Chapter Two and e-reserves by Michael Omi & Howard Winant and Mary Waters
4. What is your opinion of the taxicab driver refusing to pick up black customers (pp.26-28)? What are the reasons Hacker cites for explaining this? Do you think these (or some of them) are defensible reasons? What about the notion that some stereotypes are not based on ignorance?

5. On pp.31-38, Hacker discusses different assessments of black-white inequality (education, income, etc). On one side are those that either believe or have a suspicion that there is some genetic basis for black inequality, as represented by William Shockley [who won a Nobel Prize for inventing the transistor, NOT for his views and writings on racial differences] and Arthur Jensen. On the other side are those that emphasize the different social environments and opportunities for advancement that most blacks and whites grow up in as well as the centuries-long heritage of discrimination and segregation.

What are the arguments of both the genetic and environmental stances? How do you feel about these arguments and about Hacker’s response to (critique of) the genetic argument?

6. The two e-reserve articles by Michael Omi & Howard Winant and by Mary Waters discuss various issues involving “race” and “ethnicity” – how people are identified and how they identify themselves. Discuss how both these articles illustrate some of the essential differences between racial and ethnic groups, such as those we covered in class. Pay some attention to the section in the Waters article on “Relations on College Campuses.”

7. What is your reaction to the hypothetical situation Hacker presents on pp.33-34 of having to select a surgeon?

8. Can African Americans in the U.S. today be racist? Certainly, some black individuals are prejudiced and have negative stereotypes concerning whites, and a few blacks actually see whites as inferior. But given that racism also goes along with the power to do harm to others, can blacks (or can many blacks) operate as racists? Do whites fear this possibility? What are the arguments Hacker gives on pp.38-40?

Chapter Three.

9. Discuss the patterns of residential segregation that Hacker writes about on pp.46-51. Do you think that institutional discrimination by banks (harder for blacks to get housing loans) and realtors (blacks tend not to be shown houses in “white” neighborhoods; white channeled to “white neighborhoods) helped create and maintain segregation? Hacker briefly discusses institutional racism on pp.28-30. On the other hand, do you think that many whites have chosen specifically to live in basically all-white neighborhoods regardless of past banking and real estate practices? What do you think are some of the consequences of residential segregation? Are these consequences important? Do they contribute to what the director of NCCJ in 2000 concluded that “…a gulf of life experience is separating our people and communities…”? [See question #1 for context of quote]

10. On p.51, Hacker writes that many blacks feel that they need to be “upbeat” to gain white approval and not appear angry, militant, or emotional. Do you think this is true? Would many white students at UD voluntarily go hear a talk by a strong advocate of “black” issues? Hacker also argues that black individuals feel they are always “on display” while in the company of whites that they don’t know well, being judged as representatives of their race. Do you think this perception is justified?

11. On pp.60-61, Hacker writes about the different perception blacks and whites have of the police. Do you think these differences are justified? In a 2015 study, 45% of white Americans said that the recent killings of black men by police were isolated incidents, while 74% of blacks [43% of whites] said that they represent a pattern of behavior by police.

Presentation by Elijah Anderson

12. In your own words, describe a cosmopolitan canopy. Do you think that UD is a cosmopolitan canopy or a “white place” or a bit of both? Why? What aspects of Elijah Anderson’s presentation did you find most interesting/ provocative/ insightful, e.g. idea of “white space”, iconic ghetto, “n-moments” and how they affect those experiencing them, etc.