![]() ![]() Herrnstein and Charles Murray revived this view in their controversial book, The Bell Curve (Herrnstein & Murray, 1994), in which they argued that the low IQ scores of African Americans, and of poor people more generally, reflect their genetic inferiority in the area of intelligence. However, whites historically used this belief to justify slavery, lynchings, the harsh treatment of Native Americans in the 1800s, and lesser forms of discrimination. As discussed earlier, this racist view is no longer common today. One long-standing explanation is that blacks and other people of color are biologically inferior: they are naturally less intelligent and have other innate flaws that keep them from getting a good education and otherwise doing what needs to be done to achieve the American Dream. Why do racial and ethnic inequality exist? Why do African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, and some Asian Americans fare worse than whites? In answering these questions, many people have some very strong opinions. They thus have to work harder for their success than whites do (Hurh & Kim, 1999). ![]() Even the overall success rate of Asian Americans obscures the fact that their occupations and incomes are often lower than would be expected from their educational attainment. Moreover, stereotypes of Asian Americans and discrimination against them remain serious problems (Chou & Feagin, 2008 Fong, 2007). Although Asian Americans are often viewed as a “model minority,” meaning that they have achieved economic success despite not being white, some Asians have been less able than others to climb the economic ladder. Thus many Asian Americans do relatively well, while others fare relatively worse, as just noted. Compared to whites, Asian Americans have higher family incomes and are more likely to hold college degrees, but they also have a higher poverty rate. Similarly, among Asians, people with Chinese and Japanese backgrounds have fared better than those from Cambodia, Korea, and Vietnam.Īlthough Table 10.3 “Selected Indicators of Racial and Ethnic Inequality in the United States” shows that African Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans fare much worse than whites, it presents a more complex pattern for Asian Americans. Among Latinos, for example, Cuban Americans have fared better than Latinos overall, and Puerto Ricans worse. These comparisons obscure some differences within some of the groups just mentioned. In addition, African Americans and Native Americans have much higher infant mortality rates than whites: black infants, for example, are more than twice as likely as white infants to die. ![]() Compared to whites, for example, African Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans have much lower family incomes and much higher rates of poverty they are also much less likely to have college degrees. racial and ethnic groups differ dramatically in their life chances. We the people: American Indians and Alaska natives in the United States. Recent trends in infant mortality in the United States. Retrieved from MacDorman, M., & Mathews, T. Statistical abstract of the United States: 2010. Table 10.3 “Selected Indicators of Racial and Ethnic Inequality in the United States” presents data on some of these differences. ![]() We can begin to get a picture of this inequality by examining racial and ethnic differences in such life chances as income, education, and health. Statistics also give a picture of racial and ethnic inequality in the United States. One of the classics here is Elliot Liebow’s (1967) Tally’s Corner, a study of black men and their families in Washington, DC. Sociologists and urban ethnographers have written their own accounts of the daily lives of people of color, and these, too, are well worth reading. Probably the best way to begin to understand racial and ethnic inequality in the United States is to read first-hand accounts by such great writers of color as Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, Piri Thomas, Richard Wright, and Malcolm X, all of whom wrote moving, autobiographical accounts of the bigotry and discrimination they faced while growing up. Provide two examples of white privilege.Describe three explanations for why racial and ethnic inequality exist in the United States. ![]()
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