Some thoughts on prejudice.

What creates prejudice?

• Ignorance

• Fear

• Economic (the fear that minority groups will work for less money)

• • • Competition for jobs

    • Lowering standard of living

    • Political – if their numbers increase, minority groups may exert political power

    • Social – fears that minorities have lower moral standards

    • The psychology of prejudice

      • Fear of the unknown

      • A sense of insecurity and inadequacy (a fear that minority groups might be better)

      • Alternatively, a sense of superiority and a sense of power over others

What types of prejudice do we see in America in the 1920s?

• Racial

• Black Americans

• Immigrants, eg Mexicans

• Native North Americans

• Political

• Anti-Communism

• Cultural

• Religious

• Anti-city

• Anti-modernity

• “Legal”

• The use of the courts and other institutions

• and illegal

• Lynching

So, how does prejudice show itself?

• Stereotyping

• Labelling

• Action

• Discrimination

• Jobs

• Housing

• Abuse

• Verbal

• Physical

• Racism – personal and institutional