Social Construction of Race and Ethnicity
Institutionalized Discrimination in US

Istructors: Dr.Slocum and Dr.Ameli

Race and Ethnicity are among those concepts that bear very deep and complex meanings and also have very various dimensions that can be viewed and debated. Race is defined as “any groups into which humans can be divided according to their physical characteristics, e.g. color of skin, color and type of hair and also eyes” and ethnicity as “involving a nation, race or tribe that has common cultural tradition”. In most countries around the world different racial and ethnic groups are minority groups which compromise to their conditions in their society. Among the countries in the world that has a very great number of racial and ethnic groups living there is the United States. Historically United States is assumed as an immigrant society with the first arrival of Europeans to the New Land. There is a crucial debate recently on the condition of different racial and ethnic groups in US. Samuel Huntington is the most important figure stressing concerns over the spread of ethnic groups in US in 2004.

To talk about ethnicities and race in US, it is necessary to mention major ethnicities residing in US such as whites, Indian Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans or Hispanics. The predominant discourse on ethnicities in US is the idea of discrimination or better to say an institutionalized discrimination among ethnicities. Dominance of any group to others is an initiator for a kind of discrimination. Dominant groups in any society know themselves equipped with privileges that encourage them to rule and feel superior to others. Dominant groups enjoy privileges at the expense of “others”; these privileges are often overlooked at the expense that “others” are humiliated and mistreated. In US, Whiteness- being White- carries privileges that is a much greater extent to what white people realize themselves. It has also been historically proven when some slave holder would claim that slave were very well treated and well fed while working in their lands. As Peter Kolchin states that “Historian john W. Blassingame has suggested that far from regarding house servants and drivers as slave aristocrats, most slaves placed them near the bottom of the social hierarchy. Viewing those who served whites as members of the elite represented the perspective of the masters”.

The social construction of race and ethnicity occurs throughout the world. The way society sees and understands them is important even for the description and definition of their race and ethnicity. A dominant or majority group has power to define itself legally and define even society’s value by which they can evaluate others. Dominant group shapes a stereotype which is an unreliable generalization about all members of a group that do not mind the individual differences within the group. What is believed, done, practiced and seen by whites is the measure for evaluation.

Minority groups are divided mainly to “racial groups”- who are set apart from others because of obvious physical differences- and “ethnic groups”- who are set apart from others primarily because of its national origin or distinctive cultural pattern. Members of minority groups have significantly less control or power than members of the dominant or majority group; both social and political control. Whites constituting almost 75% of all US population are considered to be majority thus they are the measures for all deeds. What minority groups all share distinctive cultural characteristics, involuntary membership in societies and communities that are disliked, solidarity, unequal treatment and marriage inside their own group, although there are few exceptions that are benefiting their own rights although belonging to a minority group, like the Black or Muslims that are now politically active and influential in US. Biological significance of race should also be taken into consideration; many factors like migration, exploration and even invasions and wars led to intermingling of races so it can be said that there is not a “pure race”. Below are tables demonstrating US racial and ethnic groups in 2000:


The point that should not be ignored in this essay is that present American white ethnic ancestors once were entering America as a minority group and could be viewed as ethnic groups. Europeans had migrated to US in the last hundred years. Immigration is one of the important elements spreading the existence of ethnic and racial groups in US. US has always been an immigrant society that’s why the question of America being a “melting pot” or “salad bowl” raised and this leads to the formation of various minority groups. Among ethnic groups mainly instead of deep concerns over their ties to their ethnic and cultural heritage, members of ethnic groups mostly stress upon symbolic ethnicity like their ethnic food, music and even political issue. Some may think that immigration producing minority ethnic groups result in US cultural and identity problems but it provides some valuable functions for example they can alleviate labor shortage as it does in US in health care or even technology. However, sending nation also relieves economics unable to support large numbers of people. As long as immigration benefits US, it sometimes can be dysfunctional especially when arrivals are of different racial and ethnic backgrounds from the host population.

As it was indicated above, minority groups suffer inequality. When inequality is practiced in a society, dominant group tries to justify the maintenance of that unequal society in different ways, discourage subordinate groups from questioning their rights and tries to keep the existing order in society. But on the contrary there are facts that societies that practice discrimination fail to use resources of all individuals. Discrimination aggravates the existing problems; moreover, racial prejudice undercuts good will and diplomatic relations between nations. With an exploitative approach, it is easy to judge that racism keeps minorities in low-paying jobs and supplies the dominant group with cheaper labor. By forcing minorities to accept low wages, capitalists can restrict wages of all workers and workers from the dominant groups wanting higher wages can be replaced by minorities who must accept lower wages. Interracial contacts between people of equal status will cause them to become less prejudiced and to abandon old stereotypes.

Following the discussion of prejudice and discrimination, “prejudice”, “ethnocentrism” and “racism” should be defined. Prejudice is a negative attitude toward an entire category of people, often an ethnic or racial minority, and ethnocentrism is a tendency to assume that one’s culture and way of life are superior to all others, and racism is a belief that one race is supreme and all others are innately inferior. Denial of opportunities and equal rights to individuals and groups based on some type of arbitrary bias is perceived as discrimination. Discrimination persists even for educated and qualified minority members. Sometimes this discrimination is not visible but it blocks the promotion of individuals that are sometimes qualified because of their race or ethnicity. Sometimes discrimination process can be as the denial of opportunities and equal rights that result from normal operations of a society, then it can be said that discrimination is institutionalized. It consistently affects some racial and ethnic groups more than others like Blacks in US. Commission on Civil Rights identified forms of institutional discrimination in US like requiring English only to be spoken at work, some admission policies by colleges and universities and employment- leave policies in US. However, it is unfair to ignore some activities being done in US such as Affirmative Action that positively attempts to recruit minorities for jobs, promotion, and educational opportunities.

To conduct a conclusion for this discussion, it seems inevitable to measure discrimination in US and then observe to what extent US has lost benefits by marginalization of minority groups especially African Americans but it need first to believe that there is a prejudice. There can be some understanding by just having a comparison between income of African Americans and Whites in US. There were different and sometimes contrasting views on racial and ethnic status but there is going to be a consensus among world countries that the discrimination existing in US which its obvious presentation was observed during the hurricanes in US will harm US both socially and even politically in long term especially with the rapid growth of Hispanics in US, thus encouraging the interracial relations can reduce hostility and help the evolution of multicultural societies.

References:
- Kolchin, Peter(2004) American Slavery, Hill and wang Publication, New York
- Barker, Chris(2004) Cultural studies, Sage Publications, UK.
- www.wikipedia.com