Discrimination: Racial and Ethnic Groups (Sociology Study Notes)

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Relative deprivation is the conscious experience of a negative discrepancy between legitimate expectations and present actualities. It is a subjective feeling of being deprived compared to others.
Absolute deprivation refers to a fixed standard based on a minimum level of subsistence, often determined by the government. It is an objective measure of poverty or lack of resources.
Example: A person may feel relatively deprived if they have less income than their peers, even if their basic needs are met. Absolute deprivation would mean lacking basic necessities such as food, shelter, or healthcare.

Hate crimes occur when offenders choose a victim because of some characteristic—such as race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or disability.
Harsher Penalties: Hate crimes often carry harsher penalties because the group being terrorized is carefully chosen, and the crime is intended to intimidate not just the individual but the entire group.
Example: Vandalizing a place of worship because of the congregation's religion is a hate crime.

Institutional racism is a form of racism that occurs when institutions (such as governments, schools, or workplaces) discriminate through their policies and practices.
Definition: The collective failure of an organization to provide appropriate and professional service to people because of their color, culture, or ethnic origin. This can be seen in policies, attitudes, and behaviors that amount to discrimination through prejudice, ignorance, or stereotyping.
Example: Workplace discrimination through unequal pay, underrepresentation, and biased hiring. In the USA, African American workers earn on average 26.5% less than White counterparts, and people of color are underrepresented in leadership positions.

Denial of opportunities and equal rights to individuals and groups due to normal operations of society.
Credit risk standards and business loans often disadvantage African Americans and Hispanics.
IQ testing and educational assessments may favor middle-class, especially White, children.
The criminal justice system is often dominated by Whites, making it difficult for minorities to receive fair treatment.
Hiring practices may require prior experience in jobs only recently opened to minorities.
Automatic elimination of applicants with felony records or past drug offenses disproportionately affects people of color.

Economic Impact: Discrimination leads to income discrepancies and lower median incomes for minority groups.
Eliminating Discrimination: Social change efforts include voluntary associations and government action, such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the establishment of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
Wealth Inequality: Discrimination's legacy is seen in wealth gaps, affecting access to jobs, housing, and financial services.

By 2013, the typical White household had accumulated about 13 times as much wealth as African American households and 10 times as much as Hispanic households.

Year	Black	Hispanic	White
1977	$6,200	$6,300	$88,700
2013	$11,000	$13,700	$141,000

Environmental justice refers to efforts to ensure that hazardous substances are controlled so all communities receive protection, regardless of race or socioeconomic status.
After documentation of discrimination in hazardous waste site locations, a 1994 executive order required federal agencies to ensure that low-income and minority communities have access to information and participation in shaping policies affecting their health.
Example: Disparities in water quality and exposure to pollutants in minority communities.

Affirmative action is the positive effort to recruit subordinate-group members, including women, for jobs, promotions, and educational opportunities.
First appeared in an executive order by President John F. Kennedy in 1961.
Affirmative action policies may include targeted recruitment, special training programs, and membership policies.
Legal Debate: Some argue affirmative action leads to reverse discrimination, while others see it as necessary to address historical inequalities.

Year	Case	Ruling
1971	Griggs v. Duke Power Co.	Private employers must provide a remedy where minorities were denied opportunities.
1978	Regents of the University of California v. Bakke	Prohibited holding a specific number of places for minorities in college admissions.
2003	Grutter v. Bollinger	Race can be a limited factor in college admissions.
2016	Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin	Rejected a challenge to race-conscious college education programs.

Glass ceiling refers to invisible barriers that prevent women and minorities from advancing to top positions in organizations.
Causes include lack of management commitment, pay inequities, stereotyping, unfair recruitment, lack of family-friendly policies, and limited advancement opportunities.
Example: Women and minorities are underrepresented in executive positions despite having qualifications.

Discrimination exists on a spectrum from most to least severe: extermination (genocide), expulsion, secession, segregation, fusion, assimilation, and pluralism.
Example: The Civil Rights Act of 1964 promoted pluralism by supporting equal rights for all groups.

Some forms of discrimination are widely condemned (e.g., hate crimes), while subtler forms (e.g., microaggressions, institutional bias) may be overlooked or rationalized by society.
Example: Overt racial slurs are condemned, but hiring biases may go unnoticed.