Health Disparities in US Ethnic and Racial Minorities

United States.

Background information

For evolution of a society ethnic and racial diversity play an important role. Moreover, health and health care are important. The economic and social inequalities development based on ethnicity and race are a dilemma in United States history. The use subordinate group and dominant group when studying American ethnic and racial relations is linked to ethnic and racial hierarchy, substantial inequality and stratification among different groups. After colonial revolution of Europe, United States was created based on principles of equality and freedom. Great national ethnic and racial diversity have emerged. British male were the only people accorded justice and liberty. Life inequality, ethnic, racial and gender lines have become fundamental facts. During colonial period women had few rights but many duties. There was varied conflict Indians and Americans. Foreigners and new white immigrants were faced with hostility and were less equal under law or socially. There has been a continuous struggle for women’s rights. Conflict and racial tension has been constant between African American and Anglo- Protestant Americans for 246 years of exploitive and brutal chattel slavery, thereafter 100 years of physical oppression, social segregation, economic exploitation and political subjugation (Healey 170).

United States was uneasy and unprecedented to mingle with different people even with the modification of the English domination in the past two centuries through occasional ascendency and challenges of eastern and southern Europeans and northern and non Europeans who tried to move up politically, economically and socially. In United States constitution American population was estimated to be three-fifths. Suffrage was not given to women not until 1920, African American was up to 1965 and Native Americans up to 1924.Asian Americans the

first generation was not able to become United States citizens not until 1952.Slavery and slave trade was legal and allowed to exist until 1808 and incorporated fugitive slavery in United States constitution which required immigrants to go back to their countries.

In late 18th c and early 19th c citizenship status and rights of the immigrants were compromised by the naturalization Acts, Sedition and Alien. Chinese women immigration was restricted by the 1875 page act while the entire community prohibition was accomplished through the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act. Accommodation of English oriented institutions and adoption of English language influenced the gaining of substantial status and power by the White non British immigrants in America. Nevertheless involuntary and voluntary immigrants from Asia, Latin America, Native American and Africa remained subordinate to the White Americans in cultural and political and mostly economic terms. Subordinate status has been challenged by American color overtime despite ethnic and racial diversity, oppression and inequality continued being part of U.S foundation. United States ethnic, racial, gender and class conflicts and biases have evidenced the sorrows and promises of American Dream. The troubled past of the Americans has much effect on its health systems. The poor health status of the African American and minority population are linked to historical ethnic and racial discrimination.

Ethnic and racial minority groups are the most difficult demographic characteristics to work with since there is no specific way of defining the group. This issue is further complicated by the changing and imprecise definitions of ethnicity and race emanating from anthropologists, social scientists and federal government (Gaines 567). Assessment of health status, service utilization and outcomes of different ethnic and racial

groups in America data has to be collected in a categorical system. A systematic manner is used by federal government to collect data despite the imprecise collection system which give inadequate data for United States ethnic and racial groups. There are five ethnic and racial groups which have been defined; the classification is based on interviewer observation or filling of questionnaire. Children who were born of parents of different races one being white the child was given the race of the other parent. When both parents were not white the child was given the father’s race with an exception when there were a Hawaiian parent the child was given Hawaiian race. From 1989, infants and newborn babies’ deaths were attributed to mother’s race.

Race is an important characteristic of census in a country. African Americans up to 1850 census were tabulated either free colored or slave and it included detribalized American natives. In 1860 census Chinese and civilian Indians were counted. Civilian Indians were divided into half breeds and pure Indians. The census bureau of the United states in 1890 reported that its nation had the following races; mulattoes 6337980, octoroons 69936, quadroons 105135 and Negroes 6337980. Ethnic and racial groups’ boundaries and their definition were contested and blurred. The ambiguity among the Indians and Negro disappeared in 1930. After admitting that the divisions were not valuable for analysis purpose they grouped them together with Indians, Chinese and Japanese. Anthropological notion has influenced the census in 1900 and population assessed into four dominant races. There was a separate treatment of Indian population in special census which recorded those who lived in reservation and civilized and gave

details on geographic areas, tribe and languages.

Mexicans were later grouped as Whites. In 1960 enumerators were given instructions to have considerations on how family or person identified itself. Ethnic and racial tabulations were self-identified in 1970.Ethnicity has been introduced in present population. There has been challenge in distinguishing ethnic and race origin (Omi 69). The five racial groups include; African or Black American, Asian, Pacific Islanders or Native Hawaiian, white and American Indian; offer possibility for complexity and confusion. One or more of the five groups can be selected by respondents through creation of ambiguous results and diminishing sample size. Hispanics have been classified as an ethnic but not race. Hence Hispanic people have got no specific race.

Conclusion

Over decades women have strived to secure gender equality. Some women have fought for the ownership of businesses of their late husbands. Communities have banished and criticized the few women have tried to challenge the male leadership in religious sectors. They too fought against organized boycotts and the crown for the British goods. Abigail Adam a prominent woman during struggle for independence spoke privately and wrote rebuking the male leadership to women position rectified promising rebellion (Hargreaves, 324). However, later in the nineteenth century there was a series of change equal rights demanded by women. In the nineteenth century there have been several changes in the United States which led to change in women lives at different levels of society. The countries economy shifted from agrarian to industrialization. In 19th century a lot of the white single women were employed in mills at the Northeast where they lived in rental houses. Working class men and women were employed

away from their homes.

Works cited

1. Gaines, Kevin K. uplifting the race: Black leadership, politics, and culture in the twentieth century. UNC press Books, 2012.
2. Hargreaves, Jennifer, and Eric Anderson. Routledge Handbook of Sport, Gender and Sexuality. Routledge, 2014.
3. Healey, Joseph F., and Eileen O’Brien. Race, ethnicity, gender, and class: The sociology of group conflict and change. Sage publications, 2014
4. Omi, Michael, and Howard Winant. Racial formation in the United States. Rutledge, 2014
5. Restifo, Salvatore, Vincent J. Roscigno, and Zhenchao Qian. “Segmented Assimilation, Split Labor Markets, and Racial/Ethnic Inequality The case of Early Twentieth- Century New York.” American sociological Review 78.5 (2013): 897-924.