Multiculturalism & Racism

Multicultural society
• Multicultural (MC) society:
group membership in
culturally defined groups
w/in nation state

• We are a multi-cultural
socity
The American Road to
Multiculturalism

19th/20th Century Anti-Irish Cartoons

 Conceptualizing Diversity in
America
• Assimilation: merging of
groups & their traditions into
society that endorses single
common culture

– Rejects value of native/

ethic customs
– Assumes all want to
participate in dominate
culture
• Early America
 Conceptualizing Diversity
• Pluralism: ethnic &
racial difference ok as
long as diversity does
not threaten
dominate culture

• Tolerates (not accepts

or appreciates)
• EX: Marginalized
ethnic neighborhoods,
school systems
 Globalization:
“Accelerating connections &
interdependence of nations in
world system”

Globalization partially eroding

assimilationist & pluralistic thinking.

How?
 Identity politics
• Political mobilization of non-
national identities

• Culturally diverse (often

international) groups

• Countries becoming internally

diverse

IP key component of MC
 Conceptualizing Diversity
• Multiculturalism: recognizes
multiplicity of legitimate
cultural cores or centers
• Recent development

• MC= “culture” as source of

group formation, equity
among groups

• Seeks to redress inequalities

 Multiculturalism
• MC is all about identity
• Psychosocial & political
orientation that
individuals construct &
share w/ similar people

• United by common status,

experience

• Usually expressed in the

formation of affinity
groups (non-biological,
kinship, community
groups)
• EX: #OWS
 Just because “race” has no
biological basis, doesn’t mean
it doesn’t have real social
impacts
 Racism
• Race is a cultural construct
that has very real effects on
our lives

• Racism assumes some groups

inherently inferior to others;
should be dominated by
superior groups

• Race still has stigma &

marker of superiority
 Racism
• Prejudice: Devaluing group because of
assumed attributes
• Stereotypes: fixed (often unfavorable) ideas
about group members are like.
• Discrimination: policies and practices that
harm a group & its members
– De facto (practiced but not legal)
– Dejure (part of the law)
Stereotypes
 De Facto Discrimination

• Racial Profiling & brutality

• Rodney King 1991
De Jure Discrimination
 Institutional Discrimination
• Programs, policies,
and institutional
arrangements that
deny equal rights
and opportunities
to, or differentially
harm, members of
particular groups
 Affirmative action
• Assumed race-based initiatives
best way to level playing field

• This also accentuates race-based

differentiation & stratification

• Not all “whites” created equal

• Socioeconomic divisions enforced

by elite people of many colors
 But…
• What about white
discrimination?
• Socioeconomic status vs.
race
• Inequalities often created
by racial categories with
repercussions for
underprivileged “whites”
• Class competition vs.
“racial” conflict
 Problems with Post-Racial “Color
Blindness”
• Color-blindness is a privileged
position

• Those who can pretend that

race doesn’t matter are those
who aren’t negatively
impacted by on daily basis.

• We need to recognize social

role of race and understand its
history & negative impacts