{"id":9048,"date":"2020-06-07T14:24:04","date_gmt":"2020-06-07T14:24:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-esc-introtosociology\/?post_type=chapter&p=9048"},"modified":"2020-07-03T22:56:22","modified_gmt":"2020-07-03T22:56:22","slug":"racial-tensions-in-the-united-states","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-esc-introtosociology\/chapter\/racial-tensions-in-the-united-states\/","title":{"raw":"Racial Tensions in the United States","rendered":"Racial Tensions in the United States"},"content":{"raw":"
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Figure 1.\u00a0<\/strong>Golfer Tiger Woods has Chinese, Thai, African American, Native American, and Dutch heritage. Individuals with multiple ethnic backgrounds are becoming more common. (Photo courtesy of familymwr\/flickr)<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

The death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO on August 9, 2014 illustrates racial tensions in the United States as well as the overlap between prejudice, discrimination, and institutional racism. On that day, Brown, a young unarmed black man, was killed by a white police officer named Darren Wilson. During the incident, Wilson directed Brown and his friend to walk on the sidewalk instead of in the street. While eyewitness accounts vary, they agree that an altercation occurred between Wilson and Brown. Wilson\u2019s version has him shooting Brown in self-defense after Brown assaulted him, while Dorian Johnson, a friend of Brown also present at the time, claimed that Brown first ran away, then turned with his hands in the air to surrender, after which Johnson shot him repeatedly (Nobles and Bosman, 2014). Three autopsies independently confirmed that Brown was shot six times (Lowery and Fears 2014).<\/p>\r\n

The shooting focused attention on a number of race-related tensions in the United States. First, members of the predominantly black community viewed Brown\u2019s death as the result of a white police officer racially profiling a black man (Nobles and Bosman, 2014). In the days after, it was revealed that only three members of the town\u2019s fifty-three-member police force were black (Nobles and Bosman, 2014). The national dialogue shifted during the next few weeks, with some commentators pointing to a nationwide sedimentation of racial inequality and identifying redlining in Ferguson as a cause of the unbalanced racial composition in the community, in local political establishments, and in the police force (Bouie, 2014). Redlining is the practice of routinely refusing mortgages for households and businesses located in predominantly minority communities, while sedimentation of racial inequality describes the intergenerational impact of both practical and legalized racism that limits the abilities of black people and other racial minorities to accumulate wealth.<\/p>\r\n

Ferguson\u2019s racial imbalance may explain in part why, even though in 2010 only about 63 percent of its population was black, in 2013 blacks were detained in 86 percent of stops, 92 percent of searches, and 93 percent of arrests (Missouri Attorney General\u2019s Office, 2014). In addition, de facto segregation in Ferguson\u2019s schools, a race-based wealth gap, urban sprawl, and a black unemployment rate three times that of the white unemployment rate worsened existing racial tensions in Ferguson, while also reflecting nationwide racial inequalities (Bouie, 2014).<\/p>\r\n\r\n

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TrayVon Martin<\/h3>\r\n

On the evening of February 26, 2012,\u00a0Trayvon Martin, a seventeen-year-old black teenager was visiting with his father and his father\u2019s fianc\u00e9e in the Sanford, Florida gated community where his father\u2019s fianc\u00e9e lived. Trayvon left her home on foot to buy a snack from a nearby convenience store. As he was returning, George Zimmerman, the community\u2019s neighborhood watch program coordinator, noticed him. In light of a recent rash of break-ins, Zimmerman called the police to report a person acting suspiciously, which he had done on many other occasions. The 911 operator told Zimmerman not to follow the teen, but soon after Zimmerman and Martin had a physical confrontation. According to Zimmerman, Martin attacked him, and in the ensuing scuffle Martin was shot and killed (CNN Library, 2014).<\/p>\r\n\r\n

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Figure 2.<\/strong>\u00a0Do you think race played a role in Trayvon Martin\u2019s death or in the public reaction to it? Do you think race had any influence on the initial decision not to arrest George Zimmerman, or on his later acquittal? (Photo courtesy of Ryan Vaarsi\/flickr)<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

A public outcry followed Martin\u2019s death.\u00a0Florida\u2019s Stand Your Ground Law immediately came into the center of a national debate on 2nd Amendment rights and self-defense.\u00a0Zimmerman was not arrested until April 11, when he was charged with second-degree murder by special prosecutor Angela Corey. In the ensuing trial, he was found not guilty (CNN Library, 2014).<\/p>\r\nThe shooting, the public response, and the trial that followed offer a snapshot of the sociology of race. Do you think race played a role in Martin\u2019s death or in the public\u2019s reaction to it? Do you think race had any influence on the initial decision not to arrest Zimmerman,\u00a0a white Hispanic male, or on his later acquittal? Does society fear black men, leading to self-defense justifications with unarmed youth?\u00a0What about the role of the media? Was there a deliberate attempt to manipulate public opinion? If you were a member of the jury, would you have convicted George Zimmerman?\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/section>

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Multiple Identities<\/h2>\r\n

Prior to the twentieth century, racial intermarriage (referred to as miscegenation) was extremely rare, and in many places, illegal. In the later part of the twentieth century and in the twenty-first century,\u00a0attitudes have changed for the better. While the sexual subordination of slaves did result in children of mixed race, these children were usually considered black, and therefore, property. There was no concept of multiple racial identities, with the possible exception of the Creole. Creole society developed in the port city of New Orleans, where a mixed-race culture grew from French and African inhabitants. Unlike in other parts of the country, \u201cCreoles of color\u201d had greater social, economic, and educational opportunities than most African Americans.<\/p>\r\n

Increasingly during the modern era, the removal of miscegenation laws and a trend toward equal rights and legal protection against racism have steadily reduced the social stigma attached to racial exogamy (exogamy refers to marriage outside a person\u2019s core social unit). It is now common for the children of racially mixed parents to acknowledge and celebrate their various ethnic identities. Golfer Tiger Woods, for instance, has Chinese, Thai, African American, Native American, and Dutch heritage; he jokingly refers to his ethnicity as \u201cCablinasian,\u201d a term he coined to combine several of his ethnic backgrounds. While this is the trend, it is not yet evident in all aspects of our society. For example, the U.S. Census only recently added more nuanced additional categories such as non-white Hispanic. A growing number of people chose multiple races to describe themselves on the 2010 Census, paving the way for the 2020 Census to provide yet more choices.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/section>\r\n

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The Confederate Flag vs. the First Amendment<\/h3>\r\n
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Figure 3.\u00a0<\/strong>To some, the Confederate flag is a symbol of pride in Southern history. To others, it is a grim reminder of a degrading period of the United States\u2019 past. (Photo courtesy of Eyeliam\/flickr)<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div><\/figure>\r\n

In January 2006, two girls walked into Burleson High School in Texas carrying purses that displayed large images of Confederate flags. School administrators told the girls that they were in violation of the dress code, which prohibited apparel with inappropriate symbolism or clothing that discriminated based on race. To stay in school, they\u2019d have to have someone pick up their purses or leave them in the office. The girls chose to go home for the day but then challenged the school\u2019s decision, appealing first to the principal, then to the district superintendent, then to the U.S. District Court, and finally to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.<\/p>\r\n

Why did the school ban the purses, and why did it stand behind that ban, even when being sued? Why did the girls, identified anonymously in court documents as A.M. and A.T., pursue such strong legal measures for their right to carry the purses? The issue, of course, is not the purses; it is the Confederate flag that adorns them. The parties in this case join a long line of people and institutions that have fought for their right to display it, saying such a display is covered by the First Amendment\u2019s guarantee of free speech. In the end, the court sided with the district and noted that the Confederate flag carried symbolism significant enough to disrupt normal school activities.<\/p>\r\nWhile many young people in the United States like to believe that racism is mostly in the country\u2019s past, this case illustrates that the symbols and iconography associated with the history of slavery are still potently meaningful. If the Confederate flag is synonymous with slavery, is there any place for its display in modern society? Those who fight for their right to display the flag say such a display should be covered by the First Amendment: the right to free speech. But others say the flag is equivalent to hate speech, which is not covered by the First Amendment. Do you think that displaying the Confederate flag should be considered free speech or hate speech?\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

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Further Research<\/h3>\r\n