Race relations

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Race relations in Mexico

Race relations is a sociological concept that emerged in Chicago in connection with the work of sociologist Robert E. Park and the Chicago race riot of 1919. [1] Race relations designates a paradigm or field in sociology [2] and a legal concept in the United Kingdom. As a sociological field, race relations attempts to explain how racial groups relate to each other. These relations vary depending on historical, social, and cultural context. The term is used in a generic way to designate race related interactions, dynamics, and issues.

Contents

In the 1960s, the prevailing understanding of race relations was underdeveloped and was acknowledged by sociologists for its failure to predict the anti-racist struggles. It was critiqued for being explicitly used to give an explanation of violence connected to race. The use of paradigm was criticized for overlooking the power differential between races, implying that the source of violence is disharmony rather than racist power structures. Race relations are divided into positive and negative. Positive or good race relations promote equality, empathy, and inclusivity, while negative race relations generate tension, conflict, and social divisions.

Detractors of the term "race relations" have called it as a euphemism for white supremacy or racism. Opinion polls, such as Gallup polls, use the term "race relations" to group together various responses connected to race. [3] [4] University level sociology courses are often named "Race and Ethnic Relations." [2]

In the United States

Robert E. Park of the University of Chicago formulated a theory known as "race relations cycle," which is currently discredited. He believed race relations have a universal pattern: when races come into contact, at first they are hostile, but thaw over time. [5] However, Park only conducted minimal studies related to it and didn't examine its validity across ethnic groups to ensure its accuracy in representing reality.

The cycle was postulated to be driven by subjective attitudes that members of races feel toward other races. [6] The steps in Park's cycle were contact, competition, accommodation, and assimilation. Park's students tested his ideas by studying communities of Chinese and Japanese origin living in the United States and found that, contrary to Park's theory, adopting white culture did not lead to acceptance by white Americans. However, Park did not discard his theory in spite of the failures to verify it. [7]

In 1919, white residents of Chicago instigated the mass murder of black residents, an event known as the Chicago race riot of 1919. After this violent event, city authorities established the Chicago Commission on Race Relations. This was composed entirely of men, six African-Americans and six European-Americans. [8] [9]

Sociologist Everett Hughes published a collection of Park's articles in 1950, seven years after Park's death. The beginnings of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s caused interest in the study of race, and Park's work became a founding text in the emerging field named "race relations." [2]

Because race relations model imagined steady progress of whites, it failed to predict the radical upheavals of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. Everett Hughes delivered an address at the American Sociological Association (of which he was president) titled Race Relations and the Sociological Imagination in which Hughes confessed the failure of prediction: "Why did social scientists — and sociologists in particular — not foresee the explosion of collective action of Negro Americans demanding immediate full integration into American society?" [2] African-American scholars had little more than token representation in this field. Race relations model was considered by them as a failure of white social science.

The Kerner Report, commissioned by the US government in 1967 to study the causes of 1960s race riots, said that the Watts riots of 1965 "shocked all who had been confident that race relations were improving in the North." [10] The report clarified that the major cause of the riots was white racism, and recommended job creation measures and police reform. President Lyndon B. Johnson discarded the report's recommendations. [11]

In the 1970s, some sociologists in America sought to replace the term race relations with racial oppression, because that was the better notion of what race meant in that period. For example, the 1972 book Racial Oppression in America by Bob Blauner challenged the race relations paradigm on negative effects, he explained that the source of the problem between races is not because of some naturally inherent racial animosity but is deeply rooted in the way societal systems are or the society is organized and structured. [2]

In 2020, the world witnessed the murder of George Floyd, an African American man, by Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, in a live-streamed video. This event triggered a significant shift in the U.S. and around the world, leading to a new awareness and consciousness about race relations. [12] The dominant culture started engaging in discussions about racial justice and anti-racist practices, as well as seeking ways to understand and address racial issues. [13] The need to reduce negative race relations practices and promote racial justice became more apparent after the George Floyd incident. Efforts were reinforced to ensure equality, dismantle systemic racism, and address historical and present-day discrimination that affects marginalized racial and ethnic groups. [13] To rectify the impacts of past and ongoing racial disparities, specific policies and practices like affirmative action gained importance. [14] Affirmative action is not considered as a solution to negative race relations, but it is seen as one of the steps to counteract the effects of past discrimination and create a more level playing field where dominant racist social structures are present. This allows underrepresented groups to have access to the same opportunities, presence, and benefits as others. The goal is to correct the imbalances caused by historical discrimination, to interrupt the cycle of culturally reproduced discrimination, and foster greater inclusion and diversity in society. [14]

In the United Kingdom

The concept of race relations became institutionally significant in the United Kingdom through the establishment of the Department of Social Anthropology under the leadership of Kenneth Little at the University of Edinburgh. [1]

Institutions

The Institute of Race Relations was established in 1958. Its remit was to research, publish and collect resources on race relations across the world. However, in 1972, the membership of the institute supported the staff in the radical transformation of the organisation: rather than being a policy-oriented academic institution it became an anti-racist think tank. [15]

The Race Relations Board was created following the passing of the Race Relations Act 1965 as a body "to assess and resolve individual cases of discrimination." [16] Its remit was originally restricted to places of public resort and regarding disposal of tenancies, but this was expanded with the passage of the Race Relations Act 1968. [16]

Legislation in the UK

Race Relations Acts are legislation in the United Kingdom to outlaw racial discrimination and to tackle institutional racism:

Criticism

The concept of race relations has been criticised for implying a matched relationship between races. Stephen Steinberg of CUNY contends that the term "racial oppression" should be used in unevenly matched instances instead of negative race relation or simply "race relations:"

While the term "race relations" is meant to convey value neutrality, on closer examination it is riddled with value. Indeed, its rhetorical function is to obfuscate the true nature of "race relations," which is a system of racial domination and exploitation based on violence, resulting in the suppression and dehumanization of an entire people over centuries of American history. [2]

Journalist Charles M. Blow observes that Americans who were polled on their "satisfaction with race relations" reported lower satisfaction after the rise of Black Lives Matter, an anti-racism movement. The term "race relations," according to Blow, "suggests a relationship that swings from harmony to disharmony." Objecting to racism creates awareness of disharmony, whereas silently submitting to racial oppression creates a false impression of harmonious race relations. Because of this counterintuitive result, Blow argues that the terms "race relations," "racial tension," and "racial division" are unhelpful euphemisms for what should properly be called white supremacy. [4] The term "race relations" describes more the relationship between two groups of people rather than the discrimination against them. Specifically labeling racism this way almost implies that racism is not here, or at least makes it seem like huge changes in our governing systems have changed. It is true that, today the Average American knows and understands the dangers of racism, however many of the laws that are set in place have disproportionately targeted certain groups of people. To label the many problems between different races in this country is a slightly disingenuous, because even though racism is not a one way street, there is definitely a glaring difference in the way this country treats certain races. Softening the reality of our world leads to ignorance, and racism is rooted from hatred and ignorance by large.[ citation needed ]

Reconciliation

Reconciliation is a term used in truth and reconciliation commissions around the world, and used in various countries when referring to improving relations between their First Nations peoples and the rest of the population. [17] Reconciliation in Australia has been part of Australian Government policy since 1991, [18] and the term is also used in New Zealand, [19] [20] Canada, [21] the United States [22] (as in the Maine Wabanaki-State Truth and Reconciliation Commission), and in Europe. [17] [23]

See also

Related Research Articles

Racism is discrimination and prejudice against people based on their race or ethnicity. Racism can be present in social actions, practices, or political systems that support the expression of prejudice or aversion in discriminatory practices. The ideology underlying racist practices often assumes that humans can be subdivided into distinct groups that are different in their social behavior and innate capacities and that can be ranked as inferior or superior. Racist ideology can become manifest in many aspects of social life. Associated social actions may include nativism, xenophobia, otherness, segregation, hierarchical ranking, supremacism, and related social phenomena. Racism refers to violation of racial equality based on equal opportunities or based on equality of outcomes for different races or ethnicities, also called substantive equality.

White supremacy is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White supremacy has roots in the now-discredited doctrine of scientific racism and was a key justification for European colonialism.

Racial discrimination is any discrimination against any individual on the basis of their race, ancestry, ethnicity, and/or skin color and hair texture. Individuals can discriminate by refusing to do business with, socialize with, or share resources with people of a certain group. Governments can discriminate explicitly in law, for example through policies of racial segregation, disparate enforcement of laws, or disproportionate allocation of resources. Some jurisdictions have anti-discrimination laws which prohibit the government or individuals from being discriminated based on race in various circumstances. Some institutions and laws use affirmative action to attempt to overcome or compensate for the effects of racial discrimination. In some cases, this is simply enhanced recruitment of members of underrepresented groups; in other cases, there are firm racial quotas. Opponents of strong remedies like quotas characterize them as reverse discrimination, where members of a dominant or majority group are discriminated against.

Racial color blindness refers to the belief that a person's race or ethnicity should not influence their legal or social treatment in society.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert E. Park</span> American sociologist (1864–1944)

Robert Ezra Park was an American urban sociologist who is considered to be one of the most influential figures in early U.S. sociology. Park was a pioneer in the field of sociology, changing it from a passive philosophical discipline to an active discipline rooted in the study of human behavior. He made significant contributions to the study of urban communities, race relations and the development of empirically grounded research methods, most notably participant observation in the field of criminology. From 1905 to 1914, Park worked with Booker T. Washington at the Tuskegee Institute. After Tuskegee, he taught at the University of Chicago from 1914 to 1933, where he played a leading role in the development of the Chicago School of sociology.

Critical race theory (CRT) is an academic field focused on the relationships between social conceptions of race and ethnicity, social and political laws, and media. CRT also considers racism to be systemic in various laws and rules, not based only on individuals' prejudices. The word critical in the name is an academic reference to critical theory rather than criticizing or blaming individuals.

Racism has been reflected in discriminatory laws, practices, and actions against "racial" or ethnic groups, throughout the history of the United States. Since the early colonial era, White Americans have generally enjoyed legally or socially sanctioned privileges and rights, which have been denied to members of various ethnic or minority groups at various times. European Americans have enjoyed advantages in matters of citizenship, criminal procedure, education, immigration, land acquisition, and voting rights.

Reverse racism, sometimes referred to as reverse discrimination, is the concept that affirmative action and similar color-conscious programs for redressing racial inequality are forms of anti-white racism. The concept is often associated with conservative social movements, and reflects a belief that social and economic gains by Black people and other people of color cause disadvantages for white people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anti-Black racism</span> Fear, hatred or extreme aversion to Black people and Black culture

Anti-Black racism, also called anti-Black sentiment, anti-Blackness, colourphobia or Negrophobia, is characterised by prejudice, collective hatred, and discrimination or extreme aversion towards people who are racialised as Black people, especially those people from sub-Saharan Africa and its diasporas, as well as a loathing of Black culture worldwide. Such sentiment includes, but is not limited to: the attribution of negative characteristics to Black people; the fear, strong dislike or dehumanization of Black men; and the objectification of Black women.

Howard Winant is an American sociologist and race theorist. Winant is Distinguished Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Winant is best known for developing the theory of racial formation along with Michael Omi. Winant's research and teachings revolve around race and racism, comparative historical sociology, political sociology, social theory, and human rights.

Internalized racism is a form of internalized oppression, defined by sociologist Karen D. Pyke as the "internalization of racial oppression by the racially subordinated." In her study The Psychology of Racism, Robin Nicole Johnson emphasizes that internalized racism involves both "conscious and unconscious acceptance of a racial hierarchy in which a presumed superior race are consistently ranked above other races. These definitions encompass a wide range of instances, including, but not limited to, belief in negative stereotypes, adaptations to cultural standards, and thinking that supports the status quo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Feagin</span> American sociologist

Joe Richard Feagin is an American sociologist and social theorist who has conducted extensive research on racial and gender issues in the United States. He is currently the Ella C. McFadden Distinguished Professor at Texas A&M University.

Racial democracy is a concept that denies the existence of racism in Brazil. Some scholars of race relations in Brazil argue that the country has escaped racism and racial discrimination. Those researchers cite the fact that most Brazilians claim not to view others through the lens of race, and thus the idea of racial discrimination is irrelevant.

Laissez-faire racism is closely related to color blindness and covert racism, and is theorised to encompass an ideology that blames minorities for their poorer economic situations, viewing it as the result of cultural inferiority. The term is used largely by scholars of whiteness studies, who argue that laissez-faire racism has tangible consequences even though few would openly claim to be, or even believe they are, laissez-faire racists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sociology of race and ethnic relations</span> Field of study

The sociology of race and ethnic relations is the study of social, political, and economic relations between races and ethnicities at all levels of society. This area encompasses the study of systemic racism, like residential segregation and other complex social processes between different racial and ethnic groups.

Racism in Canada traces both historical and contemporary racist community attitudes, as well as governmental negligence and political non-compliance with United Nations human rights standards and incidents in Canada. Contemporary Canada is the product of indigenous First Nations combined with multiple waves of immigration, predominantly from Europe and in modern times, from Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Racism in the United Kingdom</span>

Racism in the United Kingdom has a long history and includes structural discrimination and hostile attitudes against various ethnic minorities. The extent and the targets have varied over time. It has resulted in cases of discrimination, riots and racially motivated murders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anti-racism</span> Beliefs, actions, movements, and policies adopted or developed to oppose racism

Anti-racism encompasses a range of ideas and political actions which are meant to counter racial prejudice, systemic racism, and the oppression of specific racial groups. Anti-racism is usually structured around conscious efforts and deliberate actions which are intended to create equal opportunities for all people on both an individual and a systemic level. As a philosophy, it can be engaged in by the acknowledgment of personal privileges, confronting acts as well as systems of racial discrimination and/or working to change personal racial biases. Major contemporary anti-racism efforts include the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement and workplace anti-racism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cultural racism</span> Alleged type of racism that discriminates people for being culturally different

Cultural racism, sometimes called neo-racism, new racism, postmodern racism, or differentialist racism, is a concept that has been applied to prejudices and discrimination based on cultural differences between ethnic or racial groups. This includes the idea that some cultures are superior to others or in more extreme cases that various cultures are fundamentally incompatible and should not co-exist in the same society or state. In this it differs from biological or scientific racism, which refers to prejudices and discrimination rooted in perceived biological differences between ethnic or racial groups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Racism against African Americans</span>

In the context of racism in the United States, racism against African Americans dates back to the colonial era, and it continues to be a persistent issue in American society in the 21st century.

References

  1. 1 2 Shilliam, Robbie. "How Black Deficit Entered the British Academy" (PDF). robbieshilliam.wordpress.com. Robbie Shilliam. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 June 2019. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Steinberg, Stephen (2007). Race Relations: a Critique. Stanford University Press. ISBN   9780804763233. Archived from the original on 2022-05-15. Retrieved 2020-07-10.[ page needed ]
  3. ↑ Newport, Frank (June 19, 2020). "Race Relations as the Nation's Most Important Problem". Gallup. Archived from the original on July 2, 2020. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  4. 1 2 Blow, Charles M. (July 8, 2020). "Call a Thing a Thing". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 9, 2020. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  5. ↑ "Race Relations Cycle". Encyclopedia.com. Cengage.
  6. ↑ Ballis Lal, Barbara (December 30, 2015). "Race Relations Cycle". The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Race, Ethnicity, and Nationalism. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. pp. 1–3. doi:10.1002/9781118663202.wberen598. ISBN   9781118663202.
  7. ↑ Lyman, Stanford M. (March 1, 1968). "The Race Relations Cycle of Robert E. Park". Pacific Sociological Review. 11 (1): 16–22. doi:10.2307/1388520. JSTOR   1388520. S2CID   108207136.
  8. ↑ "The Chicago Race Riot of 1919". History. History com. Archived from the original on 27 June 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  9. ↑ The Negro in Chicago; a study of race relations and a race riot. Chicago, Illinois: The University of Chicago Press. 1922. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  10. ↑ Report of the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders (PDF) (Report). National Criminal Justice Reference Service. p. 20. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 9, 2020. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  11. ↑ Risen, Clay (2009). "King, Johnson, and The Terrible, Glorious Thirty-First Day of March". A nation on fire : America in the wake of the King assassination . Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN   978-0-470-17710-5.[ page needed ]
  12. ↑ Samuels, Robert; Olorunnipa, Toluse (2022-05-17). His Name Is George Floyd (Pulitzer Prize Winner): One Man's Life and the Struggle for Racial Justice. Penguin. ISBN   978-0-593-49062-4.
  13. 1 2 Bangura, Abdul Karim, ed. (2021-09-20). Black Lives Matter Vs. All Lives Matter: A Multidisciplinary Primer. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN   978-1-7936-4067-3.
  14. 1 2 Mwakikagile, Godfrey (2021-07-03). Reflections on Race Relations: A Personal Odyssey. New Africa Press.
  15. ↑ "About". www.irr.org.uk. Institute of Race Relations. Archived from the original on 5 July 2019. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  16. 1 2 "First Report of the Race Relations Board". UK Parliament. Archived from the original on 29 June 2019. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  17. 1 2 "Indigenous reconciliation". The Conversation . Archived from the original on 8 October 2021. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
  18. ↑ "About Us". Reconciliation Australia. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
  19. ↑ Mulholland, Malcolm (11 May 2016). "New Zealand's indigenous reconciliation efforts show having a treaty isn't enough". The Conversation . Archived from the original on 6 August 2021. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
  20. ↑ Sullivan, Ann (2016). "The politics of reconciliation in New Zealand". Political Science. 68 (2). Informa UK Limited: 124–142. doi:10.1177/0032318716676290. ISSN   0032-3187. S2CID   151660268.
  21. ↑ "Home page". Reconciliation Canada. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
  22. ↑ Maddison, Sarah (16 May 2016). "Indigenous reconciliation in the US shows how sovereignty and constitutional recognition work together". The Conversation. Archived from the original on 8 October 2021. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
  23. ↑ Brzozowski, Alexandra (7 April 2021). "Nordic countries set up Sámi reconciliation commissions to investigate indigenous injustices". www.euractiv.com. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 9 October 2021.

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