Social Inequality and Minorities in the United States

 Social inequality and minorities
Social inequality refers to disparities in people’s opportunities in life, their ability to control resources, as well as living standards (Oliver & Shapiro, 1997, p.23). A minority group is not necessarily a small group as the name suggests, but can be made up of a large population. The term minority is used to describe a group in relation to wealth and power distribution rather than being used as a reference to any numbers that make up a group. There are several characteristics of a minority group such as the tendency to suffer inequality, or some form of disadvantage; a strong feeling of self-consciousness existing within its social unit; as well as presence of some prominent characteristics or visible traits that help to mark out the group from others, (Healey, 2006, p.12).

The correlation between minorities and social inequality is not a new phenomenon in the United States Society. Unequal treatment of minority racial groups within the US society dates back to the colonial era when the early white settlers to the US encountered the Native American Indians. These settlers discriminately treated the natives on the ground that their beliefs and related practices appeared primitive or uncivilized. Initially, groups were separated on ethnocentric and religious criteria and the aspect of color and racial distinction became prominent later with the introduction of slavery in America. For more than two centuries, the settler farmers imported free slave labor from the African continent to work in their massive plantations. As the economy advanced, it attracted more immigrants from Latin America, Asia, and Middle Eastern countries, who moved to America in search of better living standards. These groups of people identified themselves with their nations of origin and have been popularly referred to as minority groups (Rudnick et al., 2005, p.13).

In the US the term minorities has been used to refer to African Americans, Native Americans, Hispanics or Mexican Americans, Asians, as well as other immigrant groups that make up the American society. In the history of the US, these ethnic minority groups have continually been denied the means and the opportunity to satisfy their expectations. Since the era of slavery for example, African Americans have continually been denied full access to their African heritage, language, and education and food, while the Native Americans on the other hand were resettled and restricted to reservations that have limited amenities. Hispanics constitute the largest number of low income earners within such a well endowed world economy as the US. Yet in some states like California that are highly dependant on Hispanic labor in their economic programs, these people have been accused of drawing social amenities. Asian Americans however enjoy a better situation than other minority groups because they are well represented in the business and education sectors (Jarret, 2000, p.2).

Classification and labeling of human beings, most often done according to assumed or real genetic, physical, or biological difference has been an ongoing phenomenon in the history of mankind. This concept has continually been used to determine who belongs or does not belong to what group, to assign privilege, power and social status as well as to define and assign social roles. In this effort to make people understand their positions, the social categories of race, gender, and class have been used to create and support the existence of particular kinds of social order. History, culture and politics have been very strong concepts upon which social classifications have been established. It is under these criteria that colonialists justified their conquest, exploitation and domination of their colonies (Rudnick et al., 2005, p.13).

Immigration and colonization have been the most important factors affecting the identity of human beings globally. Native Americans, Mexicans and African Americans have had an experience very different from that found among the white settlers in the United States. These people have for a long time suffered brutal violation and exploitation by those in power, a differential situation that helped to shape the kind of social, economic, cultural, and political life that these people have been exposed to throughout the history of the US. Colonized minorities have been the most affected by the issue of inequality which has primarily been based on race and this has affected the extent to which they have been free to participate in the social, cultural, political and economic activities of US society. In 1790 for example, a law against minorities known as the Naturalization Law was passed by Congress and it denied US citizenship to colored people. The famous Slave Codes restricted the enslaved Africans from full participation in all aspects of American life. These laws created a racial foundation that separated American people into insiders and outsiders and the immigrants who later came to the US were incorporated into this racial landscape. Once inside the US, immigrants came to learn the real meaning of racial separation in this country (Rudnick et el., 2005, p. 13-14).