Discuss the changes in racial classifications and the meaning of race in the United States, and compare dominant and subordinate groups

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Racial classifications in the United States have changed over the past century. We can see how the meaning of race continues to change. Race is defined by perceived skin color: white or nonwhite. Whereas one category exists for "whites" (who vary considerably in actual skin color and physical appearance), all of the remaining categories are considered "nonwhite." Racial purity is assumed to exist. Prior to the 2000 census, the true diversity of the U.S. population was not revealed in census data, because multiracial individuals were forced to either select a single race as their "race" or to select the vague category of "other." Categories of official racial classifications may (over time) create a sense of group membership or "consciousness of kind" for people within a somewhat arbitrary classification. The way people are classified remains important because such classifications affect their access to employment, housing, social services, federal aid, and many other "publicly or privately valued goods."

To sociologists, a dominant group is one that is advantaged and has superior resources and rights in a society. In the United States, whites with Northern European ancestry

(often referred to as Euro-Americans, white Anglo-Saxon Protestants, or WASPS) are considered to be a dominant group. A subordinate group is one whose members, because of physical or cultural characteristics, are disadvantaged and subjected to unequal treatment by the dominant group.