Lesson 9: Race and Ethnicity

The races between the two people in this picture are clearly different. However, race is a socially constructed idea that does not exist in nature.

The people in this picture are racially different yet they share the same ethnicity. They are all Americans because they share the same language and values.

Black people are an example of a minority group. This is a group that is denied the same access to power and resources as the dominant group. The minority group is not always fewer in numbers than the dominant group but in this case they are.

Formal segregation is very rare in America nowadays but it used to be very common. Segregation is the formal separation of groups by race or ethnicity.

Let's look into my invisible knapsack! The invisible knapsack is the privileges and resources that the dominant group gets because of the fact that they are part of the dominant group. This can include seeing ones race widely represented and knowing that you weren't pulled over because of your race.