Race and Ethnic Minorities American Culture Lecture Jennifer Ervin Racial minority: Race is a physical characteristic.

. Skin color, hair color, etc. Ethnic minority: Any group that has different national or cultural traditions from the main population Groups White Americans are the majority (7 !" A#out one$fourth of the population are racial and ethnic minorities %lack Americans or African$Americans (&'!" (ispanic or )atino ethnicity (&*!" Asian Americans (*!" +ati,e Americans (-American .ndians/" or nati,e Alaskans (&!" Different Ancestors 0eople in the 1.S. come from many different ancestors 2ost common are from Western Europe 2ost people3s ancestors came o,er as immigrants from other countries 0eople ha,e many different customs. 4or e5ample, old family traditions from other countries 2any people ha,e #een in the 1.S. for many generations 6hey identify themsel,es as -American/ and do not ha,e traditions from other cultures or countries Where are your ancestors from? 7hildren usually learn 8here their ancestors are from their parents. 6hey also learn 8hen their ancestors came to the 1.S. Native Americans A#out million people 4rom a#out **9 different tri#es :roups 8ho li,ed in different areas +ati,e American languages 2any names of states, cities, and streets in the 1.S. +ot spoken fluently anymore Some +ati,e Americans li,e on reser,ations )and gi,en #y the 1.S. go,ernment '99 reser,ations in the 1.S. Separate la8s and go,ernment. 2any allo8 casinos and gam#ling, 8hich attracts tourists +ot all choose to li,e there Asian Americans A#out *! of the population 0eople from any8here in Asia 7hinese, 4ilipino, .ndian, ;ietnamese, <orean, =apanese, 7am#odian><hmer, 0akistani and others 2ost li,e in 7alifornia or (a8aii 6here are a#out &.? million ;ietnamese Americans ispanic Americans &*! of the population 6he largest ethnic minority Also called -)atino Americans/ 4rom )atin America (South America" 2e5ico, 7u#a, 7olum#ia, @ominican Repu#lic, 0uerto Rico, El Sal,ador. Also from Spain (ispanic people ha,e li,ed in the 1.S. since the &*99s Spanish people 8ere the first to settle 4lorida and many states in the South8est

0arts of the South8est used to #elong to 2e5ico 2any people come to the 1.S. from 2e5ico and 7u#a 6o look for #etter opportunities and to earn more money (sometimes they send money home to their families" Some 8ork or li,e in the 1.S. illegally 2any li,e in +e8 2e5ico, 7alifornia, 6e5as, AriAona, +e,ada, 4lorida, 7olorado Spanish is ,ery popular in southern 4lorida and southern 7alifornia African Americans &'! of population the largest racial minority Also called -%lack Americans/ Ancestors from Africa 2ost of African$American3s ancestors came to the 1.S. as sla,es in the &B99s$ &C99s After Sla,ery Separation of 8hite people and #lack people Racism and other difficulties 2any African$Americans created their o8n communities. 4or e5ample: schools, churches, #anks, social clu#s, and other #usinesses .n some states, it 8as illegal for #lack people and 8hite people to share certain areas .n the South, from &D99$&DB9 7i,il Rights 2o,ement &D* $&DBC 6hey 8anted the same rights as 8hite people Wanted to end racial discrimination and racial segregation Success: the 7i,il Rights Act of &DB made discrimination and segregation illegal Martin Luther !in"# Jr$ A leader in the 7i,il Rights 2o,ement and a hero for many people 2ade many speeches and led many marches and protests (oliday to cele#rate on the 'rd 2onday of =anuary. 6here is no school on this day. Was shot in &DBC African%Americans &oday Still face difficulties and pro#lems 7ompared to 8hite Americans, they ha,e less opportunities for a good education, good jo#s, and high social status 0ro#lems include: @iscrimination and racism 0o,erty (o8e,er, their position in society has impro,ed a lot and is still impro,ing (igher social class (igher economic class (igh le,el jo#s in the go,ernment 0resident E#ama Epportunities for education (igher education scholarships Epportunities for jo#s Meltin" 'ot 6he 1.S. is sometimes called a -2elting 0ot/ 2any people from many cultures and #ackgrounds @ifferent cultures and people mi5 together

6hey influence each other and change each other .t is also sometimes called a -Salad %o8l/ 6here are different cultures and people #ut they do not mi5 together ,ery 8ell