preview

Race And Ethnic Stratification Research Paper

Decent Essays

Essay 2: Race and Ethnic Stratification Research Paper

In 1957, Malaysia became an independent country and in 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act. Within seven years, the two countries underwent critical transformations from a history of systematic oppression to new freedoms. Both the United States and Malaysia are comprised of multiple ethnicities, races, and dynamics that define their social and economic relationships. Because of the timing of social and economic change, residual effects of oppression influence the ability of both countries to lessen racial and ethnic inequalities. However, similarities between racial and ethnic dynamics in the two countries end there. After independence, Malaysian society was able to progress in a way that significantly reduced socioeconomic stratification, while in the U.S., the progress was less notable. Much of this discrepancy is due to the differences between ethnicity and race: in Malaysia, ethnic differences are complex and subtle, making them easier to ignore or forget; in the U.S., racial distinctions are often as clear and rigid as the difference between black and white, making significant and lasting progress more difficult to achieve.
A number of reasons for this contrast between Malaysia and the U.S. will be discussed. For one thing, the conditions succeeding from the U.S. racial climate did not favor African Americans in terms of employment and status, whereas in Malaysia, independence had a

Get Access