Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the USA

-USA originated as white European Protesants, black people were slaves

-19&20thC changes:

• end of Civil War 1865, Emancipation of Slaves
• immigration through 19&20th C brought new settlers: Irish Catholics, European Jews, Hispanics, refugees from Africa, middle east & Asia
• 1990s, combined pop of AA's, Native Americans, Asians, Pacific Islanders & Hispanics grew @ 13X the rate of non-Hispanic white pop
• 2010 consensus showed Hispanics 16.3% as larger proportion of US pop than AA's at 12.3%
• racial & ethnic diversity largely differs from state to state: Vermont 95% white, Hawaii 24% white
• Hispanic pop grew by 43% between 2000-2010, AA's grew by 12% in same period
• 4 states, New Mexico, Texas, Cali & Hawaii are now majority-minority states 
• estimated by 2025, Hispanic & Asian communities will make up 1/4 of US pop

-grew out of 1950s & passage of 13,14 & 15th Amendments, guaranteeing rights for AA's, yet laws in deep south meant rights were not reality for blacks

-seperate but equal rule applied 

-civil rights movement sparked from peaceful protest against gov sponspored segregation, which came into the streets & not debating chambers of cong of fed offices of W. DC. key events:

• Brown V. Topeka 1954
• bus boycotts & Rosa Parks along w/ freedom riders
• March for Jobs & Freedom in W. DC, Martin Luther 'I have a dream' speech 1963
• assassination of Luther in 1968
• Million Man March in W. DC 1995

Civil Rights Leaders:

• Luther & Southern Christian Leadership Conference 
• Malcolm X and black panthers, Nation of Islam movement
• Jesse Jackson & National Rainbow Coalition
• NAACP

• debate centres on equality of opportunity or equality of results 
• mid 20th C, most civil rights advocates came to believe equal of op would not guarantee equal for minority groups - only have rights in theory, not practice
• 1961, Kennedy ordered projects financed by fed funds to ensure AA, hiring & employment practices would be free from racial bias
• AA attracted critics, 'set asides' and 'quotas' unfair to those in majority & patronising to min
• 'reverse discrimination' - related to Uni of Cali V. Bakke 

landmark cases:

• Adarand Constructors V. Pena 1995
• Gratz V. Bollinger 2003
• Parents Involved in Community Schools Inc V. Seattle School District No.1 2007
• Meredith V. Jefferson County Board of Ed 2007

• courts subject quota systems to 'strict scrunity' and look for 'compelling justification' for them
• quotas or preference systems cannot be used by state or local gov w/out showing rules are needed to correct a past or pres pattern of discrim
• in proving that there has been discrim, is it not enough to show racial or ethnic minorities are statistically under-rep among employees
• quotas or preference systems that are created by fed, rather than state law, will be given greater deference 

• leads to greater multiculturalism
• rights previous wrongs 
• opens up areas of ed that minorities may not have considered
• creates a divers student body in ed establishments that promotes racial tolerance
• most effective way of delivery equal of opp
• works  - between 1960 -1995, black students ages 25-29 who graduated rose from 5% to 15%

• advanatge or preference for 1 groups leads to disadvantage for another group 
• AA can lead to minorities being admitted to course they are not equipped for 
• such programmes considered condescending to minorities, implying they need extra help to succeed 
• AA prepetuates a society based on colour & race
• it is not more than a quota system under another name
• focuses on groups rather than individuals 

• 1995, Clinton declared 'AA has been good for America' 
• AA was meant to achieve a move in society towards a time when previously disadvantaged groups would no longer be advantaged & such programmes wouldnt be required 
• AA programmes seen as a means to an end

agruments for its failure:

• programme that is based on race is unlikely to move society to a point where race no longer counts 
• if ill-equipped minorities are put into positions where they might struggle, overall cost may be bigger than OG intended 
• if Americans refuse to visit a black doctor because they assume that he or she was admitted to med school on AA rather than qualifications cost may be too high 

arguments for its success:

• by promoting diversity, racial tolerance has been enhanced & old prejudices decreasing 
• election of Obama 
• AA judged in 25 years in Bollinger case - 2028

• 1984 - 21 AA's in Cong all in HofR
• 2011- 42 AA's all in House
• rise in AA members of the House largely due to majority-miniority districts in the 1990s
• 2011 - 28 hispanics in Cong, 26 in House, 2 in Senate 

• 1972 - Rep Shirley Chisholm D, became 1st major-party AA candidate for the presidency, she won 152 delegates at her party's NC
• 1984 - civil rights activist, Jesse Jackson D, won over 3mil votes in D primaries, finished 3rd in no of votes cast. Jackson 1st AA candidate to win a major party pres primary, winning in 4 states 
• 1988 - Jackon ran again for D nomination, winning in 10 states
• 2008 - Obama D, 1st black major-party candidate 

• 1st became an issue when LBJ appointed AA Robert Weave as Sec of Housing in 1966
• last 3 sec of states were AA, Colin Powell 2001-05, Condoleeza Rice 2005-09 and Obama's attorney general Eric Holder 

2nd term cabinet 

-3 AA's Eric Holder, Susan Rice & Anthony Foxx

-1 Hispanic Thomas Perez

-1 Asian American Gary Locke 

• LBJ appointed 1st AA to SC, THurgood Marshall 
• Bush replaced Marshall with Clarence Thomas in 1991 
• 1986, Regan appointed 1st Italian - America , Antonin Scalia 
• Sonia Sotomayor, Hispanic appointment by Obama in 2009