Racial and Ethnic Politics in the US
Midterm Review Sheet

Vocabulary

Assimilation

Accommodation

Amalgamation

How can the meaning of these terms be written as mathematical formulae?

Race

Ethnic Group

Minority Group

Social Constructivist Theory of Race

Group Hegemony

Group Identity

Group Cohesion

Political ideology

Party Identification

SES

American Political Culture

Do The Right Thing

What does this movie show us about the state of race relations in the US?

What does Mookie's life tell us about African American men's lives?

What is Sal's story?

Who is Smiley?  What is Spike Lee using him to say in the film?

What do the three men under the umbrella represent?

Should there be African Americans on Sal's Wall of Fame?

How could violence have been avoided?

Native Americans

Describe the US government’s major policies vis-à-vis Native Americans from the colonial period to the present. 

How did each of these affect Native American communities?  What are the lasting legacies of these policies?

Why did Native Americans and Euro-Americans clash?  What are the sources of their disagreements?  How are these differences  described/reflected in the writings of  Winona LaDuke?

Why do Native Americans object to school mascots such as "Indians" or "braves"?

How well are Native American viewpoints and interests represented in our state government, our national government, our media? Why?


What did the Spokane Indians lose as a result of the building of the Grand Coulee Dam according to the federal government?  According to them?
 

African Americans
What does the Constitution say about race?

What are the long term consequences of this language?

Did the Civil War Amendments and reconstruction redress the inequities of slavery?  Why or why not?

 
Would reparations?  Why or why not?

Islam, Nation of Islam, Malcolm X

How long has Islam been practiced in North America?

What is Nation of Islam and how does it differ from traditional Islam?

How and why did Malcolm X become a member of Nation of Islam?

Why do some advocate a separatist vision of race relations in the US?

Do contemporary conditions make separatism seem more or less necessary?

Other Questions:
What group is the hegemonic power in the US???

How do we know this?  What evidence do we have?