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Lauer: Social Problems and the Quality of Life
Social Problems and the Quality of Life, 8/e
Robert H. Lauer, U.S. International University
Jeanette C. Lauer, U.S. International University
Race, Ethnic Groups, and Racism

Internet Exercises

  1. Trinity University's Race and Ethnicity Website (http://www.trinity.edu/mkearl/race.html) is an excellent general resource for information about racial and ethnic issues in the United States. Explore the site and become familiar with it. There are three exercises for this site.
    1. Scroll down to the general heading "Historical Perspectives of the African American Experience" and select Frederick Douglass' "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" Note when the address was given -- 1852. Read through the entire presentation, but focus primarily on one subheading: the "Internal Slave Trade." Imagine yourself a reporter, and in a paragraph, summarize this section.
    2. Under the general heading "The Workings of the 'Melting Pot': Intermarriage," click on the embedded link to "Loving v. Virginia," a case that reached the U.S. Supreme Court, and read what you find. Among the states, how many still had antimiscegenation laws in 1967 when this Supreme Court decision was handed down? Why do you suppose that laws often lag behind changes in public sentiment? Or, do you think it more likely that public sentiment changes as a result of changes in the law?
    3. Under the general heading "Thinking About Racial Stereotypes," read the opening paragraphs, noting the main thesis of the book The Bell Curve, by Herrnstein and Murray. Next, study the table in this section derived from the General Social Survey (GSS), "% of Whites Agreeing that ...." Pay special attention to the attitudes about relative intelligence among blacks and whites as they relate to levels of education in this sample. Can you see how those who benefit most from the social system are inclined to maintain the status quo?
  2. To take a quick look at the face of modern racism, explore what you find in a search through Yahoo. (http://yahoo.com) Enter "Aryan + Nation" in the search window and proceed. Next, click on Go to Web Page Matches and then access "Wilson and the Aryan Nation," an article by Jerry Fuchs. Read this article. Why does Fuchs feel that Pete Wilson of California is a far more dangerous political figure than was the openly racist KKK politician David Duke of Louisiana?








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