4.05 Minority Status, Discrimination, and Prejudice

• Introduction
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• Task

Introduction

Looking at the United States in the 21st century, some people wonder aloud if race and ethnicity are still relevant to social stratification. After all, African Americans have served as secretary of state, secretary of defense, and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The office of attorney general has been held by both an African American and a Hispanic. Most notably, an African American currently serves as president. As historic as these leaders' achievements have been, however, in every case their elevation meant that they left behind a virtually all-white government department or assembly.

At the same time, college campuses across the United States have historically been the scene of bias-related incidents. Student-run newspapers and radio stations have ridiculed racial and ethnic minorities; threatening literature has been stuffed under the doors of minority students' homes; graffiti endorsing the views of white supremacist organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan have been scrawled on university walls; an Alabama state governor has stood in the doors of a college campus academic building vocally supporting segregation.

What caused ugly historic incidents? What can be done to overcome the attitudes and behaviors that lead to such incidents?