Introduction to Sociology- Difference Between Race and Ethnicity

Introduction to Sociology- Difference Between Race and Ethnicity

What is the difference between race and ethnicity?

Race is a social construct used to categorize people based on shared biological attributes that society believes are significant. These physical qualities include phenotypic characteristics, primarily skin color. Ethnicity is another sociological idea of classifying people based on shared cultural heritage, for instance, traditions, languages, religion, and nationality of a group.

How could these two sociological concepts factor into present-day issues for minorities?

Affordability of health services, illicit drug use, affordability of college education, racism, and economic incongruity are among the top present-day issues Americans face. Studies have consistently shown the inequality between the majority and the minority, meaning that the minority suffers from these issues more than the majority. To further delineate how race and ethnicity factor into present-day issues for minorities by looking at the socioeconomic status (SES) between the minority and the majority (Barger et al., 2009). Socioeconomic status envelopes the quality of life attributes, opportunities, privileges, pay, monetary security, educational fulfillment, and abstract assessments on social class and societal level.

Moreover, socioeconomic standing can also predict a massive swath of results across life expectancy, including mental and physical health (Mossakowski, 2008). Comparing the SES between the minority and the majority, it is evident that there is vast disparity, demonstrating that having a low socioeconomic status is intimately related to one’s race and ethnicity. Therefore, race and ethnicity only increase the struggle for minorities with regard to present-day issues.

Do you think present-day issues are indicative of systemic racism?

The unemployment rate of African Americans is twofold that of Caucasian Americans. African Americans and Latinos are bound to receive significant expense mortgages than Caucasians (Ritter et al., 2011). An African American working full-time acquires about 72% of the typical earnings of an equivalent Caucasian individual. High school dropout rates are most noteworthy among Latinos, trailed by African Americans and, afterward, Whites (Lofstrom, 2007). In 2013, 12.4% of African American college graduates aged 22-27 were jobless, which was more than twice the pace of joblessness among all the graduates in that equivalent age range. According to (Williams et al., 2017), minority groups have worse general health than white Americans.

Most sociologists call attention to the fact that systemic racism continues in social organizations such as government-funded schools and the criminal justice framework, i.e., sentencing, policing, and laws. A few states have additionally discovered diverse approaches to limit the establishment of voting rights for minority groups. These strategies incorporate compulsory ID prerequisites, lesser polling areas in provincial and impoverished regions, and criminal disenfranchisement in places with a significant majority of populaces. Additionally, schools today are more isolated in certain regions than before (de facto segregation). Children of minority groups are bound to be labeled as degenerate and are suspended or potentially ousted at far more prominent than whites who submit something similar or comparable offenses. This situation has resulted in some arguing that a “school-to-jail pipeline” starts as prematurely as pre-k inside state-funded schools. All these injustices eventually leave minorities at a disadvantage, especially in socioeconomic status. To conclude, my answer is yes; I think that the vast majority of our present-day issues are demonstrative of systemic racism.

References

Race and Ethnicity in United States/ Introduction to Sociology. (2021). Courses.lumelearning.com. https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wmopen-introtosociology/chapter/race-and-ethnicity-in-the-united-states/%20

Mossakowski, K.N. (2008). Dissecting the influence of race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status on mental health in young adulthood. Research on Aging. 30(6), 649-671.

Barger, S. D., Donoho, C. J., & Wayment, H. A. (2009). The relative contributions of race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, health, and social relationships to life satisfaction in the United States. Quality of Life Research, 18(2), 179-189.

Ritter, J. A., & Taylor, L. J. (2011). Racial disparity in unemployment. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 93(1), 30-42.

Lofstrom, M. (2007). Why Are Hispanic and African-American Dropout Rates So High?

Williams, S. L., & Mann, A. K. (2017). Sexual and gender minority health disparities as a social issue: How stigma and intergroup relations can explain and reduce health disparities. Journal of Social Issues, 73(3), 450-461.

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What is the difference between race and ethnicity?

Introduction to Sociology- Difference Between Race and Ethnicity

How could these two sociological concepts factor into present-day issues for minorities?
Do you think these present-day issues are indicative of systemic racism?