As I noted this past Thursday, I will distribute a write-up of our next essay, which will be an out-of-class one, on Tuesday (Oct. 30). It will involve reading a chapter from a book on Native Americans entitled, Killing the White Man's Indian. I have placed five copies of that chapter on reserve in the library. You'll have plenty of time to do this, but it would be best if you got the topic on Tuesday.
I made some more progress commenting on Black Wealth/White Wealth on Thursday. In both sections, we left off at the beginning of the Epilogue, "Changing Context of Black Wealth/White Wealth: 1995-2005," (p. 199). Since I have struggled to present this material in an interesting way in class, I am simply going to post the remaining lecture notes I had planned to present on Tuesday, which will give us more time to begin on Native Americans.
Chapter 8: Wealth Inequality Trends (p. 201)
A. Although the median net worth of families increased by 39% and the median net financial assets grew by 60%, those at the bottom of the wealth spectrum made little progress in the past decade. And regarding the racial dimension of this, as the authors note: "Using the most recent data available, it appears, not surprisingly, that the level of racial wealth inequality has not changed but has shown a stubborn persistence that makes the data presented in 1995 more relevant than ever because the pattern we discerned suggests a firmly embedded racial stratification. The most optimistic analyses suggests that the black-white median net worth ratio is 0.10, that is, blacks have control of ten cents for every dollar of net worth that whites possess. However, the most pessimistic estimate indicates that the ratio is closer to seven cents on the dollar." (pp. 203-204)
1)They, then, go on to discuss some reasons for this, which have to do with broad factors such as growing debt that affects many people across racial lines.
a.) Residential segregation continues to be a problem, leading black families' homes to increase in value at a much lower rate than whites. "The typical home owned by white families increased in value by $28,000 more than homes owned by blacks." (p. 211)
b.) Increased credit card debt is another factor, and not just for frivolous consumer goods, but often for housing payments, health care costs, etc.
c.) Note the tremendous increase in "subprime lending" (an unfolding crisis today), which is an opportunity for people with low incomes, poor credit, to obtain a house. But the danger of default (i.e., not being able to make your mortgage payments) is much greater due to higher interest rates, balloon payments, etc. The number of foreclosures is rising, which is not only a personal disaster but adversely affects communities and revitalization efforts.
d.) Pay-day lenders, check cashing places concentrated in minority areas contribute to their inability to build wealth. In this context the authors nicely summarize the "poor tax" that many African Americans often have to pay. (See last paragraph, p.223 and first paragraph, p.224, where "poor tax" is referred to.)
e.) The rapidly increasing rate of incarceration among African American males, combined with the economic decline of central cities, has been a "catastrophic tragedy." And since most economic indicators used in this book exclude the incarcerated population, there is a strong likelihood that we are underestimating the gap between black wealth and white wealth.
Summarizing: "... the bottom line is that the racial wealth gap worsened during the last decade." (p. 226)
Chapter 9: The Emergence of Asset-Based Policy (p. 229)
A. Ironically, despite the growing evidence of this wealth gap, public policy over the past decade has led to increasing, not decreasing, wealth inequality.
1.) For example, the push to repeal the estate tax by the Bush Adm. is one of those policies. They note how few people this affects, yet how repealing it will mean foregoing some $1 trillion over 10 years! They go on to propose a more reasonable estate tax reform based on the principle that very wealthy individuals should not have the power to simply pass on economic success, material comfort, power to those who have not earned it, even if they happen to be family or relatives.
a.) "Repeal of the estate tax gives imprimatur to the sedimentation of inequality for African Americans and hence framing it as a civil rights issue is legitimate." (p. 236)
2.) They challenge the claim that privatization of Social Security would benefit Blacks because they don't live as long as Whites. But the authors effectively counter that, noting how Blacks greatly benefit from the disability aspects of Social Security.
B. The authors make a very good overall point about how the lack of investment in public goods such as education and health care undercuts efforts at building wealth among African Americans and many others. (A point I made earlier, as well.)
(See middle paragraph, p. 240)
1.) African Americans are also more likely to deplete their wealth due to a severe health condition.
C. They go on to outline some positive developments in assisting the poor in building assets -- eg. "matched savings" in areas such as education, home ownership; providing more access to regular banking services and conventional mortgages; they cite the "Community Reinvestment Act" which forced banks to provide some money to re-build poor areas.
1.) "Inner-city black neighborhoods continue to suffer from segregation, isolation from jobs, and poor city services and schools. Regional policy that directly attacks these issues would increase the value of homes in these communities, making access to better jobs and greater incomes available, and improve the quality of schools." (p. 253) Also, improving transportation to suburbs where jobs are and "inclusionary zoning" (i.e., require developers to build low-to-moderate income housing in suburban communities) would help.
2.) They want to create a "stakeholder society" -- that individuals have a stake or investment in all aspects of society. Would contribute to more stable marriages, children doing better in school, support for community organizations. (And I would also add: important in terms of fighting crime.)
3.) They suggest we embrace the "reparations" movement (rather than just dismiss it) on a community-wide basis. And making the case for this by exposing the legacy of discrimination.
D. They conclude with an insightful comment on residential segregation being the lynchpin of race relations today. (See last paragraph, p. 267, and all of p. 268) Concluding with a call for "a new civil rights movement," which I would add, is not all that different from what Dr. King was trying to do when his life was cut short.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
"Crossing Arizona" Extra Credit Opportunity
Next Tuesday, Oct. 23rd there will be two events focused on the issue of immigration, which clearly has race and ethnic relations overtones. I will give you 3pts extra credit for attending either the 11-12noon panel discussion in Leonard Auditorium featuring the director of "Crossing Arizona," among others, or attending the evening showing (7PM), also in Leonard, of the documentary "Crossing Arizona." To earn these points you need to attend either event and write-up a paragraph or two on the significance of what you learned for our course. Instead of turning a hard copy in to me, simply post your comments on this blog post.
Sounding Board for Extra Credit
Dear Race and Ethnic Relations students, I am setting up this blog post to gather any comments about relevant articles or experiences which I will consider for possible awarding of extra credit points. Whenever you feel the urge to make some comment about anything we've covered in class or you may encounter in the reading, feel free to use this post for that purpose. Please be sure to indicate in what way your comment(s) may be relevant to the course. I will consider (but not guarantee) extra credit points, and I will let you know what points, if any, I will give for your contributions. Prof. Ginocchio
Monday, October 15, 2007
Review for Midterm Exam 10/18
In preparation for our review for the midterm exam tomorrow, I am posting the exam questions that the families generated and that will be on the exam. We will discuss the answers to these questions tomorrow. And remember there are different questions for each section.
Soc. 240A (1:00)
1. Given that in the past race has had such an influence on national identity, what does it mean to be an American today? (In the context of part 2 of the video series.) (2pts)
2. What was the decision in the Bakke case and which justice disagreed with the majority and why? (3pts)
3. Identify and briefly discuss two of the four ways of overcoming prejudice which were brought out in class lecture. (4pts)
4. Where did the only successful slave rebellion occur and why was it successful? (2pts)
5. What Surpreme Court decision ended Jim Crow segregation? (1)
Soc. 240B (2:30)
1. In the context of Part 2 of the video series, identify two of the three examples of race being used explicitly for the purpose of political gain. (2pts)
2. What was the result of the DNA experiment carried out in Part 1 of the video series? (2pts)
3. Identify and describe one of the four sources from which we learn prejudice that were presented in class lecture. (2pts)
4. What was the "40 acres and a mule" bill? (1pt)
5. Why was Booker T. Washington's message more accepted in the white community? (1pt)
In addition, you need to review the following xerox handouts and blog posts.
Xerox handouts:
1. Basic Definitions
2. "Six Lessons From Jena" Southern Poverty Law Center
3. "Jena, O.J., and the Jailing of Black America" Orlando Patterson
4. "Civil Rights Progress May Be Lost" featuring comments of Beverly Tatum
Blog posts:
1. Dr. Eduardo Bonilla-Silva comment (9/11)
2. Lecture Material Catch-Up (relevance of course & culture) (9/12)
3. Quotations & Lecture Material on Racism (9/28)
4. Reminders, Follow-Up & Lecture Material (ethnocentrism and racism, law as the fourth strategy for overcoming prejudice, discrimination) (10/5)
Finally, let me underscore that the only material on the Jena 6 you need to review are the two handouts mentioned above. You do not have to go over any of the blog material on the Jena 6.
See you tomorrow.
Soc. 240A (1:00)
1. Given that in the past race has had such an influence on national identity, what does it mean to be an American today? (In the context of part 2 of the video series.) (2pts)
2. What was the decision in the Bakke case and which justice disagreed with the majority and why? (3pts)
3. Identify and briefly discuss two of the four ways of overcoming prejudice which were brought out in class lecture. (4pts)
4. Where did the only successful slave rebellion occur and why was it successful? (2pts)
5. What Surpreme Court decision ended Jim Crow segregation? (1)
Soc. 240B (2:30)
1. In the context of Part 2 of the video series, identify two of the three examples of race being used explicitly for the purpose of political gain. (2pts)
2. What was the result of the DNA experiment carried out in Part 1 of the video series? (2pts)
3. Identify and describe one of the four sources from which we learn prejudice that were presented in class lecture. (2pts)
4. What was the "40 acres and a mule" bill? (1pt)
5. Why was Booker T. Washington's message more accepted in the white community? (1pt)
In addition, you need to review the following xerox handouts and blog posts.
Xerox handouts:
1. Basic Definitions
2. "Six Lessons From Jena" Southern Poverty Law Center
3. "Jena, O.J., and the Jailing of Black America" Orlando Patterson
4. "Civil Rights Progress May Be Lost" featuring comments of Beverly Tatum
Blog posts:
1. Dr. Eduardo Bonilla-Silva comment (9/11)
2. Lecture Material Catch-Up (relevance of course & culture) (9/12)
3. Quotations & Lecture Material on Racism (9/28)
4. Reminders, Follow-Up & Lecture Material (ethnocentrism and racism, law as the fourth strategy for overcoming prejudice, discrimination) (10/5)
Finally, let me underscore that the only material on the Jena 6 you need to review are the two handouts mentioned above. You do not have to go over any of the blog material on the Jena 6.
See you tomorrow.
Friday, October 5, 2007
Reminders, Follow-up & Lecture Material
First of all, one last reminder about posting a comment in reaction to my comment, "Reflections on the Jena 6," from last Wed., Sept. 26th. You have until midnight tonight (Fri., Oct. 5th) to post your comment and earn 3 activity points. Also, for those interested in 2 extra credit points, don't forget the Spartanburg International Festival tomorrow at Barnet Park. Again, I am just asking you to check in with one of the booths in the "Ave. of Nations" and ask them if they think there is anything about their group that they wished the people of Spartanburg knew better what would that be. Just write up a brief paragraph on their response which you must turn in next Tuesday. Finally, next week Thursday we will do another family exercise to determine two more midterm exam questions.
Follow-up: I want to follow-up briefly on my comments on ethnocentrism. Remember, ethnocentrism is to racism as ethnic group is to race. Ethnocentrism is an attitude of superiority based on one's culture or way of life, which may not have to do with race. I also suggested that all cultures promote a certain degree of ethnocentrism which isn't necessarily bad (eg. patriotism), but that I have trouble accepting the notion that any degree of racism can be good. So, I would make a distinction between ethnocentrism and racism. The reason these two terms have often been lumped together or seen as virtually the same is because they did go hand in hand during the days of European colonization of the New World, Africa, and Asia. I hope that helps clarify my position on that.
NEW LECTURE MATERIAL: As usual, I find myself behind, so I will use the rest of this post to wrap up my comments on prejudice and then move on to the final basic definition of discrimination.
PREJUDICE: We were considering ways of overcoming prejudice. I want to pick up here with the fourth and final way, LAW.
A. Although law by itself is no solution because you obviously can't legislate attitudes or morality, or pass a law against prejudice, that does not mean law may not have an indirect effect. We can and have legislated against discrimination which may at least help to eliminate barriers to opportunity, contact, and equality, all of which may help to reduce prejudice.
1. Dr. King acknowledged this important indirect role of law in his book, Stride Toward Freedom, He said: "Government action is not the whole answer in the present crisis, but it is an important partial answer. Morals cannot be legislated, but behavior can be regulated. The law cannot make an employer love me, but it can keep him from refusing to hire me because of the color of my skin. We must depend on religion and education to alter the errors of the heart and mind; but meanwhile it is an immoral act to compel a man to accept injustice until another man's heart is set straight. As the experience of several northern states has shown, antidiscrimination laws can provide powerful sanctions against this kind of immorality."
"Moreover, the law itself is a form of education."
2. So, law may force people or institutions to take steps to eliminate prejudice and discrimination which they may not otherwise have taken on their own. Legislation, federal enforcement, assisted lots of silent white supporters of the civil rights movement in the South to "do the right thing."
3. And, finally, it should also be noted that law is only as effective and strong as it is enforced.
DISCRIMINATION:
A. Whereas prejudice involves attitudes, discrimination has to do with actions, actions which may involve individuals, groups, or institutions -- actions which deny certain people access to significant objects and opportunities in society.
1. Discrimination is not just "drawing a distinction" (which is one of the dictionary's definitions), as in the sentence: "She has a discriminating eye for art."
2. Discrimination is serious business, especially when it is written into law or part of the "normal" operation of society (i.e., institutionalized). Racially discriminatory laws have been in place for much of our history, at least up until the 1960s civil rights legislation was passed.
a.) As Harry Kitano comments "... discriminatory laws have been the most powerful weapon to exclude groups from participation as equals in our society. Immigration, citizenship, housing, education, and marriage have been denied through legal means in the past so the (proverbial) level playing field has been tilted against minority groups."
3. The definition of discrimination raises a question about the validity of the term "reverse discrimination," which is often used to attack programs such as affirmative action. Minorities, by definition, do not wield the kind of power over the dominant group implied by that term, unless many in the dominant group are won over to their cause.
a.) Eg. Affirmative action programs were adopted and implemented by a majority of white decision-makers in government and business, and both government and business are still dominated by white males. (82% of members of boards of directors of the top 1000 corporations are non-Hispanic white males, and that percentage is even higher for CEOs, Fortune magazine 2002)
b.) And to suggest (as the term "reverse discrimination" does) that affirmative action is on a par with past discrimination is a gross distortion of history.
c.) I can understand the use of this term on an individual level where someone may feel they were unfairly denied a position because of race, but in a broader sense I do not think the term is legitimate.
4. The causes or explanations of discrimination are generally comparable to the theories of prejudice -- these actions have a lot to do with the perceived threat minority groups represent.
5. Finally, overcoming or correcting for discrimination is not easy because the primary responsibility for change lies with the perpetrators -- they have to be made aware of the injustice. Which is why victims of discrimination have to resort to "extra-legal" means such as protests and boycotts, etc. in order to get the attention of the perpetrators of discrimination.
That's all for now. I'll highlight a few of these points on Tuesday, but then plan to quickly move on to discussing in more detail each of the major racial and ethnic minority groups.
Follow-up: I want to follow-up briefly on my comments on ethnocentrism. Remember, ethnocentrism is to racism as ethnic group is to race. Ethnocentrism is an attitude of superiority based on one's culture or way of life, which may not have to do with race. I also suggested that all cultures promote a certain degree of ethnocentrism which isn't necessarily bad (eg. patriotism), but that I have trouble accepting the notion that any degree of racism can be good. So, I would make a distinction between ethnocentrism and racism. The reason these two terms have often been lumped together or seen as virtually the same is because they did go hand in hand during the days of European colonization of the New World, Africa, and Asia. I hope that helps clarify my position on that.
NEW LECTURE MATERIAL: As usual, I find myself behind, so I will use the rest of this post to wrap up my comments on prejudice and then move on to the final basic definition of discrimination.
PREJUDICE: We were considering ways of overcoming prejudice. I want to pick up here with the fourth and final way, LAW.
A. Although law by itself is no solution because you obviously can't legislate attitudes or morality, or pass a law against prejudice, that does not mean law may not have an indirect effect. We can and have legislated against discrimination which may at least help to eliminate barriers to opportunity, contact, and equality, all of which may help to reduce prejudice.
1. Dr. King acknowledged this important indirect role of law in his book, Stride Toward Freedom, He said: "Government action is not the whole answer in the present crisis, but it is an important partial answer. Morals cannot be legislated, but behavior can be regulated. The law cannot make an employer love me, but it can keep him from refusing to hire me because of the color of my skin. We must depend on religion and education to alter the errors of the heart and mind; but meanwhile it is an immoral act to compel a man to accept injustice until another man's heart is set straight. As the experience of several northern states has shown, antidiscrimination laws can provide powerful sanctions against this kind of immorality."
"Moreover, the law itself is a form of education."
2. So, law may force people or institutions to take steps to eliminate prejudice and discrimination which they may not otherwise have taken on their own. Legislation, federal enforcement, assisted lots of silent white supporters of the civil rights movement in the South to "do the right thing."
3. And, finally, it should also be noted that law is only as effective and strong as it is enforced.
DISCRIMINATION:
A. Whereas prejudice involves attitudes, discrimination has to do with actions, actions which may involve individuals, groups, or institutions -- actions which deny certain people access to significant objects and opportunities in society.
1. Discrimination is not just "drawing a distinction" (which is one of the dictionary's definitions), as in the sentence: "She has a discriminating eye for art."
2. Discrimination is serious business, especially when it is written into law or part of the "normal" operation of society (i.e., institutionalized). Racially discriminatory laws have been in place for much of our history, at least up until the 1960s civil rights legislation was passed.
a.) As Harry Kitano comments "... discriminatory laws have been the most powerful weapon to exclude groups from participation as equals in our society. Immigration, citizenship, housing, education, and marriage have been denied through legal means in the past so the (proverbial) level playing field has been tilted against minority groups."
3. The definition of discrimination raises a question about the validity of the term "reverse discrimination," which is often used to attack programs such as affirmative action. Minorities, by definition, do not wield the kind of power over the dominant group implied by that term, unless many in the dominant group are won over to their cause.
a.) Eg. Affirmative action programs were adopted and implemented by a majority of white decision-makers in government and business, and both government and business are still dominated by white males. (82% of members of boards of directors of the top 1000 corporations are non-Hispanic white males, and that percentage is even higher for CEOs, Fortune magazine 2002)
b.) And to suggest (as the term "reverse discrimination" does) that affirmative action is on a par with past discrimination is a gross distortion of history.
c.) I can understand the use of this term on an individual level where someone may feel they were unfairly denied a position because of race, but in a broader sense I do not think the term is legitimate.
4. The causes or explanations of discrimination are generally comparable to the theories of prejudice -- these actions have a lot to do with the perceived threat minority groups represent.
5. Finally, overcoming or correcting for discrimination is not easy because the primary responsibility for change lies with the perpetrators -- they have to be made aware of the injustice. Which is why victims of discrimination have to resort to "extra-legal" means such as protests and boycotts, etc. in order to get the attention of the perpetrators of discrimination.
That's all for now. I'll highlight a few of these points on Tuesday, but then plan to quickly move on to discussing in more detail each of the major racial and ethnic minority groups.
Monday, October 1, 2007
Reminders & Looking Ahead
Thus far I've read only five comments about my 9/26 post, "Reflections on the Jena 6." Remember that the deadline for this is this coming FRIDAY, OCT. 5th. I will accept comments posted before midnight on that date. Any comment after that will not be accepted, and you will miss out on 3 activity points.
Regarding the Jena 6, I will be handing out two very interesting pieces on the case in class tomorrow. First, the Southern Poverty Law Center's "Teaching Tolerance" project outlined six lessons from this case which I believe have broad application in dealing with incidents of racial bias. Second, African American sociologist, Orlando Patterson had a very interesting op-ed piece in the New York Times yesterday, 9/30 which reminds us both of the overuse of the prison system in dealing with young black males and issues that need to be addressed in the black community itself.
Don't forget your first essay is due tomorrow 10/2. And we will be getting back to the Basic Definitions.
Regarding the Jena 6, I will be handing out two very interesting pieces on the case in class tomorrow. First, the Southern Poverty Law Center's "Teaching Tolerance" project outlined six lessons from this case which I believe have broad application in dealing with incidents of racial bias. Second, African American sociologist, Orlando Patterson had a very interesting op-ed piece in the New York Times yesterday, 9/30 which reminds us both of the overuse of the prison system in dealing with young black males and issues that need to be addressed in the black community itself.
Don't forget your first essay is due tomorrow 10/2. And we will be getting back to the Basic Definitions.
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