Odessa College - GOVT2302 -

1. Political Discrimination--Blacks were denied their constitutional right to vote-guaranteed by the 15 Amendment-through five practices that were once legal and used in various Southern states: the grandfather clause, the white primary, the poll tax, the literacy text, and the character test. The first 3 were eventually declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court. The last two have been banned by the Voting Rights Act.

2. Economic Discrimination-Laws were passed in Southern states barring blacks from entering certain more skilled and higher paying occupations. Sharecropping tied them to a cycle of poverty and debt handed down from generation to generation. As long as they owed debts, they could not legally leave the country and find better opportunities elsewhere. Blacks today still face job and pay discrimination (which are illegal). They often are paid less than similarly qualified whites or are not hired or promoted beyond a certain level.

3. Social Discrimination-Laws were passed in the South establishing de jure segregation (required by law). These were upheld in the Plessy vs. Ferguson case in 1896 through the "separate but equal" doctrine. The Court reasoned, where was the inequality if the separate black facilities were equal in quality to the white ones? Rarely was the "equal" part enforced. Segregation meant inferior facilities or no facilities for blacks. This was finally ended by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1954 in the Brown v. Board of Education decision for public schools and in 1962 for public facilities. Today, we still experience de facto segregation resulting from economics, customs, tradition, and housing patterns.

4. Educational Discrimination-Segregated black schools were almost always inferior in quality to white schools. Thus, black students were not competing on an equal basis with whites in the job market and to enter college. Today, inner city, primarily nonwhite schools are still inferior compared to suburban schools because of an inadequate tax base.

5. Psychological Discrimination-Blacks have been viciously stereotyped throughout much of American history by the media, books, magazines, and scholars. They were generally portrayed as dumb, lazy, shiftless, immoral, inferior, and generally undeserving of the same rights whites had. This justified the discriminatory treatment against blacks and still affects white attitudes towards blacks today. These attitudes, although less prevalent, still remain today.

6. Physical Discrimination-Blacks who stood up for their rights, complained, were assertive, did not act submissively, and jumped out of line were threatened with physical violence, KKK actions, cross burnings, vandalism, beatings, and brutal lynching. This was not a crime and attempts to pass any anti-lynching law in Congress were always defeated. Grand juries generally refused to indict whites for lynching blacks and trial juries refused to judge guilty the few who were indicted. This lasted into the 1960's!!! This was legalized violence and murder!!!

Anyone with a Latin American background; sometimes includes those with Spanish and Portuguese backgrounds.1998--28 million Hispanics in U.S. -- Second Largest minority group in U.S. and the fastest growing; will surpass blacks in the 1990s. Fifty-three Million by 2020.

Where they live: 75% live in just five states:

California -34%,
Texas - 19%,
New York - 10%,
Florida - 7%,
Illinois - 4%
= 75% of all Hispanics in the U.S.

Income: Hispanics -- 27% below poverty line; Non-Hispanics -- 16%

Education: (High School graduates) Anglos 67%; Blacks 46%; Hispanics 40%; high number of dropouts

Politics: ( Registered to vote) Hispanics 38%; Non-Hispanics 67%--this reduces the political strength and clout of Hispanics.

-2-Parent household with minor children:

37% - Hispanics v. 26% - U.S.

-Divorced:

7.9% - Hispanics v. 9.2 % U.S.

Hispanic Men

- 80% employed -- U.S. average - 67% of men = strong work ethic

II Puerto Ricans

-Economic refugees -- come to U.S. for better economic opportunities
-Most settle in New York area -- face much poverty and discrimination--worse off than Mexican Americans or Cuban Americans
-- many still live in ghettos
-Have one advantage: are U.S. citizens before they arrive = political advantages

III Cuban Americans

-Are the best off of all Hispanic groups -- have made it in U.S. society, middle class

-Reasons why :

1. are political refugees fleeing communism in Cuba -- welcomed in U.S. society, given much help
2. most who came were middle income or upper class -- brought money, high education, white collar job skills
3. many are a part of the establishment in Miami and Florida -- revitalized Miami
4. many first generation Cuban immigrants are reluctant and slow to become U.S. citizens because hope to return to Cuba one day

IV Mexican Americans

-Largest Hispanic group, largest minority in Southwest
-Similar to Indians -- a conquered minority -- were here when Anglo- Americans arrived.
Most Mexicans in Texas sided for independence from Mexico, some died at the Alamo, provisional vice-president of Texas Republic was Tejano (Mexican American)

- Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ending Mexican-American War had 2 important guarantees:

1. Spanish and Mexican land grants would be recognized by U.S. with little proof required
2. Mexicans choosing to remain in Southwest after war automatically guaranteed U.S. citizenship and all such rights
-U.S. did not live up to these 2 guarantees -- much land lost by Mexican-Americans and they faced much discrimination
-Mexican-Americans valued primarily as cheap labor.
-First big influx of Mexican-Americans into U.S. was in 1910 - 20 during bloody Mexican Revolution.
- U.S. sent labor recruiters into Mexico during 1920s begging Mexican workers to come north
-When Depression hit, 1930s, Mexican-Americans viewed as taking jobs from Americans, so many were illegally deported
( 2 million) in operation Wetback even though many were here legally or were U.S. citizens --no hearing held, contrary to law
-WWII: U.S. had another labor shortage, so we recruited again, and started bracero program -- an agreement between U.S. and Mexican govt. -- jobs, pay, and housing guaranteed to Mexican workers, and after job over, Mexican workers returned to Mexico. This program ended in 1965 due to pressure from unions, some Hispanics and others who felt they lost jobs to braceros willing to work for less -- end of bracero program led to beginning of huge flow of illegal aliens from Mexico.
-Mexican-Americans never faced de jure segregation, but face de facto segregation, job discrimination, social discrimination and stereotyped as lazy, bumbling, always taking siestas, violent

Hispanic Leaders & Organizations & Strategies to Fight for Equality:

Cesar Chavez -- founded United Farm Workers union to help migrant workers attain better pay, treatment, benefits, etc. --used strikes, boycotts, and economic pressure.
LULAC -- oldest Hispanic civil rights group -- use court litigation, stress assimilation and learn English quickly.

Raza Unida -- a third political party founded by Mexican-Americans in Texas to represent Mexican-American community and run Hispanic candidates -- spread to 37 states, in decline.

IMPORTANT COURT CASES AFFECTING HISPANICS:

Cisneros Case -- Supreme Court told Texas they could not integrate their schools by simply mixing blacks and Hispanics (who were legally white), but they had to integrate blacks, Mexican-Americans, and Anglos -- Mexican -Americans could not be considered "White" for integration purposes. Texas compares poorly in its treatment of and opportunities given Mexican-American in comparison to 4 other southwestern states.

Rodriguez case(1975) -- case filed by a Mexican American challenged the constitutionality of the property tax to finance public schools because he argued (due to lower property values in the inner city as compared to the suburbs) that it perpetuated unequal inferior inner city schools, which contributed to inner city students (primarily nonwhite) receiving an inferior education, which meant they were at a disadvantage competing in the job market or attempting to enter college --end result -- these students would end up in lower paying jobs, could then afford to live only in cheaper housing (located primarily in the inner city) and their children (the second generation) would then be attending the same inferior schools and getting the same inferior education -- perpetuating the "Poverty Cycle." Although the Supreme Court did not contest his statistics, they ruled that the property tax was constitutional -- thus perpetuating the inferior schools for inner city students.
Edgewood v Kirby(1989)--Texas Supreme Court ruled use of property tax as primary method of financing Texas public Schools violated the Texas Constitution and Texas must close funding gap between wealthy and poor school districts.

Causes and Solutions to illegal alien problem:

-Causes:

1. poverty in Mexico and Latin America,
2. lack of jobs,
3. high population growth,
4. U.S. projects itself as "A Land of Opportunity" -- exaggerated
5. U.S. employers knowingly recruit and hire them because no penalties
6. inadequate border patrol -- kept this way deliberately by some groups lobbying Congress because they want cheap labor.

-Solutions:

1. penalize employers who knowingly hire
2. beef up border patrol,
3. help Mexico with internal problems with more foreign aid
4. change U.S. propaganda as "land of opportunity" -- don't oversell U.S.,
5. quit recruiting illegal labor.

IMMIGRATION REFORM AND CONTROL ACT OF 1986:

1. Increases by 50% the number of border patrol officers.
2. Grants to most undocumented aliens who came to the U.S. before Jan. 1, 1982 the right to become permanent resident aliens (and eventually citizens).
3. Creates fines for employers who knowingly hire undocumented aliens and requires them to keep records.
4. Allows a certain number of aliens to come into the U.S. to serve as temporary farm workers.

Criticisms:

1. Hispanics fear that the fines will make employers hesitate to hire Hispanics (or anyone who "looks or sounds" foreign) = more job discrimination
2. Employers worry about keeping costly records
3. Workers are worried that the temporary workers allowed in will be used to keep wages low
4. Others fear the negative effect on Mexico and that it will worsen our relations with Mexico.

-Studies conflict as to whether illegals take jobs from U.S. workers -- most do pay taxes and don=t take social services for fear of being caught.

Proximity of Mexico and how it affects Mexican - American Assimilation

1. Because Mexico is so close, easy to travel back and forth, visit relatives.
2. Spanish media in Southwest undermines attempts to learn English.
3. In many Southwestern towns, Mexican Americans are a majority, so less need to learn English and assimilate; constant influx of new immigrants from Mexico reinforces old language and cultural traditions -- all of this makes assimilation for Mexican-Americans more difficult than for other groups, thus assimilate slower.

-in 1940s and 1950s, it was to their advantage for Mexican-Americans to be considered white. Since 1960s it is to their advantage to be considered Hispanic, a minority

ASIAN AMERICANS

CHINESE -- They were the first major Asian immigrants into the U.S., entering in the 1860s-1880--valued primarily as cheap labor, especially in the building f the transcontinental railroad. They were viewed with suspicion from the beginning, due to racial prejudice. They were stereotyped as "sly, cunning, devious, immoral, docile, drug dealers" and labeled the "yellow peril."

Three factors bothered Americans about the Chinese and other Asian immigrants:

1. Racial differences: they were the first major nonwhite group to immigrate to the U.S. (excluding blacks).

2. They were the first major non-Christian group to enter the U.S. (excluding blacks)

3. The Oriental culture or "Oriental mind" was viewed as too different from the Western mind.

CONCLUSION: For the above 3 reasons, the Chinese and later, other Asian immigrants, were viewed as unable to assimilate into American culture.

The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 barred further Chinese from legally entering the U.S.

JAPANESE-- With the barring of legal Chinese immigrants, Americans on the West coast, needing a new source of cheap labor, turned to the Japanese, who began entering the U.S. from the 1880s until 1924, when a law was passed barring any more Japanese immigrants from legally entering the U.S. Although the Japanese were viewed with slightly less suspicion than the Chinese (due to their higher level of education), they still encountered much prejudice. The fact that they competed very well economically, and became very successful farmers and businessmen threatened many Americans. Laws were passed prohibiting anyone born in Japan from becoming a U.S. citizen, owning land in California, or leasing it for long periods of time.

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 caused a wave of hysteria on the West coast. The federal government was pressured to "do something" to rid the West coast of the "Japanese threat"--many Americans viewed them as a security threat, loyal to Japan, not the U.S. As a result, President Roosevelt signed an executive order authorizing the removal of 114,000 Japanese Americans from the West coast and their detention in "detention camps" in the interior of the U.S. from spring 1942-early 1945. They had 48 hours to sell or get rid of their assets, could only take what they could carry, and lost an estimated 90% of their assets. In a court suit, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld this detention by a 6-3 vote (the Korematsu decision), even though 70% plus of these Japanese Americans were U.S. citizens. Economic pressure from labor unions, businesses, and farmers in California, along with racial prejudice, led to this. Few Americans questioned this.

TODAY-- Japanese Americans have a suit pending in the federal courts to get the earlier 1943 decision reversed, receive compensation for their losses, and get a formal apology from the U.S. government. A congressional commission established to study the matter concluded there existed no real security or military threat from the Japanese Americans, FDR's military advisors told him this was not necessary, and this relevant information was withheld from the Supreme Court prior to their 1943 decision. Clearly, this was a violation of their constitutional rights, the Bill of Rights, and we simply assumed they might be guilty because of their race. There never was one act of disloyalty or espionage ever proven against any Japanese American.

QUESTION: Why did we only round up the Japanese Americans, and not the German or Italian Americans whose mother countries we were also at war with?

TODAY-Japanese and Chinese Americans rank above the national average in both education and income. Other Asian American groups (Koreans, Vietnamese) also rank very high. They have succeeded economically despite prejudice. Why: Their strong work ethic, their emphasis on education, and the Asian cultural tradition of doing nothing to embarrass the family.

1. SOCIAL SECURITY LAWS
Women lose all of their husband's social security benefits if the divorce occurs before the marriage has lasted 10 years. This hurts the non-working woman who had no career or gave it up to be a housewife and take care of the kids.

2. DIVORCE LAWS
In some states men may get a divorce from their wives on certain grounds (drunkenness or adultery) that the woman cannot use against her husband to get a divorce.

3. INHERITANCE TAX LAWS
In some states the widow (a woman) still has to pay an inheritance tax on her husband=s estate. But the widower (a man) pays a lower tax rate or no tax at all. (Even though men are usually financially more able to pay the tax.)

4. PHYSICAL ABUSE
In some states, a wife still cannot sue her husband for beating her up. This goes back to the days when a wife was her husband's property, and he could do as he pleased. If he beat her, she "must have done something to deserve it."

5. NEGLIGENT INJURY
In some states, if a wife's injuries lead to a loss of marital relations, the husband can sue the party responsible for his wife's injuries on the grounds of "loss of consortium." But the wife cannot do the same if it's the husband's injuries that lead to a loss of marital relations. It's the old idea that sex is more important to men than women, so no big deal if a woman loses it: (This was true in Texas until 1978.)

6. ALIMONY
In some states (Texas), alimony is forbidden. This penalizes the non-working woman who gave up her career to be a housewife and mother. She often has no education or job skills to fall back on. Employers are often unwilling to hire such women, especially if they are in their 50s or 60s.

7. RAPE
In some states, a husband cannot be charged with raping his wife--he has certain privileges. Women's groups argue if the couple is separated and/or undergoing a divorce, the woman should have legal protection from being attacked by her husband.

8. CREDIT
Although a 1977 federal law prohibits discrimination for credit on the basis of sex, indications are that women still find it more difficult to obtain credit due to the old stereotype they cannot manage money, have no business sense, can't balance a checkbook, etc.

9. JOBS & PAY
Although a 1963 federal law prohibits pay discrimination on the basis of sex and a 1964 law prohibits job discrimination on the basis of sex. Women often find they are not seriously considered or hired for certain "traditionally male" jobs (usually better paying and higher level jobs) or they are paid less for the same job. Women in "traditionally female" jobs (nurses, teachers, secretaries) are often paid less than men in "traditionally male" jobs (truck drivers, deliverymen, salesmen) even though the women's jobs in these instances require more training and education.

10. MANAGEMENT OF PROPERTY
In some states, despite community property laws, where both the husband and wife jointly own the property, the non-working wife must allow her husband to manage all funds and property and he can make major business decisions without her consent or signature, but she cannot without his.