Deck 8: African Americans Today

Question 1

Taking school seriously and accepting the authority of teachers and administrators is a characteristic of ________.

A) de facto segregation
B) acting White
C) de jure segregation
D) White privilege

Answer 1

B

Question 2

A common view advanced by some educators is that African Americans, especially males, do not succeed in school because they do not ________.

A) consider their own culture as important as the culture of the majority
B) take school and attending classes casually
C) socialize with other Black students
D) want to be caught acting White

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Which of the following practices in schools, especially middle and high schools, intensifies segregation at the classroom level?

A) tracking
B) redlining
C) racial profiling
D) assimilating

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Which of the following factors creates residential segregation in the United States?

A) Government policies do not effectively enforce anti-bias legislation.
B) Policies of banks create barriers based on gender to financing home purchasing.
C) The prejudicial policies of real estate companies allow people from minority groups to enter into "correct" neighborhoods.
D) Public housing policies make it difficult for the poor to locate housing in inner-city neighborhoods.

Question 5

One of the big hurdles faced by African American politicians is ________.

A) garnering votes from the Black community
B) meeting eligibility criteria for contesting local elections
C) being considered representatives of the Black community
D) acquiring the money necessary to seek a major office

Question 6

The U.S. Supreme Court issued its unanimous ruling in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas that ________.

A) tracking in schools should be mandated to decrease segregation at the classroom level
B) racial tolerance can overcome school segregation
C) integrated schools operate effectively in segregated neighborhoods
D) separate educational facilities are inherently unequal

Question 7

The practice of placing students in specific curriculum groups based on test scores is referred to as ________.

A) redlining
B) gerrymandering
C) profiling
D) tracking

Question 8

Which of the following statements is true of segregation in schools?

A) The Blacks study with the Whites in apartheid schools.
B) Diverse student population guarantees an integrated, equal schooling environment.
C) Tracking has the effect of decreasing White-Black classroom interaction.
D) Tracking leads to desegregation at the classroom level.

Question 9

In 1974, the Supreme Court ruled in ________ that it was improper to order Detroit and the suburbs to have a joint metropolitan busing solution.

A) Millikin v. Bradley
B) Plessy v. Ferguson
C) Williams v. Mississippi
D) Shelley v. Kramer

Question 10

Racial and ethnic groups realize that formal schooling is the key to ________.

A) social mobility
B) affirmative action
C) redlining
D) differential justice

Question 11

________ is a term used by sociologist Max Weber to refer to people who share similar levels of wealth and income.

Question 12

________ refers to the tendency to view crime as less socially significant if the victim is viewed as less worthy.

A) Victim profiling
B) Victim redlining
C) Victim discounting
D) Victim tracking

Question 13

The type of school discrimination that results from residential patterns is called ________.

A) de facto segregation
B) tracking
C) differential justice
D) racial steering

Question 14

In theory, ________ are enacted to ensure that specific standards of housing construction will be satisfied.

Question 15

________ is associated with speaking proper English or with cultural preferences like listening to rock music rather than hip-hop.

A) White primary
B) Acting White
C) Acting Black
D) Black primary

Question 16

Which of the following statements is true of the education of African Americans?

A) Blacks as a group have always attained the same level of education as Whites as a group.
B) African American children are more likely to have formal prekindergarten education than are White children.
C) African American schoolchildren who stay in school are guaranteed equal opportunities in life.
D) Black children generally drop out of school sooner and, therefore, are less likely to receive high school diplomas.

Question 17

Which of the following statements is true of acting White or acting Black?

A) Acting White shifts the responsibility of low school attainment from the school to the individual and, thus, depicts an example of blaming the victim.
B) The acting-White thesis overemphasizes structural features rather than personal responsibility.
C) To equate acting White with high academic achievement has much empirical and cultural support.
D) The primary stumbling block is not about being presented with similar educational opportunities but about acting White or acting Black.

Question 18

In 1965, the U.S. Department of Labor released a report entitled The Negro Family: The Case for National Action commonly referred to as the ________.

Question 19

Proposals to improve educational opportunities for African Americans often argue for ________.

A) additional school hours
B) better educated teachers
C) more adequate funding
D) improved extracurricular programs

Question 20

The term apartheid schools has been coined to refer to schools that ________.

A) are funded by elites
B) are all Black
C) exclusively have Whites teachers
D) are reserved for Hispanics

Question 21

Which of the following is a reason for the higher unemployment rates of African Americans?

A) lack of dependable assets
B) lack of credibility
C) lack of skills and expertise
D) lack of initiative

Question 22

For African Americans, the family reflects the legacy of ________.

A) high income
B) dependable assets
C) racism
D) low stability

Question 23

The acting-White thesis overemphasizes ________.

A) personal responsibility
B) structural features
C) intellectual abilities
D) social mobility

Question 24

The federal government's Bureau of Labor Statistics counts as unemployed people only those who ________.

A) are actively seeking employment
B) hold a full-time job and are seeking another job
C) have temporarily given up looking for employment
D) are being employed only intermittently

Question 25

Sociologist William J. Wilson pointed out that ________.

A) programs must be developed to confront ethnic and racial discrimination rather than class subordination
B) young Blacks were competing unsuccessfully with young Whites
C) class has ceased to be of concern as educated Blacks are entering the middle class
D) the poor are socially isolated and have shrinking economic opportunities

Question 26

W. E. B. Du Bois argued that ________.

A) when racism decreases, class issues become more important
B) what Black students need is segregated or mixed schools.
C) exploitation should be eradicated so that all classes of people can be considered equal
D) race has ceased to be of concern as educated Blacks are entering the middle class

Question 27

Which of the following statements is true of the employment picture of Blacks?

A) The taboo against putting Blacks in jobs in which they would supervise Whites has strengthened.
B) Black unemployment rate is significantly lesser than that of Whites in the best economic times.
C) Black employees are the first to be fired as the business cycle weakens.
D) The employment picture is quite promising for Black workers aged 16 to 24.

Question 28

Which of the following statements best represents the pattern of higher education for Blacks?

A) Attention to a growing number of racial incidents on predominantly White college campuses has discouraged African Americans from considering college.
B) Pushing for higher standards in educational achievement without remedial courses has encouraged minority students to attend college.
C) Increased positive publicity about affirmative action has encouraged African Americans to consider college.
D) More reliance on grants-in-aid than on loans has encouraged students who would be the first members of their families to attend college.

Question 29

Which of the following statements is true of African Americans in relation to employment?

A) The official unemployment rate includes African Americans who are effectively unemployed.
B) The percentage of African Americans in professional and managerial occupations has dropped drastically.
C) African Americans are underrepresented in high-status and high-paying occupations.
D) The taboo against putting Blacks in jobs in which they would supervise Whites has strengthened.

Question 30

Underemployment refers to working ________.

A) voluntarily on a part-time basis
B) voluntarily on a permanent basis
C) at a job for which one is overqualified
D) at a job for which one is underqualified

Question 31

The term ________ refers to a person's material assets, including land and other types of property.

A) income
B) equity
C) indemnity
D) wealth

Question 32

The characterization of associating acting White with speaking proper English or with cultural preferences is sometimes referred to as ________.

A) authoritarian culture
B) regressive culture
C) Black culture
D) oppositional culture

Question 33

Which of the following is an example of underemployment?

A) Susan dropped out of high school and was never able to find a job.
B) Jerry received a master's degree in engineering but worked as a lab technician when he couldn't find a job as an engineer.
C) Jay worked in the accounting department of a company but couldn't get transferred to the marketing department.
D) John received a bachelor's degree in sales and marketing and was recruited as a sales manager at a pharmaceutical company.

Question 34

Which of the following factors explains why official unemployment rates for young African Americans are so high?

A) a low number of White middle-class women in the labor force
B) increased competition from immigrants
C) more experience and expertise than most White men and women
D) the need to support their families

Question 35

E. Franklin Frazier, a Black sociologist, identified that the overriding goal of the African American middle class was to ________.

A) maintain strong group solidarity within the Black community
B) endeavor to preserve the cultural heritage
C) work for the upward mobility of the poorest segment of the Black community
D) achieve petty social values and become acceptable to White society

Question 36

Income refers to ________.

A) material assets, including land and other properties
B) salaries, wages, and other money received
C) currency exchange rates
D) tangible and intangible assets

Question 37

In his research, sociologist William J. Wilson pointed to the "compelling evidence" that young Blacks ________.

A) embraced the oppositional culture of acting White
B) were competing successfully with young Whites
C) were socially isolated
D) had shrinking economic opportunities

Question 38

Pointing to the increasing affluence of African Americans, sociologist William J. Wilson concluded that ________.

A) class has become more important than race in determining black life-chances in the modern industrial period
B) class has ceased to be of concern as more educated Blacks are entering the middle class
C) programs must be developed to confront ethnic and racial discrimination rather than class subordination
D) the overriding goal of the Black middle class is to achieve petty social values and become acceptable to White society

Question 39

One of the factors that explains why official unemployment rates for young African Americans are so high is that ________.

A) many African Americans are seen as socially capable by the White society
B) many African Americans receive low financial aids
C) Black middle-class men continue to be in the labor force even at an old age
D) many African Americans live in the depressed economy of the central cities

Question 40

Many characterizations of the African American community have been attacked because ________.

A) they represent the legacy of racism and low income across many generations
B) they place too much focus on African Americans in high-paying occupations
C) they overemphasize the poorest segment of the African American community
D) they underemphasize the success achieved by African Americans

Question 41

________ refers to a systematic interview of ordinary people that is carried out annually to reveal how much crime occurs.

A) Censoring
B) Victim discounting
C) Victimization survey
D) Redlining

Question 42

Which of the following statements is true of the stability of African American families?

A) Single-parent African American families are necessarily deprived, while two-parent families are always secure and happy.
B) The tradition of extended family among poverty stricken African Americans eases the burden of raising a child.
C) The absence of a husband in single-parent African American households means that no one shares in childcare.
D) In African American single-parent families, the absent parent is more often the mother.

Question 43

The study that outlined a tangle of pathology with the Black family at its core was the ________.

A) Moynihan Report
B) Journal Citation Report
C) Ebony and Ivory Report
D) HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journal_of_Black_Studies" \o "Journal of Black Studies" Journal of Black Studies

Question 44

________ refers to the practice of discriminating against people trying to buy homes in minority and racially changing neighborhoods.

A) Zoning
B) Redlining
C) Tracking
D) Neutralizing

Question 45

________ can separate industrial and commercial enterprises from residential areas.

A) De facto segregation
B) Zoning laws
C) Redlining
D) Tracking

Question 46

The most consistently documented strength of the Black family is the presence of ________.

A) a strong male wage earner
B) subsidized childcare for working mothers
C) an extended family household
D) a strong nonreligious orientation

Question 47

Which of the following statements is true of African American families?

A) Poor Black families often include only one wage earner.
B) In two-parent Black families, an egalitarian pattern of decision making is rare.
C) Blacks are less likely than Whites to care for children and the elderly in an extended family network.
D) Working-class Blacks indicate a greater desire for their children to attend college than do working-class Whites.

Question 48

According to Robert Hill of the National Urban League and Morgan State University, which of the following characteristics is typical of African American families?

A) a high social status
B) low achievement aspirations
C) a strong work orientation
D) rigid family roles

Question 49

Which of the following strengths of African American families allows them to function effectively in a hostile society?

A) strong entrepreneurship skills
B) strong kinship bonds
C) strong educational background
D) strong financial background

Question 50

The most common feature of African American households is ________.

A) the presence of grandparents residing in the home
B) the absence of extended living arrangements
C) a weak religious orientation
D) the strong presence of a patriarchal structure in the family

Question 51

Which of the following statements is true of the housing situation of African Americans?

A) African Americans differ from Whites because their housing has been restricted through discrimination.
B) The quality of Black housing is superior to that of Whites at all income levels.
C) Statistics has indicated that Black housing has deteriorated in recent years throughout the United States.
D) African Americans pay a meagre proportion of their income for shelter.

Question 52

Compared with Whites, Black men have higher death rates from ________.

A) respiratory disease
B) heart disease
C) AIDS
D) diarrhea

Question 53

In the context of criminal justice, which of the following statements is true of Blacks?

A) Blacks are more likely to be able to afford private attorneys than Whites.
B) Crimes involving Black victims are viewed as more socially significant than those involving White victims.
C) Most of all the violent crimes against Whites are perpetrated by Blacks.
D) Blacks are more likely to be victims of violent crimes than are Whites.

Question 54

In the context of the criminal justice system, studies demonstrate that ________.

A) African Americans often evade formal arrest by hiring private attorneys
B) African Americans are less likely to be victims of violent crimes than Whites
C) majority of the violent crimes against Whites are perpetrated by African Americans
D) police often deal with African American youths more harshly than with White youngsters

Question 55

Reasons identified as contributing to residential segregation in the United States include ________.

A) prejudicial policies of real estate companies that steer people to the "correct" neighborhoods
B) bank policies that create barriers based on class to finance home purchasing
C) court decisions that dismantle exclusionary housing practices
D) public housing policies that make it difficult to locate housing for the poor in inner-city neighborhoods

Question 56

In theory, zoning laws are enacted to ensure that ________.

A) specific standards of housing construction will be satisfied
B) low-income people will be kept out of wealthy communities
C) cultural minority groups are prevented from buying homes in affluent neighborhoods
D) zero population growth will be maintained in counties

Question 57

The key factor in the great disparity between the Black and White family wealth was the failure of African Americans to ________.

A) inherit wealth from their ancestors
B) have a strong achievement orientation
C) maintain a strong work orientation
D) accumulate wealth through home buying

Question 58

W. E. B. Du Bois noted that crime was difficult to address precisely because ________.

A) it is an action that stands alone and is viewed in isolation
B) it is a phenomenon that stands as a symptom of countless wrong social conditions
C) it is an involuntary act that is committed without any premeditation
D) it is a deed that is committed with the motive of depicting a sense of supremacy over others

Question 59

The fact that Whites are dealt with more leniently than Blacks, whether at the time of arrest, indictment, conviction, sentencing, or parole represents ________.

A) redlining
B) differential justice
C) residential segregation
D) victim discounting

Question 60

Drawing on the conflict perspective, sociologist Howard Waitzkin suggests that ________.

A) racial tensions contribute to the medical problems of African Americans
B) death resulting from hypertension is twice as common in Whites as in Blacks
C) significant differences exist among segments of the population with Blacks living longer than Whites
D) Blacks are overrepresented while seeking medical care, donating blood, or signing up for organ donation

Question 61

Despite Barack Obama's election to the presidency in 2008, what are the trends in the election
of African Americans to political office? Do you think you will see more African Americans elected to high office in the near future?

Question 62

Discuss the reasons behind the high unemployment rates of young African Americans. According to the federal government's Bureau of Labor Statistics, who are considered unemployed?

Question 63

Explain the five factors that account for the reversal in progress of African Americans in higher education.

Question 64

In sociologist Howard Waitzkin's view, the stress resulting from racial prejudice and discrimination helps explain the higher rates of ________ found among African Americans than among Whites.

A) arthritis
B) tuberculosis
C) hypertension
D) AIDS

Question 65

In the context of healthcare, which of the following statements is true of Blacks?

A) Hypertension is believed to be a critical factor in Blacks' high mortality rates from heart disease, kidney disease, and strokes.
B) Blacks, over the years, have received separate and equal healthcare facilities as those received by Whites in the United States.
C) Black men are less likely to fall victim to unrelenting stress, heart disease, and cancer than their White counterparts.
D) Blacks are overrepresented while seeking medical care, donating blood, or signing up for organ donation.

Question 66

According to Robert Hill, what are the five strengths of African American families that allow them to function effectively in a hostile (racist) society?

Question 67

Which of the following statements is true of the Tuskegee syphilis study?

A) Most of the participants of the study were White men who were suffering from syphilis.
B) After the discovery of effective treatments for syphilis in 1945, the Black men who participated in the study were given immediate medical assistance.
C) The study established a strong feeling of trust in the American healthcare system among contemporary African Americans.
D) In the study, Black men in Alabama were left untreated with syphilis so that researchers could observe the progression of the disease.

Question 68

Which of the following is true about African Americans in relation to politics?

A) After the election of a Black President, African Americans have received an equal share of the political pie.
B) Non-Black voters have difficulty seeing Black politicians as anything other than representatives of the Black community.
C) Locally elected Black officials find it easy to make the jump to statewide office.
D) Non-Black voters have expressed their faith that the views of Whites and other non-Blacks will be well represented by an African American.

Question 69

Discuss the five primary factors that create residential segregation in the United States.

Question 70

Discuss the social implications of differential justice and victim discounting. How is the system
of justice compromised by these practices?

Question 71

Population specialist Evelyn Kitagawa estimated the "excess mortality rate" to be 20 percent because of poor health linked to ________.

A) age
B) sex
C) class
D) occupation

Question 72

Which of the following reasons can be attributed to the underrepresentation of African Americans while seeking medical care?

A) history of mistreatment
B) low cost of treatment
C) inexperience of medical practitioners
D) unreliability of medical reports

Question 73

Explain William J. Wilson's claim "class has become more important than race" in The
Declining Significance of Race. What did critics of this comment have to say?

Question 74

Professor of Ethics at Harvard Medical School, Harriet Washington, coined the term ________ to refer to the separate and unequal healthcare system in the United States.

A) medical deprivation
B) medical segregation
C) medical discounting
D) medical apartheid