Appendix E: Racial Formation

University of Phoenix Material Appendix E Part I Define the following terms: |Term |Definition | |Racial formation | | | |Too look at a race as a socially constructed identity. | |Segregation |Setting apart or separating things or people and may refer to. |De jure segregation | | | |Segregation or isolation of individual from main group that Is imposed by law | |Pluralism |A condition in which numerous distinct ethnic, religious, or cultural groups are present and | | |tolerated within society | |Assimilation |The process whereby a minority group gradually adopts the customs attitude of the prevailing | | |culture. |Part II Answer the following questions in 150 to 350 words each: †¢ Throughout most of U. S. history in most locations, what race has been the majority? What is the common ancestral background of most members of this group? It shows that the whites were the majority group threw out history, also it was deemed by the color of your skin also meaning if you had ligh ter looking skin the you were consider to be white , but if you had the darker looking color of skin then you were deemed to be of a different race. †¢ What are some of the larger racial minorities in U. S. history? What have been the common ancestral backgrounds of each of these groups?When did each become a significant or notable minority group? Hispanics really outnumber the African Americans as the largest minority group in Us history for the first time and that’s when the government starting counting the nations population more than two centuries ago. The Census Bureau’s confirmed a symbolic milestone for a nation whose history has been mainly black and white racial dynamics. They also said that it is adding a new dimension to everything from product making to politics learning the about their ethnic background. http://usatoday30. usatoday. com/news/nation/census/2003-06-18-Census_x. htm †¢ †¢ In what ways have laws been used to enforce discriminati on? Provide examples.These laws were intended against which racial minorities? Professor Gates from Harvard University was arrested by police investigating a possible break in at his own house. A lot of the Harvard faculty thought it was racial profiling. Again another incident was another Professor Counter which is in neuroscience, was almost arrested by Harvard Security in 2004 after being mistaken for robbery suspect as he crossed the Harvard Yard, Security officers threatened him to be arrested when he couldn’t produce his identification badge. Both professor are thinking that black men are being targeted by the Cambridge police department. http://www. boston. com/news/local/breaking_news/2009/07/harvard. html In what ways have laws been used to eliminate discrimination? Provide examples. Did the laws work to eliminate discrimination? This country has taken a huge step forward and has accepted some new changes and the remaining have not adapted to change. For example wher e at one time it was okay to discriminate against race, for its wrong today, but yet we are more accepting Bisexuals/Homosexuals to our country, instead of pushing them away. So now we are accepting gay marriage, and then we have others who do not. So what this is saying is laws are helping to change but not eliminate it, and that will take some time to do and a shift in culture and society. Lindsey Metzler