Race and Ethnicity

Race and Ethnicity in American Politics

Understanding race and ethnicity is crucial for understanding American politics. These factors have shaped and continue to shape American political discourse, policy-making, and social dynamics. It is important to distinguish between the terms race and ethnicity, as they are often used interchangeably but have distinct meanings.

Ethnicity

Ethnicity encompasses commonalities of culture, language, nationality, and/or race. It is a broader concept than race, incorporating cultural practices, shared histories, and a sense of collective identity. Ethnicity is more than just race; it includes culture, language, and nationality. Rambo defines ethnicity as cohesive and self-conscious, sharing a sense of peoplehood, a shared fate, and common values. This sense of belonging can significantly influence political attitudes and behaviors.

Race

Race is a grouping designation based on genetic observables such as skin color or other physiological differences. Racial categories are created to reflect social interests rather than stable, natural truths. Race is a social status, a product of history and ideology, not a zoological one. It is an ideological construct linking traits to rank in the social order. The concept of race has been used to justify social hierarchies and discrimination throughout history.

Race is more fluid than people think. It is a social construct, not purely genetic. Humans do not have different species. Ethnicity is real and measurable, while race is more imagined. The label of "white" has significantly changed over time, reflecting evolving social and political contexts. For example, groups once considered outside the "white" category, such as the Irish, Italians, and Jewish people, have been assimilated into it over time.

De Jure vs. De Facto Racism

De Jure Racism

De jure racism is legal racism, with explicit references to racial groups in legal provisions. It is codified in law and enforced by the state. Examples include:

• Black Codes: Laws in the South pertaining specifically to non-white people, restricting their freedoms and rights.

• White Primaries: Rules in the South allowing only white people to run in primaries, effectively disenfranchising black voters.

• Segregation Laws: Laws in the Southern United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, mandating the separation of races in public facilities, education, and housing. These laws were part of the Jim Crow system.

De Facto Racism

De facto racism is racism practiced outside of the law, or laws using proxies for race to discriminate. It is often the result of social customs, economic factors, and residential patterns. Examples include:

• Segregation in the North: Informal separation of races in housing and geography, often resulting from discriminatory practices by real estate agents and homeowners' associations.

• Grandfather Clause: Laws using ancestry as a proxy to discriminate, used to circumvent racial discrimination laws. These clauses often stated that individuals could only vote if their ancestors had been eligible to vote before a certain date, effectively excluding black voters.

Shifting Definitions of Whiteness

Whiteness is not an objective, stable category. Its definition has changed over time, reflecting shifting social and political dynamics. In the 19th century, phrenology textbooks differentiated between racial groups, with Anglo-Teutonic (German or British ancestry) considered white, and Irish or Iberian ancestry considered a different, less noble racial classification. Italians and Jewish people, considered unambiguously white today, were not considered white in the 19th and early 20th centuries. These groups faced discrimination and were often excluded from full participation in social and political life.

Biracial Individuals and the One Drop Rule

The one-drop rule dictated that anyone with any non-white ancestry was not considered white and did not have access to the privileges associated with whiteness. This rule was particularly prominent in the context of African American ancestry. Biracial individuals with fairer skin might try to pass as purely white to avoid discrimination and gain access to opportunities.

Psychological Reasons for Racism

Positive psychology suggests humans are deeply moral and have evolutionary reasons for strong moral reactions. Humans are pack animals that group and care about their pack. Mirror neurons help simulate the feelings of others, fostering sympathy. Oxytocin regulates social behavior and helpfulness towards others, promoting generosity and support within in-groups. However, oxytocin can increase hostility towards out-groups. This dual nature of oxytocin helps explain why humans can be both incredibly generous to their in-groups and hostile to out-groups.

Humans are deeply moral towards those in their in-groups but often dehumanize those in out-groups, drawing distinctions based on ascribed characteristics. This dehumanization can lead to discrimination and violence. In early human history, prejudice and stereotyping may have been useful for survival, helping humans quickly assess potential threats. Stereotyping involves:

• Magnifying differences between groups.

• Making differences salient.

• Shrinking heterogeneity within the out-group.

• Focusing on the negatives of the out-group.

Institutional Factors Supporting Racism in the U.S.

Racism was useful to early elites in society. Slavery provided profits and distracted poorer whites from rebelling against the system. The divide and conquer aspects of slavery prevented rebellion among non-slave-owning whites. By creating a racial hierarchy, elites were able to maintain social control and economic dominance.

Midwifing Racism

Racism was brought into society through:

• Pseudo-Science: Phrenology was used to justify racial hierarchies, claiming that skull shape could determine a person's intelligence and moral character.

• Religion: Biblical passages were used to justify slavery and segregation. The Book of Philemon was cited by slaveholders to argue that slavery was divinely sanctioned.

• Ethical Arguments: Some argued slavery was a civilizing force, claiming that it brought Christianity and Western culture to enslaved people.

• Media: William Randolph Hearst's newspapers sensationalized racial stories, contributing to racial stereotypes and prejudice.

Drug policies were influenced by false claims about non-whites using drugs to target white women. Superhuman strength, durability, and violence were racialized. The police bullets were made bigger due to the racialized fear about black people on cocaine.

Post-Slavery Racial Inequality

The end of slavery did not end racial inequality. Newly freed slaves faced significant wealth inequality. There was no "40 acres and a mule" system, so freed slaves started with no resources. This lead to a system that was worse slavery, called sharecropping.

Sharecropping

A system where former slaves worked on land they would eventually own but remained in debt and poverty. They were required to give the profit from their labor for extended periods of time. Slave was no better than slavery. This system trapped many African Americans in a cycle of debt and dependence.

Black Codes and "Worse Than Slavery"

Black Codes led to freed slaves being re-incarcerated for minor violations as this was a way to increase the prison populations and create a state of free labor. This was referred to as “worse than slavery,” where prisoners were used for slave labor without any incentive to keep them alive or healthy. These codes were designed to maintain white supremacy and control over the African American population.

20th Century Racism

Housing Discrimination in the North

In the North, de facto racism manifested as intense housing discrimination. Redlining systematically denied housing or mortgages to people in certain areas by determining how much companies would be willing to offer support for mortgage lending, those colored in red had people considered largely undesirable and were largely populated by people of color. The Home Owners' Loan Corporation (HOLC) created maps that marked certain neighborhoods as high-risk, making it difficult for residents to obtain mortgages.

This exacerbated racial wealth inequality. White people accessed mortgages while people of color did not, impairing access to safe and fair housing and therefore denying generational money, and assets amongst people of color. This discrimination limited the ability of African Americans to build wealth and pass it on to future generations.

Wealth and Income Disparities

Wealth accumulated over time, while income is received periodically. The wealth gap is more severe than the income gap. In 1960, the income difference was two times between white people and people of color. This has improved but not dramatically. The wealth racial gap has not gotten better since about 1980. The persistent wealth gap reflects the cumulative effects of past discrimination and inequality.

Wealth Disparity

• Homeownership: 73% of white people vs. 47% of non-white people. This disparity reflects the legacy of redlining and other discriminatory housing policies.

• Housing Wealth: White housing wealth double that of non-white. This difference is due to a combination of factors, including higher home values in white neighborhoods and greater access to mortgage financing.

• Vehicle Ownership: 90% of white people vs. 75% of non-white people. This disparity can affect access to jobs and other opportunities.

• Retirement Accounts: Significant disparity, with retirement much more difficult for people of color. This is due to lower wages, limited access to employer-sponsored retirement plans, and the cumulative effects of wealth inequality.

• Family Business Equity: Two-to-one discrepancy. This reflects the limited access to capital and other resources for minority-owned businesses.

• Stock Ownership: Two-to-one difference. This disparity contributes to the overall wealth gap, as stocks are a major source of wealth accumulation.

Mass Incarceration: The New Jim Crow

Michelle Alexander argues that mass incarceration is the new Jim Crow. The U.S. has a significantly higher incarceration rate than other developed countries when compared to first world countries. Starting in the 1970s, there was an explosion in the number of citizens incarcerated. This increase has had a disproportionate impact on communities of color.

This increase was majorily fueled by a rise in drug possession arrests as violent crime rates declined, as of the year 2000. The war on drugs was considered a failure, but despite this, mass incarceration would still be promoted. Incarceration largely impacted black men. Drug usage rates are similar across racial groups, African Americans are overrepresented in the prison population, while white people are underrepresented. Studies have shown that racial bias plays a significant role in drug arrests and sentencing.

A significant difference in arrest and conviction rates for drug possession exists, further alluding to drug usage having little affect on the arrest rates amongst races. Federal law treated crack cocaine and powdered cocaine differently, disproportionately affecting the African American community. The average prison sentence was years longer for crack possession than for powder possession. This may have been as a product of policy protecting Wall Street workers who had a lot more money that black members living in the African American community, as Wall Street men used the powdered cocaine. This disparity has been criticized as an example of systemic racism in the criminal justice system.

Juvenile Offenders in Connecticut

There is a stark racial disparity in sentencing. White youth are more likely to receive treatment, while African American youth are more likely to be incarcerated. This disparity highlights the role of bias in the juvenile justice system.

Police Brutality

African Americans are much more likely to be killed by police when unarmed. Although more white people are killed by police overall, African Americans are killed at a rate disproportionate to their percentage of the U.S. population. There are less shootings because of the public's awareness of police brutality. The increased use of body cameras and the widespread availability of cell phone footage have brought greater attention to incidents of police brutality.

Implicit vs. Explicit Bias

Implicit Bias

Unconscious preferences and biases that exist as automatic associations. Everyone has some degree of implicit in-group bias developed evolutionary, according to test available online used to spot implicit bias. This bias can influence snap decisions. Police officers might fire on someone they perceive as dangerous based on implicit biases. Race can affect how people in jury pools, such as serious perpetrators, assess the age of others. Studies have shown that implicit biases can affect decisions in a variety of contexts, including hiring, education, and healthcare.

Explicit Bias

Conscious prejudice against a group of people that informs words and behavior. Explicit bias is often expressed through discriminatory language and actions.

Police convictions for misconduct are historically unlikely. Juries defer to police officers' judgment and the prosecution might go harder on private citizens than on police officers. Medical examiners might be willing to pull punches for police officers. Police unions tend to be powerful. These factors contribute to the difficulty of holding police officers accountable for misconduct.