Answer

Homework 6, 7, and 8: Ethnicity and Identity

#6

Part 1

The deficit model/framework of ethnic identity can contribute significantly to the illustration of the ethnic experiences existing between the Arab and Muslim Americans. According to the deficit framework of identity, an individual’s ethnicity is perceived as an aspect of deducting away from the features corresponding to an ethnic form/type (Wong & Halgin, 2006). In relation to this, perfect ethnic identity can be realized when every aspect of a perfect ethnic identity originating from an individual’s identity or background leads such an individual to be perceived as less or more assimilated ethnic. For instance, an Arab American who is unable to speak Arabic is considered less Arab, and when such a person is married to a non-Arab, he or she is considered less ethnic. Besides, when such a person has never been to the mother country, he or she is considered less ethnic. An Arab-American can regard another Arab-American as too Arab or too American. The difference existing between Muslim and Arab American is that Arab-Americans are an ethnic faction that comes from Arabian nations speaking Arabic, while Muslim-Americans belong to a religious group that embraces the Islamic faith. As such, being a Muslim-American does not make you an Arab. Considering this statement, it can be argued that the aspect of orientalism also contribute to the ethnic experiences between Arab and Muslim Americans. An example of features related to the aspect of orientalism between these two groups is the fact that the eastern culture is considered eccentric, and backwards, and that their advancement in relation to the western culture is conquerable and inferior (Wong & Halgin, 2006). For example, the building of a mosque can be terminated due to the belief that it poses a foreign threat. The myths and ignorance of the eastern culture contributes largely to the perpetration of hate crimes against individuals of the Arab decent as well as Muslims.

Part II

The first great influx of the black Muslims in the United States was experienced during the slavery era. According to Bowen (2012), approximately 10% of the African slaves bought in the U.S originated from Islamic backgrounds.  The next wave of the black Muslims was witnessed in 1860s. Black Muslims, which is an African American spiritual organization within the U.S, split into the Nation of Islam and the American Society of Muslims since 1970s (Bowen, 2012). W.D. Farad (i.e. Wali Fard) established the original faction in 1930, in Detroit. Followers Farad believed that his was “Allah in Person” (Bowen, 2012). Harris (2015) points out that when Farad vanished in a mysterious manner in 1934, the leadership of the group was assumed by Elijah Muhammad, beginning the leadership in Detroit then proceeding to Chicago. During Muhammad’s reign, the separatist sect (i.e. then referred to as the Nation of Islam) and the black nationalists expanded, majorly among prison populations and poor blacks. Even though the group had approximately 8,000 members only when Muhammad assumed leadership, it experienced a rapid growth between 1950s and 1960s, due to the preaching by one of its prominent ministers, Malcolm X (Doorn-Harder, 2014). However, the tension between Malcolm and Muhammad advanced, and Malcolm’s subsequent deferment (1963) and murder (1965), possibly by followers of Muhammad, resulted into a significant dissension within the movement. In 1975, Muhammad died and his son, Warith Deen Muhammad (i.e. Wallace D. Muhammad) assumed leadership, evangelizing a far less Islam version. Wallace aligned the movement with the international Islamic Community, shifting towards the practices of Sunni Islam. He also opened the movement to persons of all races. On the contrary, in 1977, a faction of Black Muslim, headed by Louis Farrakhan, disintegrated from the movement, disappointed by Wallace’s lack of allegiance to his Islamic brand and his support for integrationist ideals (Doorn-Harder, 2014).. This group branded itself the Nation of Islam and aimed at following the doctrines of the Elijah Muhammad. In the later years of 1990s, the Nation of Islam started embracing certain conventional Islamic practices, causing Wallace and Farrakhan to declare publicly the end of the contention between their factions, in 2000 (Doorn-Harder, 2014). In 2003, Wallace resigned leader of the American Society of Muslim. Bowen (2012) asserts that in the U.S the community of African-American Muslim is essentially Sunni. African-American constitute a significant percentage of Islam converts because they perceive Christianity as religion of the White man and link the conversion to Islam with the recovery of their ethnic  heritage, which they lost during the era of slavery.

References

Bowen, D. (2012). The Search for ‘Islam’: African-American Islamic Groups in NYC, 1904-1954. Muslim World, 102(2), 264-283.

Doorn-Harder, N. (2014). Minorities in Islam; Muslims as Minorities. Muslim World, 104(3), 236-239.

Harris, W. (2015). Phillis Wheatley: A Muslim Connection. African American Review. 48(1/2), 1-15

Wong, F., & Halgin, R. (2006). The “Model Minority”: Bane or Blessing for Asian Americans? Journal of Multicultural Counseling & Development, 34(1), 38-49.

#7

Part I

Wong & Halgin, (2006) define model minority as marginal faction (i.e. whether founded on religion, race, and ethnicity) whose followers are most always professed to accomplish higher levels of socio-economic excellence than the average of the population. This excellence is characteristically measured in education, income, high family stability, and low crime rates. The term model is highly controversial, as it is associated with certain negativities and positivity elements. Model minority can serve as negative experience in the sense that it can be a system of discreet discrimination (Forrest-bank & Jenson, 2015). This label ultimately subjects the minority faction to a disadvantage, drives the minority factions apart, and promotes discriminative racist beliefs. For instance, high expectations may be required of an individual who is an Asian-American in terms of performing well in mathematics, which many people believe Asian are good at performing/doing (Moller et al, 2014). On the other hand, the model minority can act as good experience in the sense that it instills a sense of inspiration towards the realization of high goals in life in relation to accomplishing things that people believe your ethnicity is good at performing.

Part II

The Media has largely contributed to the discrimination and prejudice against the Asian Americans. Despite being integral to the complete image of the multicultural and multiracial experience of the American society, the mass and news media has been slow to embrace the role of Asian Americans (Park et al, 2015). While other frequently marginalized minority groups like Latinos are starting to acquire notice to change the paradigm of the old black-and-white, media debates on minority matters still overlook Asian Americans. It is unfortunate that the illusive belief that all Asian Americans are successful in terms of social and economic dimensions feeds members of the public complacency concerning the presence of anti-Asian discrimination. As such, the American Media has a tendency of discriminating stereotypes via its limited/restricted Asian-American characters as well as limited debate on Asian-American matters. The principal threated associated with this tendency is its effects on the adolescents/youths from all ethnicities, where absence of the Asians clearly acting as cognizable associates of the American society is hypothetically damaging to progress and the self-identification of the Asian-Americans. News anchors, directors, and other staff are rarely Asian-American, and male of the African-American origin are particularly absent (Sano et al, 2015). Despite observers of media not claiming that females of the Asian-American ethnicity are commonplace within the news, they disapprove the absence of Asian-American males in the news. However, the mere nonexistence of Asian Americans is not the only issue with television news or media. Its contents, motivated by the concerns of cost and the need to appease the appetite of the public for excitement, hinders social transformation by promoting misconceptions that overlook social matters underlying poverty and crime. By sensationalizing or simplifying crime, television news always encourages societal hurries to judgment. Since the media is preoccupied with higher ratings and is market-driven, it generates superficial programming, which caters to shared interests, anxieties, and fears. As a result, media observers acquire twisted notions of minorities. These issues can be remedied when the media greatly tempers such urban and racial segregation by minimizing fatalistic attitudes or views of the minority youth as well as public misconceptions (Rivas-Drake et al, 2014). Since the media is profit-driven corporate, the government should ensure that it increases media diversity by diversifying media ownership and engaging in the direct control/regulation of the content of broadcast. The government should also implement a system of labor-oriented tax enticements to streamline domestic productions and promote the production of foreign media within its borders. Such an undertaking can also serve to increase domestic job opportunities and profits.

References

Forrest-bank, S., & Jenson, M. (2015). Differences in Experiences of Racial and Ethnic Microaggression among Asian, Latino/Hispanic, Black, and White Young Adults. Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare, 42(1), 141-161.

Moller, S., Stearns, E., Mickelson, A., Bottia, C., & Banerjee, N. (2014). Is Academic Engagement the Panacea for Achievement in Mathematics across Racial/Ethnic Groups? Assessing the Role of Teacher Culture. Social Forces, 92(4), 1513-1544

Park, J., Nawyn, S., & Benetsky, M. (2015). Feminized Intergenerational Mobility Without Assimilation? Post-1965 U.S. Immigrants and the Gender Revolution. Demography, 52(5), 1601-1626.

Rivas-Drake, D., Syed, M., Umaña-Taylor, A., Markstrom, C., French, S., Schwartz, J., & Lee, R. (2014). Feeling Good, Happy, and Proud: A Meta-Analysis of Positive Ethnic-Racial Affect and Adjustment.  Child Development, 85(1), 77-102.

Sano, Y., Kaida, L., & Tenkorang, Y. (2015). Racial Variations in Ethnic Identity among the Children of Immigrants in Canada. Canadian Ethnic Studies, 47(3), 49-68.

Wong, F., & Halgin, R. (2006). The “Model Minority”: Bane or Blessing for Asian Americans? Journal of Multicultural Counseling & Development, 34(1), 38-49.

#8

The minority group that I have chosen to read about is the Latinos, one of the prominent ethnicities that are subject to immense racial discrimination in the country. Latino immigrants often come to the United States driven by a robust need to offer a better life for their children and families. Latinos continue to face several problems in the 21^st century. Latinos encounter an incredible emotional tumult that arises from them being detached from their heritage, culture, family, and friends.  This detachment is often difficult and is always hard to comprehended by individuals who have not been to the same experience. Latinos endure the tumult and proceed to pursue their American Dream. While in the U.S, the Latinos continue to face significant problems from the U.S immigration policies, which lack an open door regulation. Despite being in the country with legal documents, Latinos still endure the devastatingly negative social pressure, which surrounds the topic of immigration within the 21^st century (Wolfgramm et al, 2014). Latinos are also subjects of attacks because they are seen as criminals from the viewpoint of immigration. The federal government recognizes the Latino ethnicity on the immigrants’ basis, aspect that continues to make this ethnic group a target of racial/ethnic discrimination.

Being victims of racial/ethnic discrimination in the country, many individuals from this race tend to shy away from places dominated by other ethnicities (Wang, 2013). I remember an occasion where a lady feared asking me and my colleagues a direction to a given locality. I was forced to call and ask her about her problem, I had noticed in her face that she needed help. I introduced myself to her and introduced my colleagues to ease the tension. She got so relaxed that she explained herself in details to us. We offered to give a ride to the place where she was to go, and took her contacts. Since then I have been her friend. Despite facing many hurdles related to racial/ethnic discrimination, the strength of the Latino’s spirit enables them to overcome all these hurdles. Various Latino factions have been organizing peaceful protests to voice their plea on the harassment and discrimination that they experience in the country. Others also go to social networks to fight against racial discrimination that is directed to their ethnicity (Percival, 2010). Owing to the emotional, psychological, and physical turmoil that racial discrimination cause to its victims, the federal government should step up measures to curb this menace. 

References

Percival, L. (2010). Ideology, Diversity, and Imprisonment: Considering the Influence of Local Politics on Racial and Ethnic Minority Incarceration Rates. Social Science Quarterly (Wiley-Blackwell), 91(4), 1063-1082

Wang, Q. (2013). Beyond Ethnic Enclaves? Exploring the Spatial Distribution of Latino-Owned Employer Firms in Two U.S. Immigration Gateways. Journal of Urban Affairs, 35(5), 569-589.

Wolfgramm, C., Morf, C., & Hannover, B. (2014). Ethnically Based Rejection Sensitivity and Academic Achievement: The Danger of Retracting into One’s Heritage Culture. European Journal of Social Psychology, 44(4), 313-326.