Rogers 1

Hebert Rogers

Professor Price

Sociology 1

4/6/2017

Racial profiling is a random act initiated by an authority on an individual or group based

on ethnicity, race, or national origin. Examples of racial profiling are backed by statistics and

other empirical forms of evidence. In Ferguson, Missouri, African-Americans make up 67% of

the population but account for 85% of stops and 93% of arrests. While African-Americans do

make up more than half of the population, one can see that his does not correlate into such a

disparity regarding encounters with police. Other forms of racial profiling occur when law

enforcement pulls Hispanics over, assuming they are not official citizens based simply on their

race. Furthermore, individuals who own businesses that deal with shoplifting may pay closer

attention to certain ethnic groups when they are in their store.

There have been a variety of ethnocentric practices used to foster prejudicial attitudes

towards specific ethnic groups that include segregation, institutional discrimination, and others.

Segregation occurs when there are two groups of people separated in the contexts of work,

school, and public encounters. Segregation occurred in the United States when it was believed

that African-Americans were inferior to white people and needed to have separate bathrooms,

drinking fountains, and even schools. This had a noticeable impact on ones perception of either

race, children grew up during this time believing that their race justified this segregation. There

also exists institutional discrimination where an individuals pay is affected by their race. This is

due to the fact that those in power are predominantly white and dictate the rules regarding who

gets hired and to what position.

 Rogers 2

Race is believed by some to not be biologically identifiable, leading to the development

of a social construction of race. This theory states that race is a system of labeling where the

labels are created by society and fall in and out of favor during different social eras. For example,

African-Americans were widely discriminated against which lead to the development of certain

racist terms such as nigger or negress. Over time, these labels have been seen as

disrespectful and have, for the most part, gone away. One can see how these labels provide a

source of identity and by assigning labels based on race, leads one to having an identity that

becomes increasingly convoluted as different labels are assigned to the same person.

Furthermore, this theory claims that ethnicity is an identification method use to simply processes

done by institutions to record statistics such as what groups are most predominant in any given

area. Symbolic interactionists also believe that race and ethnicity provide strong symbols as

sources of identity and that these symbols lead to racism. A well-known symbolic functionalist

Herbert Blumer, believed that racial prejudices are formed through interactions between

members of the dominant group. These prejudices contribute to an abstract view of subordinate

groups that allow the dominant group to support this view of said subordinate group. For

example, most individuals in positions of power within the United States are in control of the

media and are able to portray certain stereotypes, or ideas about groups of people based on race,

sex, ethnicity, that eventually shape society-wide views of these groups. If one looks at the case

of an individual coming from multiple racial backgrounds, an argument can be made that even

though these different backgrounds affect an individuals sense of identity, society is a paramount

function in how one perceives these various racial backgrounds. An individual may be taught

certain cultural values that conflict with those created by various racial backgrounds. If a person,

with an Ecuadorian father and Salvadorian mother, moves to the United States, it may be
 Rogers 3

confusing to be lumped into a single group, such as Hispanic or Latino and denied your

individuality.

A minority group is a group of people who are singled out based on physical or cultural

characteristics, and endure differential and unfair treatment. Minority groups see themselves as

objects of a collective discrimination and attribute this to a fundamental lack of power. However,

some groups are able to overcome the various prejudices they endure and eventually succeed

economically, politically, socially, and educationally. Sociologists call these groups model or

ideal minority groups because they illustrate that racial discrimination, while being a detrimental

aspect of ones life, does not mean that there is not a possibility of escape. While the advantages

of being a model minority group include serving as an inspiration to other groups and fairer

treatment by dominant groups, there also exist disadvantages. One may say that being a model

minority means there is extra attention on your group and you may be singled about because of

this. Others may downplay the struggles a model minority has gone through in only focusing on

the success and not the effort that was required.