Social life has one thing that has remained constant throughout past years: change. With such a fluid society, it is projected that the United States today will shift from a “majority-minority” to a “minority-majority” society by 2042 (Stoll, 2009). “In 2010, whites accounted for about 70% of the U.S. population, but this percentage continues to decline (Jones & Dovidio, 2014)”. How would this radical change impact the newly considered minority? Would such a dramatic change in the racial divide change the way “privilege” is viewed? Throughout history there has been friction between minorities and majorities. The “superior” group has advantages while the “inferior” group experiences disadvantages. The trouble with literature on majority-minority is the variation in definitions. In reference to this paper, the term minority will be a measure of numerical underrepresented ethnic population (Jones Dovidio, 2014). Now looking at previous literature covering this topic many illuminate on persuasion, minority influence, group development, Social Identity Theory, and conformity (Prislin et al, 2000; Legrenzi et al., 1991; Kelly, 1990). Prislin et al. provide a particularly useful study examining the effects of the loss and gain of majority status position within a group. Prislin et al. (2000) study results confirmed that there were greater effects of losing rather than gaining a majority position using 181 undergraduate students. Of those students 86 identified as White, 38
What does the word minority mean to me and tell a situation in which the actions of myself or of others toward minority? It's a scholarship that gives one thousand per semester for one year
No matter who you are, where you came from, or how old you are, everyone is in a minority group. A minority group is a group that experiences a pattern of disadvantages or inequality, has a visible identifying trait, and is a self-conscious social unit. People with disabilities are a minority group because of their disadvantages and visible characteristic. For example, a child with down syndrome, autism, nonverbal learning disorder, and cerebral palsy will be put in a separate class and area of the school because they are not like the other students. As a person who has first handily seen what they do in school, they are definitely a minority group. They are treated differently by being stuck in one class all day and they aren’t really being taught like the other “normal” students. This disadvantage goes on into these people with disabilities adulthood as well. It harder for them to find jobs, if they are able to work. They are sometimes treated as less because people may feel like they cannot do certain things. They are basically treated as less because people automatically underestimate them because of the disability they are born with
In recent years, there has been increased discussion about the treatment of minorities in the U.S. While there have been numerous laws passed that protect their freedoms, many Americans maintain a negative mindset toward other ethnicities. Due to people’s reservations, our country has been unable to make substantial progress toward equality. In The Nation’s article, “The Truth About Race in America: It’s Getting Worse, Not Better,” by Gary Younge, the author utilizes factual information, historical allusions, and related quotes to effectively contend that race relations are worsening within the United States.
Minority status has long since been viewed in a not-so-positive light. From the reflex many people have to lock their doors when they see a homeless person or a person of color, to stereotyping and assumptions based on institutionalized racism, to discrimination, minority status has a part to play in all of it. Similarly, many people have the idea that deaf people cannot do anything for themselves because they are “disabled”. Even though America was once hailed as a melting pot because of the diversity of its citizens, things like “you’re in America now, speak English” are said in today's America. While being defined as a minority isn’t inherently bad, it has become an excuse for some members of the majority to treat minorities as second-class citizens.
This being despite constant growing evidence that race really does matter in the post-civil rights age, effective solutions are in short supply and as the authors talk about "mutual obligations." The authors brought up a nice analysis of American race inequality, focusing on the rise of white supremacy and the continuation of white privilege despite the removal of direct institutionalized segregation. Solving current racial problems seems nearly impossible because it requires addressing largely unseen forces of indirect institutional
The new society has offered people the principle of opportunity equality for all white men. Thus, traditional forms of privileges and elitism were set under attack (Brands et al.). Such development of relations allowing even people not belonging to aristocracy
White privilege is an advantage in society that is unmerited. Though it is practiced in every day life (whether it’s subtle or not), the majority views it as “absurd” and “non-existent”. It is a taboo that creates feelings of guilt, hostility and anger, but it must be addressed and understood in order to be eradicated. It is necessary for white people to acknowledge their part in maintaining and benefiting from a society that has thrived on racial hierarchy and white supremacy for centuries. White privilege is essentially the flip side of racism; racism does not only disadvantage people of colour, but grants white people power and dominance in our so-called “post-racial” society (McKintosh, 1). In this essay, I will argue that positive and widespread representation and implied acceptance are the most important features of white privilege. Widespread representation is the most important feature of white privilege because we live in an age where the media not only reflects, but also controls our real worldviews and attitudes. The second most important feature of white privilege is adequate housing opportunities and implied acceptance and respect. It is necessary to eliminate this system that puts people in power based on their skin tone and these two aspects are crucial in order to reach that.
To begin, the first pivotal revelation is the concept of white privilege. White Privilege, as Peggy McIntosh specifies in her essay, “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack”, is a set of unearned assets which a white person in America can count on cashing in each day yet they remain oblivious to. This theme resonates as prior to this course, though aware of certain advantages as a seemingly “white” person in society, I was unaware of its official terminology. Also, as a person with one quarter American Indian blood I’m classified as a minority, however, I’m
As a result of this individualistic ideology and confirmed by media, whites enjoy the comfort of not dealing with the “social burden of race.” Until whites can face the reality and openly discuss the imbalance between opportunities that whites and black have in American society, the injustice of segregated privileges will continue without any prevail.
There are many people who say that we are living in a post racial society in the United States today and there are aspects of life in which that seems to be true. Yet there are many areas of life however in which race still is an important divider that has a major impact on the experiences of the minority peoples in the United States. In 2010, about 41% of the U.S. population identified themselves as members of racial or ethnic minority groups. According to the Centers for Disease Control, compared to non-minorities, some minorities experience a disproportionate level of preventable disease, death and disability (. http://www.cdc.gov/minorityhealth/populations/remp.html ).
In this course I have learned about different social problems in societies worldwide. Some of these include poverty, social inequality, discrimination of race and culture, urbanization, and more. After learning all these subjects and more, I have decided to do my final on social inequality and minorities in the United States. I chose this particular topic because I have seen this in almost every place have lived. I find it appalling that minorities are still not treated 100% equal. We as Americans know what inequality is and know how it is used in our everyday society. I want to explore this topic and show how real and big this
In the early years of the United States, dominant-minority relations were shaped by the agrarian technology and the economic need to control land and labor. The agrarian era ended in the 1800s, and the U.S. has gone through two major transformations in subsistence technology since, each of which has transformed dominant-minority relations and required the creation of new structures and processes to maintain racial stratification and white privilege (Healey, p. 131). The early 1800s to the mid-1900s was the industrial revolution, where machines replaced animal and human labor. Today’s society is known as the postindustrial or deindustrialized society which
America has always been a melting pot of diversity, but current statistics show that in the near future minorities will become the majority percentage of
For many years now the people in power or “whites” have passed laws so that other racial groups are kept at the bottom of the social hierarchy. These racial group that are kept at the bottom become racialized and oppressed therefore they become unequal to the people that are at the top of this hierarchy. The racial groups that are kept at the bottom vary from the Native-Americans to the Mexican-Americans and obviously the African-Americans. In this essay I will be comparing how the racialization process has been similar and different between these racial groups. I will also define race and racialization. Furthermore, I will explain how class, gender, sexuality, and citizenship has impacted the racialization process within these groups.
The dominant groups can play a role in marginalizing other groups based on racial and characteristics involving privilege tends to open doors of opportunity, but oppression tends to slam them shut. The dominant groups has played a role of marginalization to other groups based on racial characters that involve oppression and have emphasized pervasive nature of social inequality woven throughout social institutions. The dominant groups reap advantage and benefit from access to social power and privilege, not equally available to people of color. They receive more money and accumulate more assets than other racial groups, hold the majority of positions of power and influence, and command the controlling institutions in society. The dominant groups restrict the life expectancy, infant mortality, income, housing, employment, and educational opportunities of people of color for economic, social or political power (Adams et al., 2013).