Ethics

Race is defined as a kind of grouping of people sharing the same genetic characteristics.  This includes similarities in the skin color, shape and color of the eyes, the orientation of the nose and hair color.  Examples of which are the Caucasian, Asian, Polynesian and African race.  The concept of race is purely genetic.

In contrast to this, the concept of ethnicity is social.  Ethnicity as defined by Thomas Hylland Eriksen is an aspect of social relationships between people which is based the belief that they are culturally distinct from members of other groups by which they have a regular interaction.  In addition to this, ethnicity is also a social identity that is based on fictive kinship.  Ethnicity as a social identity becomes cohesive because of shared myths of a common origin.  These myths are of course coupled by ideologies encouraging endogamy.  

In the context of plural societies such as the United States, discussions on race and ethnicity are always related to minority issues and ethnic conflict.  Due to the ethnic composition of the United States, the supremacy of one ethnic group or racial grouping over the rest has always been a pressing issue.  An example of which is the structural racism as a phenomena in the United States today.

Structural racism is, as defined by Lawrence and Keheler (2004)
Is the normalization and legitimization of an array of dynamics  historical, cultural, institutional and interpersonal  that routinely advantage whites while producing cumulative and chronic adverse outcomes for people of color. It is a system of hierarchy and inequity, primarily characterized by white supremacy  the preferential treatment, privilege and power for white people at the expense of Black, Latino, Asian, Pacific Islander, Native American, Arab and other racially oppressed people (p.1).

Structural racism in the United States is the supremacy of the white race or the Caucasians in all aspects of society thus making racism deeply rooted in the social fabric of the citizens of the United States.  According to the authors, structural racism is the most pervasive there is because all other forms of racism such as institutional, interpersonal, internalized and all others spring out of this form of racism (Lawrence  Keheler, 2004, p.1).

History and culture both play a vital role in the creation of structural racism.  This type of racism is present underneath and all around society (Lawrence  Keheler, 2004, p.2).  With this, it encompasses both history and culture.  History lies underneath the surface, thus providing a deep basis on the supremacy of the white race in the United States (Lawrence  Keheler, 2004, p.2).  An example of which is the belief in the late 19th Century and early 20th Century, during the age of the rise of imperialism as an ideology in the United States that the white race is the pacifier of the world thus legitimizing the conquest of non-white areas of the world.  This belief embeds in the minds of the Americans that the white race has supremacy over the rest of the races making it legitimate for the whites to have more access to power, opportunities, and the like.  On the other hand, culture which is present all around and in the daily lives of individuals creates, replicates and normalizes forms or racism (Lawrence  Keheler, 2004, p.2).

Structural racism is apparent in the inequalities in the power, access to this power, opportunities, policy impacts and outcomes.  These are all indicators structural racism, whether they are intentional or not.  In institutions, these manifestations are difficult to detect because such form of racism is vamped by other institutions that reinforce and create new forms of racism through cultural norms and practices (Lawrence  Keheler, 2004, p.1).  With this, this type of racism becomes normalized and institutionalized in such a way that it no longer seems like a problem for the society because norms and cultural practices support it.

Minority Group Status How groups become minorities and the consequences of such status
A minority group is a subordinate group that has less access to power to control their lives in comparison to the dominating majority group.  In addition to this, access to opportunities is low for minority groups in comparison to other members of society belonging to the dominant group.  The minority group status is not limited to mathematical minority, meaning having a small population does not necessarily mean a minority group status (Randall ed., 2007, p.1).  There are instances where a minority group may be a statistical majority yet possesses a minority group status.  An example of such case is colonialism wherein the colonizers who are a statistical minority become the dominant group and the native population, being the mathematical majority, becomes the subordinate group

A minority group is characterized as having distinct physical and cultural characteristics.  Examples of which is difference in language and skin color. Aside from this, a minority group has a strong sense of group solidarity which is rooted in the awareness of subordination and minoritization.  Furthermore, minority groups have given a high value to endogamy or in-group marriage (Randall ed., 2007, p.1).
There are four main types of minority groups, namely (1) racial, (2) ethnic, (3) gender and (4) religion.  Racial minority groups are those which possess apparent physical difference as compared to the majority group.  This type of minority group is found in the United States.  The racial minorities in the United States are the Black, American Indians, Asian Americans and Hawaiians.  Ethnic minority groups are those which have distinct cultural characteristics.  Cultural characteristics include food, language and customs.  In the context of the United States, the ethnic minorities are the Hispanics and Jews.  Minority groups based on gender is defined as the males being the dominant group and the females being the minoritized.  Women possess the four out of the five said characteristics of minority groups except the high value for in-group marriages.  Religion as a basis of having a minority group status is confined to not being a follower of the dominant religion.  The religious minority in the United States are the Muslims, Amish, Mormons and the Roman Catholics (Randall ed., 2007, p.1).

Minority groups are created in three ways.  The first means is through migration, be it voluntary or involuntary.  Migration is the transfer of a population from a place to another (Randall ed., 2007, p.2).  Voluntary migration means moving to a place due to the push factors from the place of origin and pull factors from the place of destination.  Involuntary migration on the other hand is through factors such as slavery.

Second, groups are minoritized though annexation or the incorporation of a land trough conquest or purchase.  With annexation, the dominant group more often than not suppresses the culture of the subordinate group (Randall ed., 2007, p.2).  In addition to this, the foreign power becomes dominant due to the supremacy of military prowess and wealth thus putting the native population into a minoritized status.

Third, minoritization is constructed through colonialism.  Colonialism is the maintenance of economic, political, cultural and social dominance of a foreigner over a people at an extended period (Randall ed., 2007, p.2).  An example of which is the colonization of Spain over the Philippines for over three hundred years.  Colonization minoritized the Filipinos because the Spaniards maintained dominance over all aspects of society.

The consequences of having a minority group status are extermination, expulsion, secession, segregation, fusion, assimilation and pluralism.  Extermination is the elimination of people though systematic and deliberate killing of an entire group.  Expulsion is the forceful riddance of a group to leave a certain area.  An example of which is the displacement of the Native Americans from their lands and the transfer of these peoples into a reserved areas.  Secession is the ceding of a group to be part of their country and moving to another place  that is already an established nation  in order to create a new nation.  The ceding group becomes the dominant group in the place of migration.  Segregation is the separation of conflicting groups in such a way that interaction becomes very limited.  An example of which is the moving of the Native Americans to the reserved areas (Randall ed., 2007, p.2).  Fusion is defined as

Result when a minority and a majority group combine to form a new group.  Fusion does not require intermarriage, but it is similar to amalgamation or the cultural and physical synthesis of various groups into a new people. Only modest evidence of fusion in the United States, although there is a push by multiracial people to have a separate legal identity from either the minority or majority groups (Randall ed., 2007, p.2).

Another consequence is assimilation wherein the minority group loses its cultural practices and takes on the norms and customs of the dominant group.  Lastly, pluralism characterized by the persistence of the culture and practices of both dominant and minority groups (Randall ed., 2007, p.2).