Reflection paper
lbazz
EuropeanAmericans.PT1.pptxPSYC/WGST 3955: Diversity and the Workplace
European Americans
European Americans
Largest and most dominant racial group in US
Often overlooked in terms of diversity
Unique and significant diversity-related experiences
People of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa
Includes Irish, English, German, Polish, Italian, Lebanese, Arab, French, Greek
Terms: White, Anglo, Caucasian, European American, or non-Hispanic White used interchangeably
European Americans
Some White ethnic groups faced considerable overt discrimination and exclusion in early years in US.
Nearly 40 million Europeans migrated to US between 1820s and 1920s.
Clashes between Irish, German, and Polish Immigrants
Pecking order of whites with earliest immigrants (English) at top down to most recent immigrants.
Germans, Irish, Italians, Polish
European American Immigrants
Initial employment discrimination by English and Northern Europeans against white ethnic groups who arrived in U.S later :
Irish, Italians, Poles, Greeks, French, and Jews.
Separation of White ethnic groups in occupations and housing
European American Immigrants
European American Immigrants
English viewed the later immigrants as dirty, immoral, unintelligent, and dishonest
Sought to avoid interactions with them at work and at home.
Pattern: later immigrants higher status than more recent ones
Ellis Island
1892-1960
Federal immigration station
Millions of new immigrants
Close to 40% of all current U.S. citizens can trace at least one ancestor to Ellis Island
Ellis Island
Changes occurring in U.S. immigration
Immigration from Northern/Western Europe (Germany, Ireland, Britain, Scandinavian countries) slowed
Increase in immigration from:
Southern/Eastern Europe
Jews, Russians, Poles, Hungarians, Greeks
Non-Europeans from Syria, Turkey, and Armenia
Ellis Island
Peak years of operation (1900-1914)
5,000-10,000 immigrants pass through each day
Immigrant Quota Act (1921)
National Origins Act (1924)
Limited number and nationality of those allowed into U.S.
Ended era of mass immigration into New York.
English
Most consider English to have crucial role in paving the way for U.S. immigration
Established colonies
Often in search of religious freedom
Foundation for current government
European American Immigrants
European American Immigrants
Irish
Poverty, famine, religious prejudice
Arrived with no resources
Muscle work
Dug canals, construction gangs
Police officers and firefighters
First generations worked at unskilled or semi-skilled occupations
Next generations worked at increasingly skilled trades
Plumbers, boilermakers
Germans
Early immigrants fled homelands due to violent conditions
Later immigrants came to U.S. for work
Most Germans settled in rural areas
Worked in agriculture
Cluster together in communities (German Towns)
Bakers, butchers, distillers, machinists, tailors
European American Immigrants
Italians
Large number of immigrants between 1876 and 1976
U.S. largest recipient of Italian immigrants in world
Started at bottom of occupational ladder
Dangerous, dirty, difficult jobs
Crowded dirty conditions, lack of food
Known for hard work and sobriety
Later became fishermen, shoemakers, waiters, fruit sellers, and tradesmen
Rose up the economic ladder
Tended to work with hands, rather than pursue college education and professional work
European American Immigrants
European American Immigrants
During WWII –
Internment of Japanese.
Some Italians and Germans were also sent to relocation centers.
Estimates of 2,100 Italians and 10,000-14,000 Germans were arrested for being “enemy aliens”
European American Immigrants
Italians during WWII
mandatory curfews imposed
forced to carry bright pink enemy alien passbooks
searched at will
property deemed dangerous (flashlights, radios, cameras, firearms) seized
Italians and Germans were:
more widely assimilated
had widespread public recognition
more political power (e.g., mayors of large cities)
Japanese:
suffered more due to racism, economics, and lack of political allies, lack of organized groups
European American Immigrants
Many European immigrants saw African-Americans as threatening to their status and livelihood.
Arrival of Blacks helped the newer European immigrants blend with the established groups
(Sociologist Joseph Healey)
White versus Black instead of different White ethnic groups against one another.
White ethnic groups capitalized on status of blacks as “other” using it to become “insiders”.
In-group and out-group bias
European American Immigrants
Brodkin (1998)
The transformation of Jews in America from another race to White
Social construction of race in America
Inconsistency in categorization of White and non-White groups over time
Karen Brodkin (1998). How Jews Became White folks and What That Says about America. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University press.
European American Immigrants
Before 1850 census – categorization included free Whites
After 1850 census – Whites (all whites are free)
1930 census - distinguished between immigrant Whites and native Whites
1940 census – dropped category for immigrant Whites
European American Immigrants
Confusions about who was and wasn’t White:
Syrians white, then not white
Asian Indians not white, then white, then not white
Arabians are white, then not white
Cases where people had to “prove” their whiteness in order to become U.S. citizens
Race as social construction
Cannot easily determine who is white and who is not
European American Immigrants
Brodkin and Healey both suggest that a variety of ethnic groups “became white” by:
actions of the government
recognizing that the way to become American was to assert their Whiteness (in contrast to blacks)
intermarriage; diluted the strength of these differences
the invisibility of their ethnicity
European American Immigrants
Significant trend: white population is declining as percentage total of U.S. population.
In 1790: White 81%; Black 19% (90% being slaves)
In 1940: 90% White
In 2008: 66% White (200 million people)
Population
Whites by ethnicity:
25% German
18% Irish
15% English
9% Italian
5% French; Polish
3% Scottish; Scotch-Irish; Dutch
2% Norwegian; Swedish
10% other ethnicities
5% did not report an ethnicity; 7% reported American as ethnicity.
Population
Earnings of non-Hispanic White males generally higher than other groups
Focus on full time average income of men by education level (return on investment)
High school education, full time employment:
White men ($43,000), then Asian men ($37,000), then black men ($33,000).
Disparities in EROI in favor of White men compared to all others exists at every educational level.
Education, Earnings, and Employment
Income differences between White men and White women reflect gender disparities present across racial and ethnic groups.
For white men and white women of all educational levels, women’s earning are 70-75% of men’s
Consistent finding over recent decades; although the ratio changes slightly
Education, Earnings, and Employment
Part 1
European-American immigrants
The White population
Education and earnings
Part 2
White Privilege
Research on Whites and Diversity
Perceptions of Discrimination
Discrimination Cases
Recommendations
Summary Slide
