Chapter 7 Key Issue 1

Where are Ethnicities Distributed?

ethnicity: identity with a group of people who share the cultural traditions of a particular homeland or hearth

race: identity with a group of people who share a biological ancestor

  • traits that character race usually are genetically transmitted from parent to offspring

    • lactose intolerance, skin color, hair type and color, blood traits, etc.

racism: the belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race

racist: a person who subscribes to the beliefs of racism

Ethnicities in the United States

  • every 10 years, the US Bureau of the Census asks people to classify themselves according to the ethnicity that they most closely identify with

  • Hispanic and Hispanic American are terms to describe all people from Spanish-speaking countries

    • some people of Latin American descent prefer Latino and Latina

    • some people from Mexico call themselves Chicanos or Chicanas

  • the census displays the difficulty in distinguishing between ethnicity and race

  • Asian American is viewed as an ethnicity

  • Asian is viewed as a race that encompasses people from many countries in Asia

  • African American is viewed as an ethnicity, and identifies a group with an extensive cultural tradition

  • black is viewed as a race and encompasses everyone with dark skin

  • not all black people are African Americans, but Americans are quick to judge and immediately assume a black person is African American

  • Hispanic is an ethnicity, not a race, which makes it hard for Hispanics to choose which race they are

Ethnic Clustering: State Scale

  • African Americans

    • comprise 85% of the population in Detroit

      • Detroit has less than 10% of Michigan’s total population

      • Detroit has more than 50% of the state’s African American population

    • comprise 7% in the rest of Michigan

  • Hispanics

    • comprise 25% of New York City

      • NYC contains 40% of the state’s total population

      • NYC contains more than 75% of New York’s Hispanic population

    • comprise 6.25% of the rest of New York

    • comprise nearly 50% of Los Angeles’s population

    • the percentage in other California cities is less than or about equal to the overall state average

    • El Paso and San Antonio are more than 50% Hispanic

    • the rest of Texas has a percentage below or about equal to the state’s average of Hispanics (which is about 33%)

Distribution of Ethnicities in the United States

Ethnic Clustering: Regional Scale

  • ethnicities have a distinctive distribution in the US

  • Hispanics

    • clustered in the Southwest

    • make up more than 33% of Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas

    • make up more than 25% of California

    • California has 33% of all Hispanics

    • Texas has 20% of all Hispanics

    • Florida and New York both have 17% of all Hispanics

  • African Americans

    • clustered in the Southeast

    • make up at least 25% of Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, and South Carolina

    • make up more than 33% of Mississippi

  • Asian Americans

    • clustered in the West

    • make up more than 40% of Hawaii

    • 50% of all Asian Americans live in California

    • make up 12% of California

Ethnic Clustering: Urban Scale

  • about 90% of African Americans and Hispanics live in metropolitan areas, compared to 75% for other Americans

  • Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, and other Midwest cities attracted people from Southern and Eastern Europe to work in the steel, automotive, and other industries

    • neighborhoods around the clusters were named or their predominant ethnicities

    • descendants of immigrants moved and brought their religion, food, and other traditions with them

  • in cities like Detroit, African Americans comprise the majority and live in previously European neighborhoods

  • Chicago has African American neighborhoods in the south and west, but also has Europeans, Latin Americans, and Asians

  • African Americans live in south-central Los Angeles

  • Hispanics live in east Los Angeles

  • Asian Americans live in south and west Los Angeles

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