Racial_Diversity

Answer the following questions in 100 to 250 words each. Provide citations for all the sources you use. • Throughout most of U.S. history, in most locations, what race has been in the majority' What is the common ancestral background of most members of this group' In most locations, throughout most of U.S. history White Americans have been the majority in every region. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, “White Americans are the majority in forty-nine of the fifty states, with Hawaii as the exception.” The most common ancestral background of the White Americans who follow their ancestory, leads them to people who came from Europe. The second biggest ancestral background is the Middle East and being followed up by North Africa. Upon digging a little deeper into this topic, I have learned that out of these people who trace their roots back to Europe 15.2% of them are German and 10.8% are Irish. Race and ethnicity in the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (n.d.). Retrieved April 25, 2013, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_ethnicity_in_the_United_States#White_Americans • What are some of the larger racial minorities in U.S. history' What have been the common ancestral backgrounds of each of these groups' When did each become a significant or notable minority group' Some of the larger racial minorities in U.S. history is White Americans, Black Americans, and Asian Americans. Most White Americans can locate that their ancestors came from Germany. The ancestors of Black Americans were mostly involuntarity brought to the U.S. from Africa during the slave trade. Most of the ancestors of Asian American have came from the Philippines, China, and Pakistan. The population of Black Americans has continued to climb since the 1970s. They have now a lot more ancestor roots in Jamaica, Haiti, and Trinidad. The Asian American population became significant minority group in the mid to late 19th century. Race and ethnicity in the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (n.d.). Retrieved April 25, 2013, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_ethnicity_in_the_United_States#White_Americans • In what ways have laws been used to enforce discrimination' Provide examples. These laws were intended against which racial minorities' There is something that is called Affirmative action that allows the courts and prison system to discriminate African Americans and Hispanics. This gives people of these ethnicities longer sentences, places their neighborhoods as target areas, which in turn fills up the prison systems who should be considered as low risk since many of these people are serving time for drug offenses. There have been many other codes or Acts put in place and removed over the years; including, marijuana bust targeted at African Americans and Hispanics, law that enforce harsher punishments for those who have had trouble previously, prison sentence varies, and back in the dady when the “Lynch Laws” were still in affect. Affirmative action - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (n.d.). Retrieved April 25, 2013, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affirmative_action • In what ways have laws been used to eliminate discrimination' Provide examples. Did the laws work to eliminate discrimination' Over the years U.S. laws have been put in place to try to do away with discrimination. These laws have been used to prevent discrimination based on gender, age, religion, but many do not include race. An example of these laws are “Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity,” which states “discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, or familial status” will be investigated under the Fair Housing Act. This law has not totally stopped people from discriminating, but there are investogators who handle this and can file charges against any specific place of business or people who work from this business. Enforcement. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD'src=/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp/enforcement