Sociology unit 2

Income

Money received from employment, retirement, or government assistance.

Wealth

Assets someone owns, such as savings, houses, stocks, and businesses.

Income vs. Wealth

Income is money received over time; wealth is the total value of assets owned.

Wealth Inequality

The unequal distribution of wealth and assets among different groups.

Racial Wealth Gap

The difference in accumulated wealth between racial groups.

Intergenerational Wealth

Wealth and resources passed from parents to children.

Accumulated Advantage

When benefits and opportunities build up over generations, giving some groups greater advantages.

New Deal Programs

Government programs created during the Great Depression to provide jobs, economic assistance, and worker protections.

New Deal and Racial Inequality

Many people of color were excluded from benefits because of discriminatory policies and pressure from Southern Democrats.

GI Bill of Rights (1944)

Provided veterans with benefits that helped expand the middle class, but many non-White veterans were excluded.

Industrialization

The growth of manufacturing and factory jobs that created economic opportunities.

Deindustrialization

The decline of industrial jobs that increased economic inequality, especially for Black and Puerto Rican workers.

Reaganomics

Economic policies emphasizing tax cuts for wealthy people, reduced welfare spending, and supply-side economics.

Supply-Side Economics

The idea that cutting taxes on wealthy people encourages investment, job creation, and economic growth.

Politics of Austerity

Reducing government spending on welfare and social programs.

Baker (2022)

Found that states with stronger histories of racial oppression had higher Black poverty rates and larger Black-White poverty gaps.

Historical Racial Regime (HRR) Scale

A measure of historical racial oppression using slavery, sharecropping, voter disenfranchisement, and school segregation.

HRR Study Main Finding

Higher historical racial oppression was associated with higher Black poverty rates but not higher White poverty rates.

Kraus et al. (2017)

Found that Americans underestimate Black-White economic inequality and overestimate racial progress.

Poverty Rate

The percentage of people in a group who live below the poverty line.

Which racial group makes up the largest share of people in poverty?

White Americans, according to the 2020 Census data presented in lecture.

Which racial groups are overrepresented in poverty?

Black and Hispanic Americans have higher poverty rates than White Americans in the lecture data.

Great Recession and Racial Wealth Gap

Black, Hispanic, and Asian households experienced larger percentage declines in median wealth than White households.

Job Discrimination

Unequal treatment of job applicants or workers because of race or ethnicity.

Audit Studies

Research that compares similar applicants to test whether race or other characteristics affect how they are treated.

Emily and Greg vs. Lakisha and Jamal

A study finding that White-sounding names received 50% more job callbacks than Black-sounding names.

Employment Discrimination and Criminal Records

The audit studies showed that race affected job callbacks even when applicants had similar qualifications or criminal records.

Occupational Segregation

When racial or ethnic groups are concentrated in different types of jobs.

Occupational Segregation and Wages

Majority-White jobs generally paid more than majority-Black and majority-Hispanic jobs in the lecture data.

Collective Bargaining

Workers negotiating together, often through unions, for better wages and working conditions.

Loan Discrimination

When banks treat borrowers differently based on race, including denying loans or charging higher interest rates.

Redlining

Discriminatory lending practices that disadvantage neighborhoods associated with racial minorities.

Appraisal Discrimination

When homes are valued differently because of the race of the homeowner or neighborhood.

Disenfranchisement

Preventing or restricting people from exercising their right to vote.

13th Amendment

Abolished slavery in the United States.

14th Amendment

Established citizenship rights and equal protection under the law.

15th Amendment

Prohibited denying voting rights based on race, color, or previous enslavement.

Jim Crow Laws

Laws and practices that enforced racial segregation and discrimination.

Poll Tax

A fee required to vote that was historically used to prevent Black and poor Americans from voting.

Literacy Tests

Reading and interpretation tests used to prevent Black Americans from voting.

Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955-1956)

A 381-day protest against racial segregation on public buses in Montgomery, Alabama.

Freedom Rides (1961)

Civil Rights activists challenged segregation in interstate bus transportation and terminals.

Birmingham Movement (1963)

A Civil Rights campaign that gained national attention and increased pressure for federal civil rights legislation.

Freedom Summer (1964)

A campaign focused on increasing Black voter registration and providing educational opportunities.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Prohibited segregation in public accommodations and discrimination in employment.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Outlawed discriminatory voting requirements, including literacy tests.

Preclearance

A requirement that certain jurisdictions with histories of voting discrimination obtain federal approval before changing voting rules.

Southern Strategy

A political strategy that appealed to White voters through racial resentment and opposition to racial justice.

Voter Suppression

Policies or actions that make voting more difficult for certain groups.

Modern Voter Suppression

Restrictions such as strict photo ID rules, registration barriers, reduced early voting, and absentee voting restrictions.

Shelby County v. Holder (2013)

A Supreme Court decision that weakened the Voting Rights Act's preclearance system.

Gerrymandering

Manipulating political district boundaries to gain political advantage.

Packing

Concentrating opposing voters into a small number of districts to reduce their influence elsewhere.

Cracking

Spreading opposing voters across multiple districts to weaken their voting power.

Wisconsin Gerrymandering (2012)

Democrats won 53% of Assembly votes but only 39 of 99 seats; Republicans won 60.

Gill v. Whitford (2018)

Supreme Court case involving challenges to Wisconsin's partisan gerrymandering and legal standing.

Rucho v. Common Cause (2019)

Supreme Court ruled partisan gerrymandering claims are political questions beyond federal courts.

Allen v. Milligan (2023)

Supreme Court rejected Alabama's congressional map under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.

Discriminatory Intent vs. Effect

Intent means a policy was designed to discriminate; effect means it produces unequal outcomes.

Hajnal et al. (2017)

Study presented in lecture finding strict photo ID laws disproportionately reduced Black and Latino turnout.

Alabama Voter ID Example

After passing voter ID requirements, Alabama closed 31 driver's license offices in 2015.

Voter Fraud Evidence

Lecture cites 1,620 fraud cases among more than 2 billion votes cast between 1982 and 2025.

Ghetto

An urban area inhabited almost exclusively by a racial or ethnic group restricted from living elsewhere.

Advanced Marginality

Spatial and social isolation combined with exclusion from jobs, services, and consumer goods.

Housing Steering

Real estate agents directing or restricting homebuyers toward neighborhoods based on race.

Racially Restrictive Covenants

Property deed restrictions historically used to prevent certain racial groups from occupying homes.

Slumlords

Landlords who charge excessive rent while neglecting repairs and housing standards.

Urban Renewal

Redevelopment policies that sometimes displaced residents and intensified concentrated poverty.

White Fight

Organized resistance by white residents to racial integration through intimidation or protests.

White Anti-Racists

White residents who supported integration, including NAACP members and interracial organizations.

Chicago Open Housing Movement

Civil rights campaign against housing discrimination that helped build support for fair housing legislation.

The New Great Migration

Movement of Black Americans back to the South, driven partly by jobs, family ties, and living costs.

Low Demand Density

Insufficient local purchasing power to support businesses and services in disadvantaged neighborhoods.

Milwaukee Segregation Example

Lecture contrasts an average Black resident's 1890 neighborhood at 1% Black with over 70% today.

A Matter of Place

Documentary featured in lecture examining housing discrimination and unequal residential opportunities.

Mortgage-Interest Deduction (MID)

Tax benefit for eligible homeowners who deduct mortgage interest; disproportionately benefits higher-income homeowners.

Desmond (2017) Main Argument

Homeownership is a major driver of the racial wealth gap because unequal access to property creates unequal wealth.

Blinding in Decision-Making

Removing information such as names or race from decisions to reduce opportunities for discrimination.

Sah (2023) Main Argument

People's belief that they are unbiased is not enough; empirically tested blinding procedures can reduce discrimination.

Grandfather Clauses

Voting rules that exempted people whose ancestors had voting rights, helping preserve White voting access while excluding Black voters.

Student Sit-Ins (1960)

Nonviolent protests where students occupied segregated lunch counters and refused to leave.

Civil Rights Movement Objectives

End racial segregation and discrimination and secure equal voting, legal, and political rights.

Racial Terrorism and Voting

Threats and violence used to discourage Black Americans from voting or exercising political rights.

Haney López (2014) Dog Whistle

A political message that communicates racial meaning indirectly without explicitly naming a racial group.

Haney López (2014) Political Strategy

Politicians used coded racial appeals to attract voters while avoiding openly racist language.

Bentele and O'Brien (2013) Main Finding

Restrictive voting legislation was more likely where minority populations were larger or minority and low-income turnout increased.

Voter ID Debate

Supporters emphasize election security; critics argue strict requirements create unequal barriers to voting.

Voting Restrictions and Other Groups

Low-income voters, students, older adults, and people with limited access to identification can also face barriers.

Residential Segregation Trends Since 1970

Black-White segregation declined, while Latino-White and Asian-White segregation rose slightly in the lecture data.

Index of Dissimilarity Example

Milwaukee's index of 82 indicates greater Black-White residential segregation than Minneapolis's index of 65.

Racial Threat Hypothesis

The idea that a larger or growing minority population can provoke greater discriminatory resistance from a dominant group.

Contested Boundaries Hypothesis

The idea that racial conflict intensifies where groups compete over neighborhood boundaries and access to space.

NIMBY (Not in My Backyard)

Opposition to developments or services near one's neighborhood, sometimes reinforcing residential inequality.

Environmental Racism

Unequal exposure of racialized communities to pollution, environmental hazards, and inadequate environmental protections.

Environmental Justice

The principle that all communities deserve fair environmental protection and meaningful participation in decisions.

Massey and Denton (1998) Main Argument

Racial segregation combines with economic disadvantage to concentrate poverty and reinforce neighborhood inequality.

Zenk et al. (2005) Research Focus

Examined how neighborhood poverty and racial segregation are associated with access to supermarkets and healthy food.