Race & Ethnicity

Is Hispanic/Latino a Race or Ethnicity?

 Hispanic/Latino

 Hispanic/Latino does not refer to a race or ethnicity. It is a “pan-ethnic term”

 Pan-Ethnic Term: An umbrella term used to group related ethnic groups.
 Coined by Yen Le Espiritu
 Ex: Hispanic/Latino
 Ex: Asian American
 “Hispanic” Coined in 1970, Federal Gov’t for the Census, “Top-Down”
 Hispanic = Spanish-Speaking
 Ex: Includes Mexico, Spain, but not Brazil
 “Latino” = formed from the “Ground Up.”
 Ex: Includes Latin America, Brazil, does
not include Spain
 What Race Do Hispanics/Latinos Choose?

Census:
1. Are you Hispanic?
Yes / No
2. What Race are You?
 White
 Black
 Asian
 Native American

 Mixed
 Other

Q: Is anything wrong
with these racial
categories?
 Ethnicity

 Def:“The cultural practices, behaviors,

values, language, and attitudes of a
people.”
 What is Race?

 Temptation to think of Race as Essence:

 Fixed (Cannot Change)
 Concrete (Real, Physical, Visible)
 Objective (Measurable, Scientific)
--Biological (Phenotypes), Inherent
 But Race is Not biological
 Race is a Social Construction
 Q: What does, “Social Construction” mean?
 Definition of Social Construction

 Def: “The values [meanings] attached to particular external attributes, such

as skin color, are defined, or constructed, by society” –Lisa Bedolla, 2009

 In Other words, We, as a Society, decide How Many Races there are, and
Who Belongs in Which Category.

 Q: What does is “mean” to have:

 Curly Hair? Thin Straight Hair?
 Dark Skin?
 Plump Lips?
 Almond Eyes?
Can more than one race have these attributes?
 Race is a Social Construction

 There is only 1 Race, 1 Species = “Human Race.”

 Scientifically: A Human can Successfully Procreate
with Any Other Human.
 Non-Successful Procreation: Tigers & Lions (Creae:
Tions, Ligers), Horses & Donkeys (Create: Mules)
 We Created the Idea of “Race” and it has Changed
Over Time.
 Ex: The Jewish Race (not considered a race anymore)
 Irish = Not Considered White. Racial Epithets were Used
to Compare them with Blacks.
 Viewed as “the N*$&#@! of Europe”
 “N*$&#@! Turned Inside Out”
 Blacks = “Smoked Irish”
 Can Siblings be Different Races?

Ex: In Brazil, Siblings Can Be Different Races, Even w/the Same

Parents
 In the city of Salvador in Brazil, people classify one another
by:
 the color of their skin and eyes,
 the breadth of their nose and lips
 The color and curliness of their hair.
 They use at least 7 terms for what we call black and white
 A U.S. child who has one “white” and one “black” parent =
“black” in the United States (One-Drop Rule)
 Brazil, she will belong to one of their several “whiter”
categories
 If Race was Biological, Brazil wouldn’t Have Different
Racial Classifications as the U.S.
 One Drop Rule
 One Drop Rule = Evolved During Slavery &
Applied to Slavery & Segregation
 One Drop of Black Blood = Black
 1/4 Black = Quadroon
 1/8 Black = Octoroon
 1/64 Black = Still Black
 63/64 White = Why Not Classify as
White?
 Hypodescent – assignment to the
minority group

 Brazil, she will belong to one of their

several “whiter” categories
 If Race was Biological, Brazil wouldn’t
Have Different Racial Classifications as
the U.S.

Click
Click
 Race is a Social Construction

 There is no Biological Basis for Race.

 More Heterogeneity WITHIN a race, then between Races
 That’s Not to Say that There Are Not Physical Differences b/w
People
 This is based on Evolution
 People closer to the Equator have darker skin
Why are humans different colors?
 Korean Model w/
Eyelid Surgery
Q: What makes these 3
individuals the same race?

Thai - Tony Jaa

Indian Man

TONY JAA--THAILAND
 What Race?

Q: What “Race” are Middle Easterners/North Africans

like Egyptians?
 Egyptian Mostafa Hefny:
Classified as White
 Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity, a white
person is defined as "a person having origins in any of the
original peoples of Europe, North Africa or the Middle
East."
 What is Race?

Henslin gives us a common sense definition that is not very useful.

 Racial Group: A group of people with inherited physical
characteristics that distinguish it from another group (Henslin).

 Most Sociologists who study Race & Ethnicity, do not use this
kind of definition.
 Let me give you some Conflict Theory Based Definitions
 Better Definition of Race

Global Definition:
 “Race is a concept which signifies and symbolizes social conflicts and interests by
referring to different types of human bodies.”
Race is about Social Conflict (not biology).

9-11

 --Michael Omi & Howard Winant, Racial Formation in the United States, 1994.
 After 9-11, there was discussion of re-classifying Middle Eastners as non-white.
 Another Good Definition of Race

U.S.-Based Definition: (Tara Yosso, Critical Race Counterstories, 2006, pg. 5)

 Race is “a socially constructed category, created to differentiate groups based
primarily on skin color, phenotype, ethnicity, and culture for the purpose of
showing the superiority or dominance of one group over another.”
Race is about Power
Ex: 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo = Mexicans Classified as White
Ex: One Drop Rule

Racial Classification Affects Access to Opportunities & Resources

 Race As A Social Construction

Q: Why do we Categorize Certain People in Particular Races?

 Racial categories are a mechanism for sorting people in society.

 Historically, Categorizing “Races” Benefits the Oppressor Who Defines Which Groups of
People are Privileged and Which Groups are Not.
 They structure and segregate our neighborhoods, our schools, our churches, and our families

 Race may be Socially Constructed, but it has Real Significant Material and Political
Implications for People’s & Families Opportunities and Life Chances.
 Means = Sociologists Argue that “Race is a Myth” BUT …
 It’s a Myth with Real Consequences.
 Real Consequences:
Infant Mortality and African Americans

 According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of

Minority Health (11/09/2017):
 African Americans have 2.2x the infant mortality rate as non-Hispanic whites
(more likely to die before their 1st birthday). (10.9 vs 4.9 /1,000 live births, 2014)
 African American infants are 3.2x as likely to die from complications related to
low birthweight as compared to non-Hispanic white infants.
 African Americans have 2.2x the mortality rate for sudden infant death syndrome
(SIDS) as non-Hispanic whites, in 2014.

 Interested? Watch “When the Bough Breaks” (29 min)

 Unnatural Causes:
When The Bough Breaks
 We know that in general, health follows wealth: (health-wealth gradient).
 On average, the higher on the socioeconomic ladder you are, the lower your risk o f cancer,
heart disease, diabetes, infant death and preterm deliveries.
 BUT Even well-educated Black women have birth outcomes that worse than white women
who haven't finished high school. (Suggests: This is not a class issue)
 Study: African American women have worse birth outcomes than African Immigrant Woman
 Theory: it’s the cumulative impact of racism they experience over their lifetime; this racism
that can outweigh even the benefits of higher social and class status.
 So how does racism get "under the skin" and affect pregnancy?
 Chronic stress is the culprit: unequal treatment causes anxiety and the release of stress
hormones, which over a lifetime of constant activation not only creates wear and tear on the
body's organs and systems, but can trigger premature labor.
 For most people of color, racism isn't an occasional problem but a subtle, everyday stressor
that is added onto all the other stressors in a person's life.
Homer Plessy – “Octoroon”
(Arrested on Purpose, like Rosa Parks!)

 Plessy vs. Ferguson:

“Separate but Equal”
allowed.
Overt Racism – A Thing of the Past
 Today: Color-Blind Society

 “Color-Blind” = Ideology
 Today = Uneasy Even Mentioning Race
Q: “What does he look like?”
A: “He has a dark complexion and dreads.”
Q: Why are we afraid to explicitly mention
the race of people? People argue that they
don’t “see color.”
 Notions of Inferiority are Rarely
Expressed (No Overt Racism)
 While “Overt” Racism is
Predominantly a Thing of the Past,
Politicians, etc. Reference Race without
Actually Referencing it.
 Using “Racially-Coded” Language
 Color-Blind but Racially Coded

 An Important Aspect of Color-Blind Racism is the Recognition that Race is Rarely

Invoked in Public Debates on Social Issues
 For Ex, Politicians & Laymen Alike Will Talk About:
“Immigrants” or “Illegal Aliens”
“Inner City”
“Ghetto”
“Gang Member”
= Words Serve as a Proxy for Race
 Claim, “I don’t see color.”
 Use “thug” to imply Black Americans
 Say “Illegal Immigrant” to imply Mexicans
 Talks of Racism…

Malcom X James Baldwin

“Racism is like a Cadillac. There’s a “History is not in the past. It is the

new model every year.” present. We carry our history with
us. We are our history.”
 Living in a Color-Blind Society Means we live with Color-Blind
Racism

 Color-Blind Racism: an Ideology that Explains Contemporary Racial Inequality

as the Outcome of Nonracial Dynamics.
 Uses Race-Neutral Principles to Defend the Racially Unequal Status Quo.
 “If only he worked harder…”
 Result = The Pursuit of a Color-Blind Agenda has Created Lower Levels of
Support for Politics that could Reduce Racial Inequality if Implemented.
 Ex:
 Upward Bound/Puente/AVID - “We can’t just focus on Latinos—that’s racist. And
unfair to everyone else.”
 No longer support for Affirmative Action
 Why is this Racism? Because Proceeding Color-Blind into the Future will
Perpetuate Inequality.
 Black Lives Matter

“Black Lives Matter” vs. “All Lives Matter”

Q: What’s the debate here? Why were people intially

upset with using the phrase, “Black Lives Matter”?

 Color-Blind Racism