Becoming a Geographic Explorer: Race and Ethnicity by Kyle

1. What Is Race? Melissa/Kyle

10007032 — 2015-05-04 16:14:08 UTC

How has the use of the term “Race” impacted people’s perceptions of other people? Is this a fair system to use (meaning, should we identify people based on Race). Why or why not?

Important facts:

Race is a modern idea.
Race has no genetic basis.
Skin color is only skin deep.
Slavery predates race.
Race justifies social inequalities as natural.
Most variation is within, not between races.

Important vocabulary:

Race: A group of people sharing the same or similar physical features.
Inherit: to have characteristics, diseases, etc. because of the genes that you got from your ancestors.
Inferiority: Lower in rank, status, or quality.
Genetic variation: naturally occurring differences within the genes of one species or group.

Discussion Question:

Race has lead to stereotypes and preconceived ideas of people. Stereotypes build up and build a social distance (for example, Remember the Titans, they judged each other based on race at first but by the end they got to know each other and they became closer friends because they learned about their ethnicity instead of just looking at their skin color.) Race is not a fair system to use because you can't base someones personality off of how they look. When you look at their ethnicity, you can see how they were raised and what types of beliefs they might have.

Sorting People; Melissa/Kyle

10004550 — 2015-05-04 16:14:34 UTC

How well did you and your partner “sort” people by appearances? What did you find as your results (meaning, were you and your partner accurate in identifying people based on physical features? Explain. Why is it that physical characteristics cut through “racial lines”? Is there any redeeming value to organizing people’s race according to racial characteristics? Why or why not?

Important Facts:

In 1970, U.S. Citizens were able to choose their own classifications
Other countries define race differently.
Racial categories in the U.S. have changed over time.
Race can't tell you where someone is from, what they're naturally good at, or how they might behave.
The only thing race tells you is who is being discriminated against and who lacks certain opportunities.
Until 1960, census enumerators classified people into races based on looks.

Important Vocabulary:

Discrimination: Unfairly treating a person or a group of people differently from another.
Census Enumerators: The people that collect demographic, economic and housing data on behalf of the U.S. Census Bureau
Ancestor: A person from whom one is descended.
Racial Categories: Developed in 1997 to describe groups of which individuals belong.

Discussion Question:

We sorted people based on their hair, skin color, and eye shape mostly. We found that we were very inaccurate because some people had a certain hairstyle or skin color (they tanned easily or they were from northern Africa and looked white). Stereotypes say that Africans are black and they will act a certain way, however we learned through the activity that you can be from Africa and be white. I do not think there is any redeeming value because looking at someone and placing them in a group does not tell you what they're like and how they act.

Race Timeline; Melissa/Kyle

10004550 — 2015-05-04 16:14:44 UTC

How has our definition and identification of a person’s race evolved over time? How did ancient people identify differences among people? At what point did the term “white” appear to distinguish people, AND how has this distinction lead to systematic exclusion and unequal treatment of other racial/ethnic groups?

Important Fact:

Interracial marriages were not legal until 1967.
400 BCE, the Greeks, saw a difference in people's language, and culture, but not in physical differences.
Legal segregation did not end until 1954.
In 1922, the court decided who was white or black.
The Chinese bring 170 cases to the U.S. Supreme Court throughout the 19th and 20th century, most under the 14th Amendment.
Today, the average white family has 8 times more wealth than the average nonwhite family.

Important Vocabulary:

social policies: Refers to guidelines, principles,
human diversity: having people that are from different races or have different cultures in a group.
stigmatize: to describe or regard in a way that shows strong disapproval.
eugenics: the science that tries to improve the human race by controlling which people can become parents.

Discussion Question:

Race in America wasn't created until 1776. America has changed the definitions of race to better suit their needs for the country (for a better work force, war, or immigration). Ancient People described people by their language and culture, not by their physical appearance. The birth of "Caucasian" was in 1776, this created a us vs. them mindset and a superiority and inferiority between whites and nonwhites. This led to stereotypes and unequal treatment of different races.

Human Diversity; Melissa/Kyle

10004550 — 2015-05-04 16:14:52 UTC

How well did you and your partner do on the diversity quiz? What questions did you get wrong that you thought were right? Why do you think this is? Why isn’t race biological? So, are people, who have been organized into racial groups, more alike or more dissimilar? Explain.

Important Facts:

If you go back 10 generations, you will have 1,024 ancestors.
The farther back you go in your ancestry, the less you know about your ancestors.
Every single ancestor has contributed to your DNA.
Skin color tends to correlate with sunlight and latitude, not "race".
Not one single gene or trait distinguishes one so-called "race" from another.
Most traits are influenced by separate genes and inherited separately.

Important Vocabulary:

Diverse: Showing a lot of variety or differences.
Subspecies: Animal groups that are related, can interbreed, and yet have characteristics that make them distinct from one another.
Concordant: Consistent, in agreement.
Propensity: A natural inclination or tendency to behave in a certain way.

Discussion Questions:

Me and Kyle did not do good on the diversity quiz. We got 4 of the 10 questions correct. We got number 5 wrong, the question asked "What caused differences in skin color to evolve?" we said the environment, but the answer was we don't know. This surprised us because we thought skin color would be most affected by the sun and the environment around people. Race isn't biological because there is no gene for race. The website we used said that race had no affiliation with people being more alike or dissimilar, and that similarity mostly correlates with your location and surroundings with other people and not your race.

Me, My Race & I; Melissa/Kyle

10004550 — 2015-05-04 16:15:04 UTC

What slideshow under “Me, My Race, and I” did you and your partner find most interesting? Why? Based on previous sections from the site, why do you believe people tend to outwardly treat people, perceived to be in a particular racial group, differently? What contributes to people’s fears of others? What are the economic and social effects of racial discrimination in the USA? Together, you and your partner make a new definition of what it is to be “An American”, based on what you now know about race.

Important Facts:

In 1995, the average white family had over 8 times the wealth of the average non-white family.
50-80% of one's lifetime wealth depends on opportunities created by past generations.
European ethnic groups were the only ones allowed to "melt into the pot"
In 1998, two-thirds of the people that were searched at checkpoints were black and Latinos. 97% of those people searches proved to have no contraband.
86% of available jobs do not appear in the classified ads and personal connections prove the most important fact in securing employment.
Black women have the highest likelihood of being strip-searched of all U.S. citizens.

Important Vocabulary:

Supremacy: The state of being superior to others in authority, power, or status.
Unassailable: Unable to take in and incorporate.
Animosity: A feeling of strong dislike that tends to display itself into action.
Homogeneous: composed of parts that are the same or similar.

Discussion Questions:

We found the first slideshow the most interesting, "split identity," because it had more interviewed people so there were more opinions. There were also more facts to support the opinions. I think people treat different races differently because since 1776, there has been a sense of white supremacy. There are also a lot of stereotypes because of people's physical appearances. We believe the biggest reason for people's fears of others is mostly the stereotypes. People see a certain race and immediately assume something negative about them. Because of the racial discrimination in the USA, we have seen large pay gaps and more opportunities for whites. Whites have and make more money because their families in the past have made more money. An American is a mixture of your heritage and your love for America.

Where Race Lives; Melissa/Kyle

10004550 — 2015-05-04 16:15:36 UTC

Describe the “Downward Spiral” for non-white families. What are the most important factors for families to stay healthy and happy in their communities? What role does race play in the distribution of these factors? Explain.

Important Facts:

In 1935, social security was created.
In 1993, 86% of suburban whites still lived in placed with a Black population of less than 1%.
The 2000 Census showed that whites are still more likely to be segregated than any other group.
Today, 77% of whites own their own home, compared to the 44% of African Americans.
From 1950-1960, more white people moved to suburbs causing more freeways to be built so the major cities connected the white suburbs.
In the 1960's, the Fair housing laws were passed.

Important Vocabulary:

Provisions: The action of providing or supplying something for use.
Pensions: A regular payment made during a person's retirement from an investment fund that they have created during their working life.
Unionize: to become members of a labor union.
Affluent: having a great deal of money or wealth.

Discussion Questions:

The "Downward Spiral" is when white people start to leave a community and they take the resources with them. This hurts the non-whites because it leaves them with an unhealthy environment. When everyone is staying positive about their surroundings, it helps the society become stronger. Race does play a role, its not nonwhites moving in, but whites leaving and taking resourced with them, that causes communities to decline.

Thematic Map- What is Race? -Kyle Rogers

10004550 — 2015-05-05 15:43:41 UTC

Reference Map- What is Race?-Melissa Smith

10007032 — 2015-05-05 15:44:01 UTC

Thematic Map- Sorting People- Kyle Rogers

10004550 — 2015-05-06 15:39:11 UTC

Reference Map- Sorting People- Kyle Rogers

10004550 — 2015-05-06 15:40:41 UTC

Me, My Race & I - Kyle Rogers

10004550 — 2015-05-06 16:22:27 UTC

Race Timeline Reference Map-Melissa Smith

10007032 — 2015-05-06 16:23:34 UTC

Race Timeline- Kyle Rogers

10004550 — 2015-05-06 16:24:55 UTC

Teacher to Student of color differences-Melissa Smith

10007032 — 2015-05-06 16:26:29 UTC

Human Diversity-Melissa Smith

10007032 — 2015-05-07 14:49:12 UTC

Where Race Lives- Kyle Rogers

10004550 — 2015-05-08 14:35:27 UTC

Human Diversity Refrence Map-Melissa Smith

10007032 — 2015-05-08 14:39:57 UTC

Reference Map-Melissa Smith

10007032 — 2015-05-08 14:42:00 UTC

Reference Map-Melissa Smith

10007032 — 2015-05-08 14:42:32 UTC

Selfie

10007032 — 2015-05-08 14:48:34 UTC

10007032 — 2015-05-08 14:48:59 UTC

10007032 — 2015-05-08 14:49:17 UTC

10007032 — 2015-05-08 14:49:40 UTC

10007032 — 2015-05-08 14:49:54 UTC

10007032 — 2015-05-08 14:50:09 UTC