“Are Emily and Greg More Employable Thank Lakisha and Jamal? Marianne
Bertrand and Sendhil Mullainathan
Recognizing that all measures of economic success show racial inequalities in the
United States labor market, these authors designed and conducted a study to determine
whether perceptions of race connected with an applicant’s name might influence
whether the applicant got called for an interview. They created fictitious job applicants
and assigned names suggestive of different races to identical resumes This article
reports their findings.
Bertrand and Mullainathan found that the gap between Whites and African-Americans
in callback rates _______________with the quality of the resume.
a. narrowed
b. stayed the same
c. widened
d. doubled
“How a Scholarship Girl Becomes a Soldier: The Militarization of Latina/o Youth
in Chicago Public Schools,” Gina Perez
Gina Perez explores the complicated relationship between young Latina/o students in
Chicago and the U.S. military. Perez argues that in addition to limited economic
opportunities, gendered understandings of autonomy, family obligations, honor and
respectability influence, how young people respond to the increasingly militarized
educational context.
Studies of Chicago have found that _______________of the jobs requiring only a high
school diploma pay a living wage for a family with dependent children:
a. 50%
b. none
c. all
d. 80%
“Becoming Entrepreneurs: Intersections of Race, Class, and Gender at the Black
beauty Salon,” Adia M. Harvey
Harvey applies the concept of intersectionality to Black women’s entrepreneurial
efforts, addressing how race, class and gender intersect to inform working class Black
women hair salon owners. She finds that intersections of race class and gender
influence both the process of becoming salon owners, and the relationship of owners
and stylists.
Unlike the middle- and upper-class women who become entrepreneurs to avoid a
glass ceiling, the women in Harvey’s study became entrepreneurs to secure
________________ that middle- and upper-class women already enjoy.
a. first time home ownership
b. personal luxuries
c. basic financial stability
d. vacations
“How the New Working Class Can Transform Urban America” Robin Kelley
Kelley explains how the pervasive imagery that exists about the urban “underclass”
undermines our understanding of a contemporary urban working class. The urban
working class, many of whom are Latino and women, can be found in many different
industries today including hospitals, universities, nursing homes, food services and
retail establishments. He also discusses why organizing the new immigrant labor force
is a challenge for the labor movement. He highlights Justice for Janitors, one of the
most significant labor-based social justice movements, of which Black and Latino
women make up the majority of its membership. He highlights a second broad-based
radical movement ” the Labor/Community Strategy Center based in Los Angeles, CA.
The Center’s most important campaign has been the Bus Riders Union, since public
transportation is one of the few issues that impacts the lives of many urban working
people. This campaign argued that the public transportation system’s policies violate
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
One of the most significant labor-based social justice movements that emerged out of
the Service Employees International Union was:
a. The Coalition of Black Trade Unionists
b. The National Labor Relations Board
c. Justice for Janitors
d. United Electrical Workers
“Label Us Angry” Jeremiah Torres
Torres is still angry, years after an incident that he describes as “the most painful and
shocking event” of his life. Growing up in Palo Alto California, he and his friend Carlos
had not experienced overt racism until they had a confrontation with a speeding driver
who cut them off as they were leaving their high school parking lot. The events that
followed ” from the meanness of the people in the other car to the reactions of police
officers and the different ways in which the author and his friend handled their anger ”
illustrate some dramatic consequences of racist assumptions and racist labeling.
According to the author, what made the incident at the traffic light racist?
a. the angry gestures of the white passenger
b. the fact that the author and his friends were Filipino
c. the use of mace
d. the particular labels the white men used to describe Carlos and his friend
“Race as Class,” Herbert J. Gans
Noting that most biologists argue that scientifically there can be no human “races’ and
that sociologists argue that concepts of race are socially constructed, Gans links the
persistent lay definition of “race” to the hierarchy of social class in the U.S. The laity,
he claims, notice variations in select physical characteristics and “see” these variations
as markers of individual races. The lay public then uses their definitions of race to place
individuals in hierarchal categories that correspond to social class locations. Gans
further claims that many immigrant groups were “blanched” or “whitened” in the lay
imagination once those groups experienced upward mobility. This was not the case, he
says for African Americans. While the reasons for this exception are a “mystery” to
Gans, he expects it to persist unless class hierarchies finally disappear “in some utopian
future.”
Scholars trace color differences in human skin to:
a. different racial “tribes’
b. climatic adaptations
c. intermarriage
d. immigration
“The Well-Coifed Man: Class, Race, and Heterosexual Masculinity in the Hair
Salon,”Kristen Barber
Kristen Barber responds to claims that the male body is now sexualized and objectified
by media just as women’s bodies have been. In her case study of a small hair salon in
California, Barber finds that men who purchase “beauty work and beauty products”
consciously distinguish
themselves from white working class men and distance themselves from “the
feminizing character ” of beauty work. She argues that these men “appropriate
embodied symbols of cultural capital that distinguish them as raced, classed, sexualized
and gendered” and that they
“heterosexualize” their contacts with women stylists, further distancing themselves
from the potential gender equalizing effects of beauty work.
Barber argues that men who transgress gender boundaries by visiting hair salons resist:
a. being confined to rigid gender stereotypes
b. the status quo
c. paying more for haircuts than they would at the barber shop across the street
d. feminization
“The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria,” Judith Ortiz
Cofer
In her essay,Judith Ortiz Cofer offers her experience as a Puerto Rican woman. She
discusses how cultural differences have singled her out as a target of stereotypes,
disapproval, and inappropriate treatment by members of mainstream society. Cofer
recognizes the voice her education has given her, and she uses it to open others up to
her culture and experiences.
According to Judith Ortiz Cofer, ________________ and
________________could provide a young woman with a circle of safety in her small
pueblo on the Island.
a. community/church
b. school/church
c. extended family/church structure
d. courts/extended family
“Across the Great Divide: Crossing Classes and Clashing Cultures,” Barbara
Jensen
Jensen tells the story of Shelly, a working class college student who experiences
cognitive dissonance as she confronts the “great divide” between working class and
middle class cultures. According to Jensen, Shelly’s “cross-over experience” is typical
and can lead to emotional distress and dysfunctional behavioral responses unless the
person can add rather than subtract aspects of self. Jensen calls this more positive
response to the cross-over experience “bridging”.
Students whose families are working class find in higher education:
a. familiar rules
b. familiar values
c. familiar language
d. rules, values and language that are new and unfamiliar to them
“Race, Class, Gender, and Women’s Works,” Teresa Amott and Julie Matthaei
Teresa Amott and Julie Matthaei explore the economic experiences of women through
the interconnected effects of gender, race-ethnicity, and class. Taking a historical
perspective, the authors illustrate the relativeness of these social constructs and
demonstrate how each is affected by the others. For example, Amott and Matthaei point
out that while the construction of gender created spheres of “men’s” and “women’s”
work, what this work entailed had to do with class position and racial-ethnic identity.
Race and class greatly affected the definition of womanhood in the 1950s. White
middle class women were not expected to be part of the paid labor force, while it was
common for poor Black women to work as domestic servants. Both women were
expected to remain “in the home,” but for poor Black women that meant theirs as well
as those of their White employers. The authors apply the concepts of race-ethnicity and
class to the examination of gender, but point out the limitations of applying each
independently.
According to Amott and Matthaei, a(n) perspective helps demonstrate the development
of and relationships between gender, race-ethnicity, and class.
a. one-dimensional
b. historical
c. functionalist
d. myopic
“Race, Class, Gender, and Women’s Works,” Teresa Amott and Julie Matthaei
Teresa Amott and Julie Matthaei explore the economic experiences of women through
the interconnected effects of gender, race-ethnicity, and class. Taking a historical
perspective, the authors illustrate the relativeness of these social constructs and
demonstrate how each is affected by the others. For example, Amott and Matthaei point
out that while the construction of gender created spheres of “men’s” and “women’s”
work, what this work entailed had to do with class position and racial-ethnic identity.
Race and class greatly affected the definition of womanhood in the 1950s. White
middle class women were not expected to be part of the paid labor force, while it was
common for poor Black women to work as domestic servants. Both women were
expected to remain “in the home,” but for poor Black women that meant theirs as well
as those of their White employers. The authors apply the concepts of race-ethnicity and
class to the examination of gender, but point out the limitations of applying each
independently.
According to “Race, Gender, and Women’s Works,” racial domination is linked to:
a. homophobia.
b. class domination.
c. heterosexism.
d. occupation
“Sustainable Food and Privilege: Why is Green Always White (and Male and
Upper Class)” Janani Balasubramanian
Food justice, Janani Balasubramanian argues, is fundamentally a race and class issue,
and food activists are not speaking about it as such. The emphahsis on local food
economy fails to recognize the importance of United States support of agriculture in
other parts of the world. Activists of color who do admirable work in their communities
are often ignored by White activist writers and film makers. Thus we do not hear the
“variety of voices’ that needs to be heard if universal food reform is to be achieved.
The face of farming is changing and _______________ will continue to grow in
number as stewards of sustainable agriculture.
a. White male small-scale farmers
b. Latinos
c. agribusinesses
d. women and people of color
“Lifting as We Climb: Women of Color, Wealth, and America’s Future,” Center
for Community Economic Development
This article addresses the significant gap in wealth owned by diverse groups of women
of color compared to men who are their racial counterparts and to white women. Both
structural and cultural factors that contribute to the gap are discussed, along with policy
solutions. Because women of color “are some of the most resilient, resourceful, and
relied-upon people in our society” programs aimed at increasing economic security for
these women are essential to the future economic health of the nation as a whole.
Nearly ______________________of all single Black and Hispanic women have zero or
negative wealth.
a. two thirds
b. a quarter
c. three quarters
d. half
“Policing the National Body: Sex, Race, and Criminalization” Jael Silliman
Jael Silliman has defined policing the society within the context of race and class.
Politicians, representing mainstream America, have ignored or rarely addressed issues
of poverty, criminalization and race that are pressing for communities of color. Good
policing among the disadvantaged appear to be the new societal wisdom. Silliman
believes such a view negates dealing with the root causes of poverty and racism.
Silliman views aggressive law enforcement policies and actions as tools that:
a. devastate women of color and their communities.
b. solidify the community.
c. protect the elderly.
d. benefit the community
“We Are Not Ophelia: Empowerment and Activist Identities,” Jessica K. Taft
Jessica Taft identifies a distinction between empowerment of girls and girls’ activism.
Empowerment, she argues, “is all too often focused on incorporating girls into the
social order, while activist girls desire to make substantial changes to the social order.
The girls in her study find the civic engagement emphasis of popular definitions of
empowerment far too narrow. They want much more than simply to better their own
circumstances; they want to make the world a better place for all to live. With a
sociological rather than an individualized view of the world, these girls connect their
own struggles as issues of public concern. Taft identifies a “breathtaking range of social
problems and contemporary political issues’ girl activists work collectively to address.
A defining feature of activism is its emphasis on:
a. the well-being of the individual
b. education as a means to a better life
c. civic engagement and incorporation of the empowered person into the social order
d. social change
“Race as Class,” Herbert J. Gans
Noting that most biologists argue that scientifically there can be no human “races’ and
that sociologists argue that concepts of race are socially constructed, Gans links the
persistent lay definition of “race” to the hierarchy of social class in the U.S. The laity,
he claims, notice variations in select physical characteristics and “see” these variations
as markers of individual races. The lay public then uses their definitions of race to place
individuals in hierarchal categories that correspond to social class locations. Gans
further claims that many immigrant groups were “blanched” or “whitened” in the lay
imagination once those groups experienced upward mobility. This was not the case, he
says for African Americans. While the reasons for this exception are a “mystery” to
Gans, he expects it to persist unless class hierarchies finally disappear “in some utopian
future.”
Attitude surveys indicate that over the years White prejudice has:
a. declined
b. increased
c. become the only reason that racism persists
d. been limited to ideas about new groups of immigrants
“Shadowy Lines That Still Divide,” Janny Scott and David Leonhardt
The United States looks like a classless society, the authors say, but class has actually
come to play a greater role in determining life chances over the past three decades. It is
difficult to discuss class, they argue, because the word is defined differently by different
people. Because people of all classes buy luxury items that would have been
unimaginable fifty years ago, and because shows like American Idol and The
Apprentice reinforce the rags-to-riches mythology that feeds the American dream, the
perception of class has blurred while the reality is that class mobility has flattened, and
inequality of opportunity has increased.
Class differences in ______________ have widened in the U.S.
a. income
b. health care
c. life span
d. all of these answers are correct
“Race, Poverty and Disability: Three Strikes and You”re Out! Or Are You?”
Pamela Black, Fabricio Balcazar and Christopher Keys
Black, Balcazar and Keys chronicle the theoretical development to understanding race,
class and disability. They argue that early conceptualizations present images of race,
class and disability in terms of deficiency and dependence. For example, biological
models represented certain racial and ethnic groups as genetically inferior. The eugenics
movement that started in the early 1900s stemmed from the biological mode was used
to establish race and class distinctions as “natural.” Similarly, cultural models
represented racial and ethnic groups as trapped in a cycle of poverty. This culture of
poverty was reproduced from generation to generation. The authors state that biological
and cultural models to explain race, class and disability do not adequately explain the
differences between disabled and non-disabled, minority and non-minority populations.
The minority group model supplied a contrary position to the biological and cultural
models by suggesting that social problems should be addressed structurally through the
elimination of unequal power relations and re-distribution of wealth and income.
However, identity formation is problematic within the minority group model because its
focus is typically on a single issue, for example, race or gender or sexual orientation.
According to the authors, this single issue strategy excludes those facing multiple
concerns or “triple jeopardy.” The authors advocate for the use of an empowerment
framework so that “individuals from marginalized groups with multiple stigmas may
gain the social, political, and economic support needed to overcome barriers to their full
participation in society.”
The __________________ states that poverty is reproduced from one generation to
another, and functions to justify blaming the poor for their poverty and blaming social
problems on innate deficiencies.
a. culture of poverty thesis
b. eugenics movement
c. deficient hypothesis
d. disability dogma
“How the New Working Class Can Transform Urban America” Robin Kelley
Kelley explains how the pervasive imagery that exists about the urban “underclass”
undermines our understanding of a contemporary urban working class. The urban
working class, many of whom are Latino and women, can be found in many different
industries today including hospitals, universities, nursing homes, food services and
retail establishments. He also discusses why organizing the new immigrant labor force
is a challenge for the labor movement. He highlights Justice for Janitors, one of the
most significant labor-based social justice movements, of which Black and Latino
women make up the majority of its membership. He highlights a second broad-based
radical movement ” the Labor/Community Strategy Center based in Los Angeles, CA.
The Center’s most important campaign has been the Bus Riders Union, since public
transportation is one of the few issues that impacts the lives of many urban working
people. This campaign argued that the public transportation system’s policies violate
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The overcrowded bus system which carries 94 percent of Los Angeles County
Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) passengers receives _______________ of the
MTA’s total expenditures, whereas the commuter line passengers make up 6 percent of
the ridership, but
receive _______________ of the MTA’s resources.
a. more than one-half; more than three-quarters
b. less than one-third, almost 71 percent
c. less than one-quarter, almost 90 percent
d. more than two-thirds, more than three-quarters
“Race, Poverty and Disability: Three Strikes and You”re Out! Or Are You?”
Pamela Black, Fabricio Balcazar and Christopher Keys
Black, Balcazar and Keys chronicle the theoretical development to understanding race,
class and disability. They argue that early conceptualizations present images of race,
class and disability in terms of deficiency and dependence. For example, biological
models represented certain racial and ethnic groups as genetically inferior. The eugenics
movement that started in the early 1900s stemmed from the biological mode was used
to establish race and class distinctions as “natural.” Similarly, cultural models
represented racial and ethnic groups as trapped in a cycle of poverty. This culture of
poverty was reproduced from generation to generation. The authors state that biological
and cultural models to explain race, class and disability do not adequately explain the
differences between disabled and non-disabled, minority and non-minority populations.
The minority group model supplied a contrary position to the biological and cultural
models by suggesting that social problems should be addressed structurally through the
elimination of unequal power relations and re-distribution of wealth and income.
However, identity formation is problematic within the minority group model because its
focus is typically on a single issue, for example, race or gender or sexual orientation.
According to the authors, this single issue strategy excludes those facing multiple
concerns or “triple jeopardy.” The authors advocate for the use of an empowerment
framework so that “individuals from marginalized groups with multiple stigmas may
gain the social, political, and economic support needed to overcome barriers to their full
participation in society.”
Disability rights activists __________________ earlier models of disability that
focusing on individual pathology, and opt for models that emphasize overcoming social
barriers.
a. accept
b. reject
“Crimes Against Humanity,” Ward Churchill
Churchill makes a case for seeing the use of American Indian names and degrading and
dehumanizing symbols by sports teams as a violation of the Geneva Convention and a
crime against humanity. The use of these names and images creates barriers to authentic
communication about the realities of history and contemporary life for American
Indians. Churchill challenges several myths, including that the use of these symbols is
just good clean fun; that this usage “honors’ American Indians; and that if some find the
practice offensive it doesn”t matter because there are too few left to defend themselves.
According to Churchill, why are team names and rituals that are offensive to
American Indians tolerated, while the same practices for other ethnicities and religious
groups would be considered socially unacceptable?
a. There are no stereotypes for other ethnicities and religious groups.
b. Names and rituals that represent other groups are not “good clean fun.”
c. American Indians are perceived to as being too weak and few to defend themselves.
d. These names and rituals honor Native Americans.
“The Invention of Heterosexuality,” Jonathan Ned Katz
The author documents the history and invention of the term heterosexuality as a means
of categorizing sexual relationships. The author emphasizes how sexuality has been
closely linked to structural power and the means of production within a society
throughout history. He argues that an ahistorical approach to studying sexuality
continues to privilege “normal” and “natural” sexual expression.
Katz refers to the time period when the heterosexual norm went almost unchallenged
as:
a. the cult of domesticity
b. heterosexual hegemony
c. hetero/homo duo
d. heterosexual mystique
“Health and Wealth: Our Appalling Health Inequality Reflects and Reinforces
Society’s Other Gaps,” Lawrence R. Jacobs and James A. Morone
Jacobs and Morone address the relatively low ranking of the United States relative to
other countries on issues influencing life chances, particularly those relevant to health
and longevity. They note disparities within the United States based on wealth, and
identify three causes of health woes including poverty, inequality, and the organization
of the health care system. They conclude that while other countries have followed
“three paths to good health” the United States has supported public policies that
compromise the health of most of its citizens.
No other industrial nation tolerates _______ according to Jacobs and Morone.
a. wide gaps in health insurance coverage
b. universal health insurance
c. high taxes to cover health costs
d. a welfare state
“Policing the National Body: Sex, Race, and Criminalization” Jael Silliman
Jael Silliman has defined policing the society within the context of race and class.
Politicians, representing mainstream America, have ignored or rarely addressed issues
of poverty, criminalization and race that are pressing for communities of color. Good
policing among the disadvantaged appear to be the new societal wisdom. Silliman
believes such a view negates dealing with the root causes of poverty and racism.
Based Silliman’s essay, the criminal justice system has become a massive machine for:
a. crime, secrecy and distortions.
b. deviance, deception and criminals.
c. arrest, detention and incarceration.
d. deviants, sheriffs and officers.
“Label Us Angry” Jeremiah Torres
Torres is still angry, years after an incident that he describes as “the most painful and
shocking event” of his life. Growing up in Palo Alto California, he and his friend Carlos
had not experienced overt racism until they had a confrontation with a speeding driver
who cut them off as they were leaving their high school parking lot. The events that
followed ” from the meanness of the people in the other car to the reactions of police
officers and the different ways in which the author and his friend handled their anger ”
illustrate some dramatic consequences of racist assumptions and racist labeling.
What hurt Carlos more than the mace or the night he spent in the juvenile detention
center?
a. racist labels
b. a police beating
c. the reactions of his parents
d. his conscience
“Across the Great Divide: Crossing Classes and Clashing Cultures,” Barbara
Jensen
Jensen tells the story of Shelly, a working class college student who experiences
cognitive dissonance as she confronts the “great divide” between working class and
middle class cultures. According to Jensen, Shelly’s “cross-over experience” is typical
and can lead to emotional distress and dysfunctional behavioral responses unless the
person can add rather than subtract aspects of self. Jensen calls this more positive
response to the cross-over experience “bridging”.
The “crossover experience” described in this article is marked by:
a. contradictory emotions
b. contradictory experiences
c. contradictory values
d. all of these answers are correct
“Gender Matters. So Do Race And Class: Experiences of Gendered Racism on the
Wal-Mart Shop Floor,” Sandra E, Weissinger
Sandra Weissinger examined complaints made in the Dukes v. Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
class action lawsuit to understand the specific ways that individuals who are targeted
for mistreatment experience mistreatment in raced, classed and gendered ways. She
documents the unequal treatment that women receive in comparison to men, but shows
that some women hold contradictory positions. A given woman who is targeted for her
gender may be given some privilege linked to her race, thus yielding different outcomes
for different women. She argues that discrimination based on sex alone does not explain
the variation in women’s experiences.
She concludes that discriminatory work atmospheres are maintained in multiple and
complex ways, contributing to the persistence of “a web of intersecting and relational
inequalities.”
According to Weissinger, “insiders who hold beliefs that make them outsiders need
support so they will continue to believe that the long-term benefits of their actions will
outweigh the short-term punishments they endure for failing to _______________
discriminatory practices.”
a. report
b. identify
c. replicate
d. oppose
“Becoming Entrepreneurs: Intersections of Race, Class, and Gender at the Black
beauty Salon,” Adia M. Harvey
Harvey applies the concept of intersectionality to Black women’s entrepreneurial
efforts, addressing how race, class and gender intersect to inform working class Black
women hair salon owners. She finds that intersections of race class and gender
influence both the process of becoming salon owners, and the relationship of owners
and stylists.
The most difficult step in becoming entrepreneurs for the women Harvey studied was:
a. securing start-up funding
b. getting business training
c. balancing home and family responsibilities with their new role as entrepreneurs
d. hiring stylists
“Rethinking Families and Community: The Color, Class, and Centrality of
Extended Kin Ties,” Naomi Gerstel
Naomi Gerstel argues that limiting the definition of “family” to those composed of
husbands and wives or parents and young children misses much of the experience of
families as they actually exist. Calling for recognition of the importance of extended
kin, Gerstel illustrates that the development and maintenance of family support
networks is an important class-based survival strategy. In addition, Gerstel analyzes
how marriage and the nuclear family cut both men and women off from extended and
fictive kin, an idea that challenges much of classical theory on the subject.
Helping others with practical matters and receiving help from them is a
_______________ strategy for survival, according to Gerstel.
a. race-based
b. class-based
c. gender-based
d. counter productive
“Health and Wealth: Our Appalling Health Inequality Reflects and Reinforces
Society’s Other Gaps,” Lawrence R. Jacobs and James A. Morone
Jacobs and Morone address the relatively low ranking of the United States relative to
other countries on issues influencing life chances, particularly those relevant to health
and longevity. They note disparities within the United States based on wealth, and
identify three causes of health woes including poverty, inequality, and the organization
of the health care system. They conclude that while other countries have followed
“three paths to good health” the United States has supported public policies that
compromise the health of most of its citizens.
Which of the following is NOT included by Jacobs and Morone as one of the “three
interrelated causes” of health troubles in the United States:
a. poverty
b. inequality
c. personal choices, like poor eating habits and drug and alcohol abuse
d. the organization of the health care system
“The Color of Justice,” Michelle Alexander
Michelle Alexander examines the racial disparities in our criminal justice system,
finding that
“rates and patterns of drug crime do not explain” the fact that “although the majority of
illegal drug users and dealers nationwide are White, three-fourths of all people
imprisoned for drug offenses are Black or Latino.” Alexander identifies two stages in a
structural process that results in the unjust disparities she finds in the system of
“racialized social control” that passes itself off as criminal justice.
What is responsible for the “prison boom” according to Alexander?
a. convictions for violent crime
b. convictions for theft
c. convictions for drug offences
d. convictions for failure to pay child support
“The First Americans: Americans Indians,” Matthew Snipp
Matthew Snipp presents a historical summary of the United States’ treatment of
American Indians: removal, assimilation, the Indian New Deal, termination and
relocation, and self determination. In the early 1800s removal of American Indians was
the goal of the United States. Increased population and newly acquired land encouraged
the push of American Indians westward, first through negotiated treaties and ultimately
through forced removal. These actions resulted in severe hardship for American Indians
physically and culturally. At the end of the 1800s the government policy regarding
American Indians shifted to assimilation, or rather “humane extinction.” The goal of the
government, Snipp points out was to “civilize” American Indians through religion,
education, ownership of property, and agricultural careers. The effect of assimilation on
American Indians was the loss and disorganization of land, the impact of which is still
being felt today.
In the early 1930s the government encompassed American Indians in the New Deal
programs. This shift in treatment demonstrated a new respect for American Indian
culture and land. Economic and infrastructure support was granted to American Indian
reservations, and tribal governance was allowed. American Indian policy took a
different shift after WWII with the goals of termination and relocation. The United
States government sought to terminate their dealing with American Indians and relocate
American Indians to urban areas. In the era of the Civil Rights movement, yet another
shift in United States and American Indian relations occurred. “Self-determination,” the
goal of American Indian autonomy, became the focus resulting in greater control of
tribal governments and the end to termination policies. Snipp concludes with a
discussion of the current status of American Indians. Population growth among
American Indians has increased on reservations and in Urban areas. Snipp points out
that both of these segments of the American Indian population face economic hardship.
Urban American Indians also face the struggle of maintaining their culture away from
reservations. Pan-Indianism has served to unite American Indian tribes in their fight for
survival.
As noted in “The First Americans: Americans Indians,” the policies of termination
and relocation of American Indians took the form of:
a. ending the special status of reservations and moving American Indians to urban
settings.
b. ending discriminatory practices against American Indians.
c. cultural relativism.
d. the creation of reservations and the sovereignty of tribal nations.
“How a Scholarship Girl Becomes a Soldier: The Militarization of Latina/o Youth
in Chicago Public Schools,” Gina Perez
Gina Perez explores the complicated relationship between young Latina/o students in
Chicago and the U.S. military. Perez argues that in addition to limited economic
opportunities, gendered understandings of autonomy, family obligations, honor and
respectability influence, how young people respond to the increasingly militarized
educational context.
For Chicago Puerto Ricans, the military is an institution understood to be:
a. an unacceptable route to success
b. a predator to young students hoping to gain higher education
c. an important avenue of social mobility
d. a potential interruption on the road of social mobility
“A Different Mirror,” Ronald T. Takaki
Through personal reflection and historical summaries, Ronald T. Takaki explores
multicultural America. As a Japanese American, Takaki argues that the historical and
cultural influence of the Japanese, as well as other racial and ethnic groups, on
American culture is largely unrecognized. The contributions of racial and ethnic groups
must be acknowledged to fully appreciate the true essence of American identity.
Takaki illustrates how despite historical similarities, racial and ethnic groups have been
pitted against one another, and their historical presence denied. Yet, he points out, their
influences and contributions to society are evident everywhere. He argues that
recognizing the value of their experiences allows for an enlightened understanding of
our common history and the tensions and struggles evident among racial and ethnic
groups today.
Takaki maintains that the history and influence of all groups in America:
a. offer a concreteness to the founding national principle of equality.
b. creates a conflict of interest between minority and dominant groups.
c. reflect the racial harmony evident in society today.
d. have resulted in an end to racial injustice