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