holds about a particular group. It is often based on preconceived notions or stereotypes, which are oversimplified generalizations that are made about certain group characteristics.

While prejudice can be related to characteristics such as ethnicity, age, sexual orientation or gender, racism is prejudice specifically against certain ethnic or racial groups.

Racism is often used to justify unequal, discriminatory practices, whether this is in everyday life or at the structural level. The latter is often referred to as institutional racism, demonstrated by occurrences such as high incarceration rates for Black Americans.

For example, women are often less likely to be hired and paid equally to their male co-workers in the workplace.

Multiple Identities in Sociology

Since the twentieth century, there has been a proliferation (growth) of mixed-race identities. This is in partly due to the removal of laws preventing interracial marriages, as well as a general shift towards higher levels of acceptance and equality.

The significance of multiple identities is also shown in the fact that, since the 2010 U.S. census, people have been able to identify themselves with multiple racial identities.

Race and Ethnicity in the United States: Intergroup Relationships

An important topic in the studies of race and ethnicity involves the close examination of the existence and dynamics of intergroup relationships.

Intergroup Relationships

Intergroup relationships are relationships between different groups of people. Let's take a look at some examples of intergroup relationships in terms of race and ethnicity. These range from quite mild and amicable to extreme and hostile, as is depicted by the following order:

1. Amalgamation is the process through which the majority and minority groups combine to form a new group, taking and sharing characteristics from their own cultures to establish a new one.
2. Assimilation is the process through which a minority group rejects their original identity and takes on the dominant culture instead.
3. The premise of pluralism is that each culture can retain its individuality whilst adding to the richness of the overall culture, in harmony.
4. Segregation is the separation of groups in a variety of contexts, such as residence, workplace and social functions.
5. Expulsion is the forced removal of a subordinate group from a particular country or region.
6. According to Merriam-Webster (n.d.), genocide is "the deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial, political, or cultural group"³.

Race and Ethnicity: Examples of Ethnic Groups in the US

The early years of colonized America were characterized by the disenfranchisement of many ethnic minority immigrants, such as Latin Americans, Asians and Africans. Although today's American society is a melting pot of cultures and ethnicities, the degree to which this is accepted and embraced differs greatly between states, political parties and individuals.

Ethnicities in the United States

Let's take a look at some examples of race and ethnicity in the United States.

Native Americans in the US

Native Americans are the only non-immigrant ethnic group in the United States, having arrived in the US long before any European immigrants. Today, Native Americans still suffer the effects of degradation and genocide, such as higher rates of poverty and fewer life chances.

African Americans in the US

African Americans comprise the minority group whose ancestors were forcefully brought to Jamestown in the 1600s to be sold as indentured servants. Slavery became a long-time issue that divided the nation ideologically and geographically.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 eventually led to the abolishment of slavery, alongside the ban on discrimination based on sex, religion, race and national origin.

Asian Americans in the US

Asian Americans constitute 6.1% of the US population, with a variety of cultures, backgrounds and identities (United States Census Bureau, 2021)⁴. The emigration of Asians to U.S. society has occurred through different waves, such as the Japanese immigration of the late 1800s and the Korean and Vietnamese emigration in the late 20th century.

Today, Asian Americans are burdened but various forms of racial injustice. One of them is the model minority stereotype, which is applied to groups with high achievements in their education, career and socioeconomic lives.

Hispanic Americans in the US

Yet again, Hispanic Americans constitute a variety of nationalities and backgrounds. Mexican Americans form the oldest and largest group of Hispanic Americans in the United States. Other waves of Hispanic and Latino immigration include groups from Cuba, Puerto Rico, South American and other Spanish cultures.

Arab Americans in the US

Arab Americans represent a huge variety of cultural and religious practices, based in and around the Middle East and northern Africa. The first Arab immigrants arrived in the U.S. in the late nineteenth century and, today, Arab emigration from countries such as Syria and Lebanon is in the pursuit of better sociopolitical conditions and opportunities.

News surrounding extremist actions often come to represent the entire group of Arab immigrants in the eyes of White Americans. An anti-Arab sentiment, made strong by the events of September 11th, 2001, remains today.

White Ethnic Americans in the US

According to the United States Census Bureau (2021)⁴, White Americans comprise around 78% of the entire population. German, Irish, Italian and Eastern European immigrants arrived in the U.S. from the early 19th century.

While most came searching for better sociopolitical opportunities, different groups had varied experiences of this. Most have now become well-assimilated into the dominant American culture.

Sociology of Race and Ethnicities

Fig. 2 - Functionalism, conflict theory and symbolic interactionism all take vastly different approaches to understand race and ethnicity.

Various sociological perspectives take different views on race and ethnicities. We're only looking at summaries here, as you'll find articles dedicated to each of the following perspectives.

Functionalist View on Race and Ethnicity

In functionalism, racial and ethnic inequality are viewed as an important contributor to the overall functioning of society. This might be reasonable to argue, for instance, when thinking in terms of the dominant group. Privileged groups benefit from racially unequal societies by justifying racist practices in the same way.

Functionalists might also say that ethnic inequality creates strong in-group bonds. In being excluded from the dominant group, ethnic minority groups often establish strong networks among themselves.

Conflict View on Race and Ethnicity

Conflict theorists (such as Marxists and feminists) see society as functioning based on inequalities between groups, such as gender, social class, ethnicity and education.

Patricia Hill Collins (1990) developed intersection theory. She suggested that we can't separate the effects of gender, class, sexual orientation, ethnicity and other traits. For example, to understand the multiple layers of prejudice, we might examine the differences between the lived experiences of an upper class, White woman and a poor, Asian woman.

Symbolic Interactionism on Race and Ethnicity

According to symbolic interactionist theorists, race and ethnicity are prominent symbols of our identity.

Herbert Blumer (1958) suggested that interactions between members of the dominant group create an abstract image of ethnic minorities in the view of the dominant group itself, which is then held up through continuous interactions, such as through media representations.

Another key consideration of the interactionist theory of race and ethnicity is how people define their own and other people's ethnicities.