Posted: February 19th, 2024

Sociology of Race and Ethnicity

Sociology of Race and Ethnicity: An Essay

Sociology of race and ethnicity is a subfield of sociology that examines how social, political, and economic relations interact with race and ethnicity in a given society, region, or community. Race and ethnicity are social constructions that shape individual and group identities, experiences, and outcomes. Sociologists of race and ethnicity study topics such as racial profiling, mass incarceration, immigration policy, racial disparities in health and economics, white supremacy movements, and affirmative action.

What Citation Styles Can You Use for My Essay?

Students often ask, “Can you write my essay in APA or MLA?”—and the answer’s a big yes! Our writers are experts in every style imaginable: APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, you name it. Just tell us what you need, and we’ll deliver a perfectly formatted paper that matches your requirements, hassle-free.

Recent data showed the US prison population declined for the first time in two decades in 2024. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the number of people incarcerated in state and federal prisons dropped by 2.6% from 2019 to 2024, reaching the lowest level since 1995. The decline was attributed to several factors, such as criminal justice reforms, reduced crime rates, increased use of alternatives to incarceration, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on prison admissions and releases.

However, the US still has the highest incarceration rate in the world, with 639 prisoners per 100,000 population in 2024. Moreover, the prison population remains highly racialized, with black people accounting for 33% of the inmates, while representing only 13% of the US population. Hispanic people make up 23% of the prisoners and 18% of the population. White people constitute 30% of the inmates and 60% of the population. Native Americans and Asians are also overrepresented in prisons compared to their share of the population.

Sociologists of race and ethnicity analyze the causes and consequences of these racial and ethnic disparities in incarceration. They explore how structural factors, such as poverty, unemployment, education, housing, policing, sentencing, and drug policy affect the likelihood of being arrested, convicted, and incarcerated. They also examine how incarceration affects the life chances and well-being of individuals, families, and communities of color. They investigate how incarceration reproduces racial inequality and social exclusion, as well as how it generates resistance and mobilization for social change.

Some of the sociological theories that inform this research are:

Is It Legal to Use Your Writing Service?

Absolutely, it’s 100% legal! Our service provides sample essays and papers to guide your own work—think of it as a study tool. Used responsibly, it’s a legit way to improve your skills, understand tough topics, and boost your grades, all while staying within academic rules.

- **Double consciousness**: This concept was introduced by W.E.B. Du Bois in 1903 to describe the inner conflict experienced by African Americans who have to navigate between their own identity and the expectations of the dominant white society. Du Bois argued that black people have to constantly adjust their behavior and appearance to avoid discrimination and violence, while also maintaining their sense of dignity and self-respect. This results in a split or dual consciousness that hinders their full development as human beings.
- **Racial formation**: This theory was developed by Michael Omi and Howard Winant in 1986 to explain how race is socially constructed and politically contested. They argued that race is not a fixed or natural category, but a dynamic and historically contingent process of meaning-making that involves both domination and resistance. Racial formation refers to how racial categories are created, transformed, challenged, and reproduced through social institutions, policies, practices, and ideologies.
- **Systemic racism**: This perspective was proposed by Joe Feagin in 2006 to emphasize the pervasiveness and durability of racism in US society. He defined systemic racism as a complex array of anti-black practices, beliefs, values, norms, interactions, and outcomes that operate at every level of society. He argued that racism is not only a matter of individual prejudice or discrimination, but a structural feature of society that benefits whites at the expense of people of color.
- **Internal colonialism**: This concept was used by Robert Blauner in 1972 to describe the relationship between dominant and subordinate racial groups within a nation-state. He argued that racial minorities are subjected to a form of colonialism that involves economic exploitation, political marginalization, cultural domination, and physical violence. He applied this concept to analyze the oppression of Native Americans, African Americans,
Hispanic Americans, and Asian Americans in the US.
- **Intersectionality**: This term was coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1989 to highlight how different forms of oppression intersect and interact to shape the experiences and outcomes of marginalized groups. She argued that race and ethnicity cannot be understood in isolation from other dimensions of social inequality, such as gender, class,
sexuality, disability, age, religion, etc. She advocated for an intersectional approach that recognizes the diversity and complexity of identities and inequalities within and across groups.
- **Culture of prejudice**: This concept was introduced by Eduardo Bonilla-Silva in 2003 to explain how racism persists in a supposedly color-blind society. He argued that racism is not only a matter of overt bigotry or hatred,
but a subtle and pervasive system of beliefs that rationalize racial inequality
and justify white privilege. He identified four frames or elements of this culture
of prejudice: abstract liberalism (using the language of individual choice and
equal opportunity to oppose affirmative action and other policies that promote
racial justice), naturalization (attributing racial differences to natural or biological
factors rather than social or historical ones), cultural racism (blaming racial
disparities on the cultural values or behaviors of minorities rather than structural
barriers or discrimination), and minimization of racism (denying or downplaying
the existence and impact of racism on people of color).

Bibliography

- Blauner, R. 1972. Racial Oppression in America. New York: Harper & Row.
- Bonilla-Silva, E. 2003. Racism without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in America. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.
- Bureau of Justice Statistics. 2025. Prisoners in 2024. Washington, DC: US Department of Justice.
- Crenshaw, K. 1989. "Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics." University of Chicago Legal Forum 1989: 139-167.
- Du Bois, W.E.B. 1903. The Souls of Black Folk. Chicago: A.C. McClurg & Co.
- Feagin, J.R. 2006. Systemic Racism: A Theory of Oppression. New York: Routledge.
- Omi, M. and Winant, H. 1986. help write my thesis on Racial Formation in the United States: From the 1960s to the 1980s. New York: Routledge.
- Vyain, S., Selwyn, J., Lymburner, J., and Grantham, A. 2014. "Race and Ethnicity." In Introduction to Sociology - 1st Canadian Edition, edited by W.Little and R.McGivern, chapter 10. Victoria: BCcampus.

Order | Check Discount

Tags: Sociology of Race and Ethnicity