Geographies of Race and Ethnicity

The U.S. has been referred to as a melting pot or sometimes as a salad bowl. Are we one or the other?

Sometimes we celebrate our differences:Greek FestivalsSt. Patrick’s Day ParadesGerman Festivals or OktoberfestItalian, African, Czech, etc. FestivalsChina TownLittle ItalyCinco de Mayo

Do we celebrate race, ethnicity, or both?Race: is usually seen as genetic or biological;

we look at the physical characteristics.

Ethnicity: refers to the ethnic group which consists of people of common ancestry and cultural traditions; you must be born into an ethnic group, or there is marriage and adoption.

With race, there is a social component that has meant different things to different people at different times.

Race:There was a time in the U.S. when anyone with any

African-American ancestry – even one drop – was considered to be black.

There has been a great rise in interracial marriages, so that now on the census one can just check “racially mixed”. Ex: Tiger Woods could use the term “Cablinasian” which

indicates Caucasian, Black, American Indian, and Asian Ex: President Barack Obama was born in the United

States after Hawaii had become a state. His mother was Caucasian American and his father was a black man from Kenya. He is 50/50.

We are all from one species: Homo sapien sapien

Ethnic groups may base their identities on different traitsJews -- religionAfrican-Americans -- shared history of slaveryAmish -- folk culture and religionGerman-Americans -- languageIrish-Americans -- blood, St. Patrick, leprechauns,

and perhaps potatoes

Ethnicity marks minority groups as well as the majority

Both can be based on history, language, religion, or culture.

Ethnic groups in a new nation may have been the dominant group in their old nation.

Through migration and relocation diffusion, people may become an ethnic group by being the newcomer whose ethnic identity is in the minority

Native American tribes became ethnic groups only when the British and then the U.S. took over their territory.

Ethnic minorities usually go through some changes in their new areas; they have to make adjustments to the dominant culture.

Acculturation - the ethnic group adopts enough of the ways of the dominant society to function socially and economically

Assimilation- is a complete blending with the host or dominant culture and may involve the loss of many ethnic traitsEx: intermarriage, language, accent, food,

clothes, other habits of host culture

Ethnic groups usually keep many or some of their traditions: Weddings in Cyprus- money is pinned to the

bride’s dress at the reception by those who dance with her

Gives a group identity, friends, business associates, a church, stores

Theme: Region4 Types of Ethnic Region:

Rural Ethnic Homelands

Ethnic Islands

Ethnic Neighborhoods

Ethnic Ghettos

Ethnic Homelands cover large areas, sometimes overlapping city borders and have large populationshave geographical isolation and segregation

have some political autonomy or self-rule

belong to indigenous ethnic groups

have venerated places or shrines

combine formal and functional regions

Ethnic Islands are small areas in the countryside

They are home to several hundred to several thousand people

They are small in size and population

They exert little power

Ethnic Homelands in the U.S.:

Acadiana, Louisiana (Cajun)

Spanish-Americans in New Mexico and Colorado

Tejano in Texas

Navajo in Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico

In Canada: French-Canadian in Quebec

Some have succumbed to Assimilation:Mormons in Utah (Deseret)Pennsylvania Dutch (Germans)Black Belt in American South

They are being absorbed into the dominant or host culture, but they leave a residue of their culture or an ethnic substrate (food, architecture, dialect)

Ethnic IslandsMore numerous than homelandsGroup tries to minimize contact with outside

worldThey maximize contact of group members People are drawn to the rural areas where they

can find people of the same ethnic backgroundEthnic islands survive from generation to

generationMost land is inheritedLand is sold to other members of the ethnic group

to preserve the identity of the islandpp. 147, 148 - maps

Ethnic NeighborhoodsA voluntary community where people of

common ethnicity live by choiceThe result of preferences shown by different

ethnic groups Helps to maintain the group’s identity and

cohesivenessBenefits are a common language, nearby

family, stores & services, tailored to their tastes, jobs, churches, clubs, and restaurants

Ethnic GhettoThe term comes from 13th century when Jews

were made to live in segregated, walled communities

For religious minorities – Christian districts in Islamic States

In U.S., ghetto refers to an impoverished, urban neighborhood; could be Hispanic or African-American, for example

Hispanic impoverished, urban neighborhoods are often called barrios.

Ethnic neighborhoods became common in the U.S. and Canada after the 1840s – German and Irish immigrants lived there.

Germans often moved to areas that reminded them of home if they were farmers. Example: Garrett County

Irish, Italians, Poles, & Eastern European Jews remained in cities and formed ethnic neighborhoods. Example: Little Italy and Fells Point in Baltimore

Later, French-Canadians, Southern Blacks, Puerto Ricans, Asians, Appalachian Whites, and other non-European groups joined them.

These neighborhoods could be transitory.As one group acculturates, if that’s a word, it

may move on to another area outside of the cityThen another group will move in to take its

place.German and Irish followed byGreeks, Poles, & Czechs replaced byPuerto Ricans

Groups relocate but may remain together in the suburbs this time

These suburban ethnic neighborhoods can have affluent immigrant populations.

These people then inhabit an ethnoburb ( affluent immigrant neighborhoods in the suburbs).

Changes in ImmigrationU.S. Immigration Policy has changed over the

years since 1921.1965: changed from a quota system based on

national origin to one that allows a certain number in from each hemisphere.

Preferences are given to family membersThen there are illegal aliens.These changes to immigration policy have

changed the ethnic look of the U.S.

Today, Asia rather than Europe sends more immigrants to North America: Chinese, Koreans, Filipinos, Indians, & Vietnamese.

Map p. 151In 2002, Latinos narrowly edged out African-

Americans as the largest ethnic group, after non-Hispanic whites.

In some popular Hispanic immigration destination cities, Hispanics are the majority population.

They influence aspects of the culture: food, music, fashion, & language.

Table 5.1, p. 151Figure 5.12, p. 153Maps, pp. 154-155New Arizona Law: In order to stop illegal aliens

from settling in Arizona, a new law allows police to stop those who they perceive as illegals. The governor of Arizona does not call this profiling. Others do.

Ethnic groups tend to stay where they enter the U.S.

Many remain on the coasts

Ethnic populations in places other than the U.S.:28 million ethnic Chinese live outside of China,

mainly in S.E. Asia and Polynesia.Aukland, New Zealand has the largest population

of Polynesians of any city in the world.Figure 5.2, p. 140Australia, Argentina, and Brazil have many foreign

born in their populationsEast African countries have large South Asian and

Indian populations

West Africa has large numbers of Lebanese

United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and Spain have millions of Africans, Turks, and Asians.

Table 5.2, p. 156

Theme: MobilityRelocation DiffusionWhen a group in the majority in one country

moves to another country where they are in the minority, they then become an ethnic group

Migration creates ethnicity.Voluntary Migration is by Choice; you choose

to moveInvoluntary Migration is forced:

SlaveryPolitical, economic, or environmental refugees

Chain Migration also occursAn individual or small group migrates to a new

land, usually with push factors involvedThey then influence others back home to follow

(immigrant letter or other types of communication where the good stuff is emphasized and the bad stuff is left out).

Word spreads ( hierarchical and contagious diffusion)

Others follow (relocation)

Return Migration:Voluntary movement of a group back to its

ancestral homeland or native countryYou go back to where you came from“Birds of Passage or Birds of Paradise” ,

Italians of early 1900s1990s saw largest return of African-Americans

to the American South

Cultural Simplification:

When groups migrate, they take their culture with them.

They try to recreate traditional ways in the new land, but can’t recreate everything.

A simplified version is created

Selected traits take hold.

If the group is isolated in their new land, more traits will take hold.

They may remain more traditional than those back home

Those back home may meet more people from other cultures and change as a result.

Theme: GlobalizationDoes globalization make everyone the same?

Will ethnicity go the way of the dinosaurs?

The U.S. says it is a “melting pot”Marx once said that “racism” would vanish.3 factors hold people together and create “we-

ness”:Language ReligionEthnicity

Even within one nation, these might cause strife and cause people to hold on tightly to that which makes them unique.Persecution of the Jews, Blacks, Chinese, Irish,

New ImmigrantsIsrael, founded in 1948, has minority groups

within it who are marginalized Arab Jews Different colored license plates There was discussion in the Knesset in 1989 about

minorities wearing different colored patches on their clothes didn’t happen)

Race and European Colonization:Europe took colonies all over the world for

God, Gold, & GloryThey exerted distinction between those

colonized and colonizers usually along racial lines with whites being “superior”

Even their status as human beings was debated

There were abuses, poor treatment, enslavement; Ex: Spanish in New Spain or English in American coloniesp

Rwanda – 2 tribes or ethnic groups85% were Hutus15% were Tutsis

1918 Belgium took it over and favored the lighter-skinned Tutsis

Tutsis had positions in government, education, and business

Hutus were considered to be inferior by the Belgians because their skin was darker

Hutu, Tutsi, & Twa

1959 – Hutus rebelled and 20,000 Tutsis were killed and others left

1961 – Rwanda became independent with Hutus in power and Tutsis discriminated against

1990 – Tutsis returned and demanded an end to discrimination

1994 – Tutsis and their Hutu sympathizers were subject to genocide , massacre of 1 million in just a few months

See p. 160, 161

Problems of race and ethnicity have been around for centuries.

Indigenous Populationshave tried to resist the dominant cultureare proud of their heritagehave had acculturation take placehave been pressured to hold on to their own

culture

Theme: Nature/CultureHow do ethnic groups interact with their

environment?Have certain ethnic groups been pushed onto

poorer land? toxic land?Cultural Preadaptation:

certain groups have certain skills or traits to help them or give them an advantage in a new land

groups often try to find an area similar to the one they left: German-Swiss farmers in Garrett County OR Cubans in Miami

This may result in ethnic clustering.

Cultural Maladaptation:what you did or grew in the old country doesn’t

work in the new landcertain habitats that are isolated may shelter

an ethnic group from outsiders rugged or high areas

Fig. 5.25, p. 165

Environmental Racism:being part of an ethnic or racial group doesn’t

necessarily mean you are or you will be poor, but it does happen frequently

some impoverished or “racialized” groups live in run-down sections of town or in areas that might be toxic – factory areas

in rural areas, it may be that the poor end up on less fertile land

Theme: Cultural LandscapeEthnic landscape may appear to be different

from mainstream areas.There are ethnic flags or markers of ethnicity

that let you know you have entered an area different from the mainstream.

It is sometimes subtle: fig. 5.28, p. 167Sometimes it is more obvious: fig 5.27, p.

167 and fig. 5.26, p. 166They are visual ethnic expressions.

Little Havana in Miami & An Irish Neighborhood

These are visual ethnic expressions.

The ethnic group is trying to re-create a trait from their homeland through the use of an ethnic flag.

Over time, things can change, neighborhoods can change and be inhabited by new ethnic groups.One leavesA new one comes in

Ethnic Culinary LandscapesFood consumed by an ethnic group and how it

is preparedCertain foods indicate certain groups: jalapena

peppers in McDonald’s or Mexican restaurants and grocery stores

When one group moves from an area, it may get care packages from home -- foods that are hard to find in the new land or neighborhood

Ex: Seaweed cookies from Japan

Doing Geography, p. 172