Ethnicities 7

Learning Outcomes

After reading, studying, and discussing the chapter, students should be able to:

Learning Outcome 7.1.1: Introduce the principal ethnicities in the United States.

Learning Outcome 7.1.2: Clarify differences between ethnicity and race.

Learning Outcome 7.1.3: Describe the regional distribution of major U.S. ethnicities.

Learning Outcome 7.1.4: Describe the distribution of ethnicities within urban areas.

Learning Outcome 7.1.5: Describe the distribution of ethnicities within urban areas.

Learning Outcome 7.2.1: Describe forced migration from Africa.

Learning Outcome 7.2.2: Describe the patterns of migration of African American within the
United States.

Learning Outcome 7.2.3: Explain the laws once used to segregate races in the United States and
South Africa.

Learning Outcome 7.3.1: Understand differences between ethnicities and nationalities.

Learning Outcome 7.3.2: Describe how ethnicities can be divided among more than one
nationality.

Learning Outcome 7.3.3: Identify and describe the principal ethnicities in western areas of Asia.

Learning Outcome 7.4.1: Describe the process of ethnic cleansing.

Learning Outcome 7.4.2: Explain the concept of ethnic cleansing in Bosnia & Herzegovina.

Learning Outcome 7.4.3: Explain the concept of ethnic cleansing in the Balkans.

Learning Outcome 7.4.4: Identify the principal recent episodes of genocide in Africa.

Learning Outcome 7.4.5: Identify the principal recent episodes of genocide in Central Africa.

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Chapter Outline

Key Issue 1: Where Are Ethnicities Distributed?

The meaning of ethnicity is often confused with the definition of race and nationality. Ethnicity is
identity with a group of people who share cultural traditions of a particular homeland or hearth. Ethnicity
is often confused with race, which is identity with a group who are perceived to share a physiological
trait, such as skin color. The traits that characterize race are those that can be transmitted genetically from
parents to children. Nationality is identity with a group of people who share legal attachment to a
particular country.

Introducing Ethnicities Ethnicity is a crucial cultural element of local diversity because our ethnic
identity is unchangeable. Ethnicity may be complex: our parents come from two ethnic groups or our
grandparents from four. Geographers are interested in the distribution of ethnicities. The significance of
ethnic diversity is controversial in the United States:
 To what extent does discrimination persist against minority ethnicities, especially African
Americans and Hispanics?
 Should preferences be given to minority ethnicities to correct past patterns of discrimination?
 To what extent should the distinct cultural identity of ethnicities be encouraged or protected?

Ethnicity is especially of interest to geographers due to its position as an anchor for the preservation of
local diversity in the face of globalization trends in culture and economy. While language and religion are
expanding globalizing forces, ethnicity is not attempting to achieve global dominance. Despite this,
ethnicities compete with one another to control particular places.

Ethnicities in the United States The three ethnicities with the largest number of people are Hispanic
American, African American, and Asian American. Hispanic Americans comprise 17 percent of the
American population, while African Americans and Asian Americans make up 12 percent and 5 percent,
respectively. American Indians, Native Hawaiians, and Alaskan Natives encompass 2 percent of the U.S.
population.

Hispanic Americans A Hispanic or Hispanic American is a person who has migrated to (or whose
ancestors have migrated) to the United States from a Spanish-speaking country in Latin America. The
terms Latino (for males) and Latina (for females) are used interchangeably with Hispanic. Rather than
using the terms Hispanic, Latino, or Latina, most Americans of Latin American descent prefer to identify
with a more specific ethnicity or national origin. Nearly two-thirds of Hispanic Americans come from
Mexico, and one-quarter from the Caribbean islands.

Asian Americans The term Asian American includes Americans who trace their heritage to various
countries in Asia. Only 19 percent of Asian Americans identify with the Asian American ethnicity, while
62 percent prefer to identify with their ethnicity as the country of origin of themselves of their ancestors.

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African Americans The precise ethnic origins of African Americans are relatively unclear. 300 years
ago, some Africans were forcibly taken from lands in Africa that were not yet organized into sovereign
countries, and records of the ethnic origin of those taken as slaves were not kept. DNA testing has
narrowed down the ethnic heritage of most African Americans to three areas in West Africa (present-day
Senegal, Mali, Gambia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia; Southern Ghana, Togo, Benin, and Nigeria
and southeastern Cȏte d’Ivoire; and Western Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola).

Descendants of Indigenous Peoples Three principal ethnic identities are used to group people who lived
in North America prior to European colonization: Native American, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian.
The indigenous ethnic identities with the largest numbers are Native Hawaiians, Cherokee, Navajo,
Chippewa, Sioux, and Choctaw. However, the largest numbers of Native Americans cannot be
encapsulated in a group. Canada’s aboriginals are grouped into three main ethnic identities: First Nations,
Inuit, and Métis.

Ethnicity and Race Racial features were once conceptualized to be scientifically classifiable into a few
groups. The biological basis of classifying humans into a handful of races is now categorically rejected by
contemporary geographers and other scientists. These biological features are so highly variable among
members of a race that any prejudged categorization is totally insignificant. The color of skin is of interest
to geographers because it is one characteristic by which people in many societies determine where they
reside, attend school, spend their leisure time, and perform many other activities of daily life.
Classification by race is the basis for racism, which is the belief that race is the primary determent of
human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race.
A racist is a person who subscribes to the beliefs of racism.

Race and Ethnicity in the United States The U.S. census shows difficulty in distinguishing between
ethnicity and race. Most census categories relate to ethnicity, such as Japanese or Asian Indian, because
they derive from places. However, the census also offers three race-related categories—black, white, and
other race. African American is an ethnicity and black is a race, though the 2010 census combines the
two. Most black Americans are descended from African immigrants, but there are some black Americans
that trace their cultural heritage to regions other than Africa.

Distribution of U.S. Ethnicities Clustering of ethnicities can occur on two scales within a country.
Ethnic groups may reside in specific regions within the country or a state at the regional scale. At the
local scale, ethnic groups may reside in specific communities within urban areas. At the regional scale in
the United States, ethnicities have distinctive distributions. Hispanics are clustered in the Southwest,
while African Americans are clustered in the Southeast. Asian Americans are clustered in the West
(including Hawaii), and Native Americans are clustered in the southwest, north-central regions of the
continental U.S., and Alaska.

Ethnic Enclaves A location with a high concentration of an ethnic group that is distinct from those in the
surrounding area is known as an ethnic enclave. Most ethnic enclaves are neighborhoods in large cities.
Ethnic enclaves generally form through migration. Cultural features, such as language, religions, and art
help define ethnicities and inform the places characteristic of these ethnicities. The geographic concept of

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chain migration is used to conceptualize the formation of ethnic enclaves, whereby new migrants are
offered economic support that may not be as easily accessible as in other areas.

Urban Ethnic Enclaves The clustering of ethnicities is notably apparent at the local, neighborhood scale.
In major metropolises across the world, specific ethnicities primarily reside in distinct neighborhoods. In
Paris, the Goutte d’Or neighborhood is emblematic of an ethnic enclave, with immigrants from former
African colonies occupying the area. In London, South Asia Indians have clustered in the west, Pakistanis
and Bangladeshis have clustered in the northeast, African blacks in the east, and Caribbean blacks in the
north and south. In the United States, the City of Chicago is illustrative of the variety of ethnic enclaves
that may be present in an urban area, with whites clustered on the North Side, African Americans on the
South and West sides, and Hispanics on the Northwest and Southwest sides.

Changing Urban Ethnic Enclaves The areas inhabited by ethnicities have shifted over time. In the early
to mid-twentieth century, emigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe traveled to Midwestern U.S. cities
to find work in the expanding industrial base. Neighborhoods took names based on the predominant
ethnicity present in the area, such as Chicago’s Ukrainian Village. By the late twentieth century, many
children and grandchildren of these immigrants moved from urban enclaves to suburbs, sometimes
forming ethnoburbs. An ethnoburb is a suburban area with a cluster of a specific ethnic population.

Ethnically Complex Brazil Brazil struggles with characterizing its population by race or ethnicity. Brazil
is a “melting pot” like the United States, with the ancestors of the current population emigrating from
many places. The majority of immigrants came to Brazil from Portugal and West Africa, but European
countries, Japan, Southwest Asia and others are also places of origin. Many indigenous people in Brazil
make up their vibrant diversity, also.

Brazil’s Races and Ethnicities Brazil’s census categorizes people based on skin color. Five races are
available as options on the census: branco (white), pardo (brown), preto (black), amarelo (yellow), and
indigenous. More than 90 percent of the country’s population are brancos and pardos. Many Brazilians,
however, do not self-identify using this classification scheme. According to genetic surveys,
approximately 70 percent of Brazilians have predominantly Europeans ancestry, 20 percent
predominantly African, and 10 percent predominantly Native American. Despite this breakdown, most
Brazilians have a mixed of backgrounds.

Clustering of Races in Brazil Distinct regional variation can be seen in the distribution of races in
Brazil. Whites are predominantly clustered in the south. In Brazil’s interior north, with the Amazon
tropical rain forest as a backdrop, indigenous people mostly make up the population, categorized by the
Brazilian census as brown. In the northeast along Brazil’s coast, people classified as brown also are the
majority race. The largest number of Blacks forced to migrate to Brazil from Africa in the slave trade also
inhabit the northeast. The west-central region of Brazil is occupied by a mix of white- and brown-
classified populations.

Distribution of Ethnicities in Guyana Despite its relatively small population of 800,000, the country of
Guyana reflects the stark geographic division of ethnicities. Approximately 30 percent of the population
are descended from Africans brought to the area as slaves in the seventeenth century, when it was

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colonized by the Dutch. Roughly 43 percent are descended from indentured servants brought to the
country from India in the nineteenth century when it was a British colony. 9 percent of the population is
of indigenous descent, and 17 percent is comprised by those of mixed ethnicity. East Indians are clustered
along the coast, black and mixed black populations are clustered in the interior north, and the far west is
occupied by indigenous peoples.

Key Issue 2: Why Do Ethnicities Have Distinctive Distributions?

International Migration of Ethnicities Most African Americans are descended from Africans compelled to
migrate to the Western Hemisphere as slaves in the eighteenth century. In contrast to this forced migration,
most Asian Americans and Hispanics are descended from voluntary immigrants to the United States during
the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries (excluding those who felt they were forced to emigrate from
their homelands, such as Vietnamese and Cubans that came to the United States).

Forced Migration from Africa During the eighteenth century, the British shipped about 400,000
Africans to the 13 colonies that later formed the United States. In 1808, the United States banned bringing
in additional Africans as slaves, but 250,000 were illegally imported during the next half-century. The
forced migration began when people living along the east and west coasts of Africa, taking advantage of
superior weapons, captured members of other groups living farther inland and sold the captives to the
Europeans. Many European ships transported slaves from Africa to the Caribbean islands, molasses from
the Caribbean to Europe, and trade goods from Europe to Africa—this was known as the triangular slave
trade.

Voluntary Migration from Latin America and Asia Quota laws limited the number of people who
could immigrate to the United States from Latin America and Asia. After the immigration laws were
changed during the 1960s and the 1970s, the population of Hispanic and Asian Americans in the United
States increased rapidly. The rapid growth of Hispanics in the United States beginning in the 1970s was
fueled primarily by immigration from Mexico and Puerto Rico. Chinese comprised the largest group of
Asian Americans, followed by Indians, Filipinos, Koreans, and Vietnamese.

Internal Migration of African Americans In the twentieth century, African Americans exhibited two
distinctive migration patterns within the United States. In the first half of the twentieth century,
interregional migration from the U.S. South to northern urban areas was undertaken. In the second half of
the twentieth century, African Americans migrated interregionally from inner-city ghettos to outer-city
and inner suburban neighborhoods.

Interregional Migration At the close of the Civil War, most African Americans were concentrated in the
rural South working as sharecroppers. A sharecropper works fields rented from a landowner and pays
the rent by turning over to the landowner a share of the crops. Sharecropping became less common in the
twentieth century, as the introduction of farm machinery and a decline in land devoted to cotton reduced
the demand for labor. At the same time sharecroppers were being pushed off the farms, they were being
pulled by the prospect of jobs booming in industrial cities in the North and West. Southern African
Americans migrated north and west in two main waves, the first in 1910s and 1920s before and after
World War I, and the second in the 1940s and 1950s before World War II.

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Intraregional Migration African Americans clustered in one or two neighborhoods in big cities. These
neighborhoods became known as ghettos, after the term for neighborhoods in which Jews were forced to
live in the Middle Ages.

Expansion of the Ghetto During the 1950s and 1960s, African Americans moved from the compact
ghettoes into immediately adjacent neighborhoods, following major avenues that radiated out from the
center of the city. In Baltimore, for example, the west-side African American ghetto expanded from 1
square mile in 1950 to 10 square miles by 1970, along with a 2-square-mile area on the east-side
becoming a predominantly African American-inhabited area.

“White Flight” The expansion of black neighborhoods in American cities was made possible by the
emigration of whites from a neighborhood in anticipation of blacks immigrating into the area. Rather than
integrate, whites fled. “White Flight” was encouraged by unscrupulous real estate practices. Under
blockbusting, real estate agents convinced white homeowners living near a black area to sell their houses
at low prices, preying on their fears that black families would soon move into the neighborhood and cause
property values to decline.

Segregation by Race The intense discouragement of spatial interaction through legal means, known as
segregation, colors a stretch of troubled history in the United States and South Africa. While these
segregation laws are no longer on the books in the United States and South Africa, their legacy endures as
a feature of the geography of ethnicity in both countries.

United States: “Separate but Equal” In Plessy v. Ferguson, the Supreme Court stated that blacks and
whites should be treated equally, but equality does not mean that whites had to mix socially with blacks.
Once the Supreme Court permitted “separate but equal” treatment of the races, Southern states enacted a
set of laws to separate blacks from whites as much as possible. These “Jim Crow” laws made blacks sit in
the back of buses and restaurants. Throughout the country, house deeds contained restrictive covenants
that prevented owners from selling to blacks. Schools were also segregated. U.S. segregation laws were
eliminated in the 1950s and 1960s through the Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education of
Topeka, Kansas in 1954. The Civil Rights Acts during the 1960s outlawed racial discrimination, as well.
Despite these efforts, cities are still subject to racial segregation.

South Africa: Apartheid While the United States was repealing laws that segregated people by race,
South Africa was enacting them. Apartheid is a legal system that separates different races into different
geographic areas. In South Africa, a newborn baby was classified as being one of four races—black,
white, colored (mixed white and black), and Asian. Each four races had different legal status. The
apartheid laws determined where different races could live, attend school, work, shop, and own land.
Blacks could not vote or run for political office. The apartheid laws were repealed in 1991. In 1994,
Nelson Mandela was elected the country’s first black president.

Key Issue 3: Why Might Ethnicities Face Conflicts?

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Ethnicities and Nationalities Sorting out ethnicity and nationality can be a challenging and complex
effort.

Ethnicity and Nationality in North America Nationality is typically kept reasonably distinct from
ethnicity and race in common usage in the United States. Nationality classifies citizens of the United
States, including those born in the country and those who immigrated and became naturalized citizens.
Ethnicity identifies groups with distinct ancestry and culture, such as African Americans and Mexican
Americans. These distinctions are not as clear and controversial in Canada. Québecois are easily
distinguishable from other Canadians vis-à-vis cultural traditions, especially language. However, it can be
contested whether Québecois constitute a distinct ethnicity within the Canadian nationality or a second
French-speaking nationality separate altogether from English-speaking Canadian.

Ethnicity and Nationality in the United Kingdom Distinctions between ethnicity and nationality
become confusing in many places. The United Kingdom contains four principle ethnicities and two
nationalities. A strong element of ethnic identity in the United Kingdom comes from sports. Even though
they are not separate countries, England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland field their own national
soccer and rugby teams. They even compete separately in international tournaments, such as the World
Cup.

Nationalism A nationality must hold the loyalty of its citizens to survive. Nationalism is loyalty and
devotion to a particular nationality. States foster nationalism by promoting symbols of the country, such
as flags and songs. Nationalism is an example of centripetal force, which is an attitude that tends to
unify people and enhance support for the state. Most countries find that the best way to achieve citizen
support is to emphasize shared attitudes that unify the people. Loyalty to a particular state can be
beneficial to the state’s internal governance but can also lead to intolerance of differences.

Dividing Ethnicities Few ethnicities occupy an area that reflects the territory of a nationality. Ethnicities
are sometimes divided among more than one nationality. Several examples are apparent in Asia.

Ethnicities in South Asia When the British ended their colonial rule of the Indian subcontinent in 1947,
they divided the country into the two irregularly shaped countries—India and Pakistan. Pakistan
comprises two noncontiguous areas, West Pakistan and East Pakistan, which are a thousand miles apart,
separated by India. East Pakistan became the independent country of Bangladesh in 1971. The people
living in the two areas of Pakistan were predominantly Muslim; those in India were predominately Hindu.
In modern India, with its hundreds of languages and ethnic groups, Hinduism has become the cultural
trait shared by the largest percentage of the population.

Muslims have long fought with Hindus for control of territory in South Asia. The partition of South Asia
into two states resulted in massive migration because the two boundaries did not correspond precisely to
the territory inhabited by the two ethnicities. Approximately 17 million people caught on the wrong side
of the boundary felt compelled to migrate during the late 1940s. Hindus in Pakistan and Muslims in India
were killed by the rival religions. Pakistan and India never agreed on the location of the boundary
separating the two countries in the northern region of Kashmir. The religious unrest in India is further

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complicated by the 23 million Sikhs in the country, who have long resented that they were not ceded their
own independent country when India was partitioned.

Dividing the Kurds When an ethnic group’s distribution spans a national boundary, conflict can result as
the ethnic group on one side may wish to reunify with the group on the other side. The Kurds are an
ethnic group whose homeland straddles the border between Iraq, Turkey, Iran, and Syria. The Kurds are
Muslims who speak a distinctive language in the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European family and
have their own literature, dress, and other cultural traditions. Many Kurds would like an independent
homeland, but the countries in which they are the minority are unwilling to let go of that territory, and
have historically restricted aspects of Kurdish culture. Until 1991, the use of the Kurdish language in
Turkey was banned, and is still illegal to use in broadcasts and classrooms across the country. In recent
years, the Turkish government has permitted Kurds to practice more of their cultural traditions.

Ethnic Diversity in Asia The lack of communication among territories inhabited by ethnicities and by
nationalities is particularly prevalent in areas of Southwest Asia and Central Asia. If national boundaries
reflected ethnic backgrounds of populations, the map of western Asia would look vastly different.

Ethnicities in Turkey Ethnic Turks constitute roughly three-quarters of the population of Turkey. Turks
are descended from migrants to present-day Turkey about 1,000 years ago. The most numerous minority
is the aforementioned Kurds, making up 18 percent of the population.

Ethnic Competition in Lebanon Lebanon is 54 percent Muslim, 41 percent Christian, and 9 percent
Druze. Lebanon’s most numerous Christians are Maronites, who consider themselves Roman Catholic.
Muslims in Lebanon are about equally split between Sunnis and Shiites. The Druze are sometimes
categorized as Muslim, but they do not follow the Five Pillars of Islam and do not self-identify as
Muslim. Lebanon’s religious groups have tended to live in different regions of the country. There was a
civil war between the two religious groups in 1975 and 1990, with each group forming its own militia to
control its territory.

Ethnicities in Syria While Syria is 90 percent Arab, this segment of the population is divided among
Sunni Muslims, Alawi Muslims, Christians, Druze, and other Muslim denominations. Greek Orthodox
and Greek Catholic are the most numerous Christian denominations. The Alawi, led by the Assad family,
have held power in Syria since 1970. A civil war has ravaged the country since 2011, fought between the
Assad government and its opponents.

Ethnicities in Iraq The most abundant ethnicities in Iraq encompass 55 percent Shiite Muslim Arabs, 21
percent Kurds, and 19 percent Sunni Arabs. Following the 2003 invasion of Iraq by the United States and
the fall of Saddam Hussein, the country has been entangled in a complex and violent struggle among its
ethnicities.

Ethnicities in Iran The majority of Iranians are Persians, thought to have descended from Indo-European
tribes that migrated from Central Asia into what is present-day Iran several thousand years ago. Persians
make up the world’s most numerous ethnicity adhering to Shiite Islam. Azeri and Baluchi are other
significant ethnicities present in Iran.

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Ethnicities in Afghanistan Pashtun, Tajik, and Hazara ethnicities are the most abundant in Afghanistan.
The current conflicts in Afghanistan stem from a 1979 rebellion by several ethnic groups against the Afghan
government. In 1995, a Pashtun faction called the Taliban took control of most of Afghanistan, with their
governance informed by their fundamentalist interpretation of Islam doctrine. The Taliban was overthrown
in 2001 by invading U.S.-led forces, leading to further instability among the country’s ethnicities.

Ethnicities in Pakistan The Punjabi have been the most abundant ethnicity of present-day Pakistan for
thousands of years. The montane territory separating Pakistan from Afghanistan is predominantly Baluchi
and Pashtun. The Punjabi are predominantly Sunni Muslims, while the Pashtun adhere to Shiite Islam.

Key Issue 4: Why Do Ethnic Cleansing and Genocide Occur?

Ethnic Cleansing occurs when a more powerful group removes all the members of an ethnic group from
an area to create more territory for the powerful group. Rather than a clash between armies of male
soldiers, ethnic cleansing involves the removal of every member of the less powerful ethnicity—women
as well as men, children as well as adults, the frail elderly as well as the strong young. Ethnic cleansing
may take the form of large-scale forced migration or genocide, where members of the ethnic group are
targeted for extermination.

Forced Migration in Europe The largest forced migration occurred during World War II due to events
preceding the war, the war itself, and postwar effects. The deportation of millions of Jews, Romani, and
other ethnic groups by German Nazis to concentration camps is the most notorious forced migration in
history. As a result of national boundary changes following World War II, millions of ethnic Germans,
Poles, Russians, and other groups were forced to migrate.

Multiethnic Yugoslavia After World War I, the allies created Yugoslavia to unite several Balkans
ethnicities that spoke similar South Slavic languages. The President of Yugoslavia, Josep Broz Tito,
attempted to forge a national Yugoslav identity through acceptance of ethnic diversity in language and
religion. The creation of Yugoslavia brought stability that lasted for most of the twentieth century.
Rivalries among the different ethnicities resurfaced after the death of President Tito in 1980, leading to
the breakup of the country into seven small countries. The borders of the new countries did not reflect the
distribution of ethnicities, leading to several episodes of ethnic cleansing.

Ethnic Cleansing in Bosnia & Herzegovina Ethnic cleansing generally follows four steps:

1. Move a large amount of military equipment and personnel into a village that has no strategic value.

2. Round up all the people in the village. Segregate men from women, children, and the elderly. Place
men in detention camps or kill them.

3. Force the rest of the people to leave the village. March them in a convoy to a place outside the
territory being ethnically cleansed.

4. Destroy the vacated village, such as by setting it on fire.

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Ethnic Cleansing in Bosnia When Yugoslavia’s republics were transformed from local government units
into five separate countries, ethnicities fought to redefine the boundaries. Ethnic Serbs and Croats
practiced ethnic cleansing of Bosniak Muslims in Bosnia and Herzegovina in hopes of unifying their
regions with Serbia and Croatia. Ethnic cleansing ensured that areas did not merely have Serbs and
Croats, but were ethnically homogeneous and therefore better candidates for union with Serbia and
Croatia. Following the Accords reached in Dayton, Ohio, in 1996 by leaders of the various ethnicities,
Bosnia and Herzegovina was divided into three regions, one each dominated by the Croats, Serbs, and
Bosniaks.

Ethnic Cleansing Elsewhere in the Balkans Kosovo and Croatia, also former Yugoslav republics, are
locations of recent ethnic cleansings.

Ethnic Cleansing in Kosovo With the breakup of Yugoslavia, Serbia took direct control of Kosovo. The
Serbs practiced ethnic cleansing in the province of Kosovo, where the large Albanian population was
forced to migrate to Albania. At its peak in 1999, Serb ethnic cleansing had forced 750,000 of Kosovo’s
two million ethnic Albanian residents from their homes. NATO launched an air attack against Serbia and
the Serbs eventually agreed to withdraw from Kosovo. Kosovo became an independent state in 2008.

Ethnic Cleansing in Croatia Croat and other non-Serb ethnicities were also victims of ethnic cleansing
by Serbs in Croatia. Following its declaration of independence in 1991, Croatia faced internal conflict
between the aforementioned ethnic groups after its ethnic Serbs attempted to form an independent
republic (Krajina) in eastern Croatia. The Serbs expelled roughly 170,000 Croats and other non-Serbs
from the eastern part of Croatia. After a four-year war that resulted in a Croat victory, around 20,000
Serbs were expelled and 180,000 left Croatia voluntarily.

Balkanization The term balkanized is used to describe a small geographic area that could not
successfully be organized into one or more stable states because it was inhabited by many ethnicities with
complex, long-standing antagonisms toward each other. Balkanization is a process by which a state
breaks down through conflicts among ethnicities. Balkanization led directly to World War I because the
various nationalities in the Balkans dragged the larger powers that they had alliances with into a war. The
Balkans have become balkanized again because of the rise and fall of communism in the region.

Ethnic Cleansing and Genocide in Africa The mass killing of a group of people in an attempt to
eliminate the entire group from existence is known as genocide. In recent years, several areas of Africa
have been affected by conflicts among ethnicities that have led to genocide. Other countries have been
either unable or unwilling to stop genocides from occurring.

Ethnicities and Nationalities in Africa Ethnicity was traditionally the most important element of
cultural identity in Africa – nationality was considered secondary to ethnicity. Several thousand distinct
ethnicities are present in Africa, each with their own languages, religions, and social customs. It is hard to
precisely determine the number of ethnicities due to boundaries that may not accurately reflect their
geographic distribution, and difficulties in classifying what constitutes a “distinct” ethnicity. Conflict
today can be traced to the European colonization of Africa in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries,
which divided up the continent into countries with little regard for distribution of ethnicities.

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Ethnic Cleansing and Genocide in Sudan In Sudan, several civil wars have ravaged the country since
1983, resulting in genocide and ethnic cleansing. Sudan’s conflicts with South Sudan and Darfur have
affected the most victims. 70 percent of Sudan is Arab and 97 percent Muslim. The balance belong to a
large number of other ethnicities descended from groups living in Sudan prior to the arrival of Arabs in
the twelfth century. The non-Arab ethnicities are clustered in the west, south, and east of Sudan.

Darfur In response to discrimination and neglect by the Arab-led government in Khartoum, Darfur’s
black African ethnicities launched a rebellion in 2003. Janjaweed, marauding Arab nomads, decimated
Darfur’s black population. Roughly 450,000 people in Darfur have been victims of genocide and another
2.5 million victims of ethnic cleansing.

South Sudan South Sudan was established in 2011 following a war (lasting from 1983 until 2005)
between Sudan’s northern and southern ethnicities. This war resulted in the death of an estimated 1.9
million Sudanese and the ethnic cleansing of approximately 700,000. South Sudan’s largest ethnicities are
the Christian Dinka and the folk religionist Nuer. Despite gaining independence, the ethnicities of South
Sudan have been unable to cooperate to create a stable government.

Abeyi An area along the border between Sudan and South Sudan known as Abeyi is now the center of
conflict among the two groups. Abeyi contains ethnicities aligned with both Sudan and South Sudan. Its
legal status as a part of either country was due to be settled by a referendum of its people although this
referendum has since been canceled. In the meantime, a peacekeeping force from Ethiopia is preventing
either country from seizing control of the territory.

South Kordofan and Blue Nile South Kordofan and Blue Nile are two other border areas containing
large numbers of ethnicities aligned with both Sudan and South Sudan. A referendum was to be held in
both territories for self-determination by its citizens, but both have been canceled.

Eastern Front Neighboring Eritrea have supported ethnicities in east Sudan in their conflict with
Sudanese government forces. The disbursement of oil profits originating from resources in the area is the
source of the conflict.

Ethnic Cleansing and Genocide in Central Africa Rwanda’s major groups of Hutus and Tutsis have
practiced genocide against one another. The two ethnicities speak the same language, hold similar beliefs,
and practice similar social customs. Intermarriage has even lessoned the physical differences between the
two groups. The Hutus were farmers and the Tutsis were herders, and relations between settled farmers
and herders are often uneasy. Hutus constituted a majority of the population of Rwanda historically, but
Tutsis controlled the kingdom of Rwanda for several hundred years and turned the Hutus into their serfs.

Belgium gained control of Rwanda after World War I. Belgium administrators permitted a few Tutsis to
attend university and hold responsible government positions, while excluding the Hutus altogether. Hutus
gained power when Rwanda became a country in 1962. The Hutus undertook ethnic cleansing and many
Tutsis fled to Uganda. The Tutsis invaded in 1990. In 1993, an agreement to share power was signed.
There have been several incidents of genocide between each group since then.

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The conflict between Hutus and Tutsis spilled into neighboring countries, especially the Democratic
Republic of Congo. Tutsis were instrumental in the successful overthrow of Congo’s president in 1997.
The new president relied heavily on Tutsis and permitted them to kill some Hutus who had been
responsible for atrocities against the Tutsis in the early 1990s. Later, Congo’s president, Laurent Kabila,
split with the Tutsis and was assassinated in 2001. The president’s son took power and negotiated an
accord with the Tutsis, although violence has persisted among the country’s many ethnicities.

Introducing the Chapter

Ethnicity and race are so commonly confused that the terms should be defined at the start of any
discussion on the subject.

The first parts of this chapter are concerned with describing the numbers and concentration of generic
ethnic groups in the United States, and the origin of migration of one particular group, the African
Americans. Note that some figures included in this section and labeled as ethnicities use a racial term,
“white,” to describe European ethnicities as a class. The remainder of this section concentrates on the
construction of race, racism, and its spatial expression through segregation in the United States and South
Africa.

A major goal of teaching should be the deconstruction of race and racism, a formidable challenge in an
entry-level course.

Icebreaker

The topics of race and ethnicity are often sensitive ones for the class; try to avoid singling out minority
members of the audience (visible or not) through example or question. The delicate nature of this issue
makes an effective “icebreaker” even more valuable.

Geography Jokes

Tell these jokes at your discretion. Some students will detect you’re up to something other than trying to
be funny.

Q: How do you confuse a geographer?

A: Put him in a round room and tell him to sit in the corner.

Q: How do you keep geographers happy in old age?

A: Tell them a joke when they are still young.

Q: How many geographers does it take to change a lightbulb?

A: Only one, to hold the bulb while the Earth turns around him or her.

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Q: What’s the difference between a geographer and a large pizza?

A: The pizza can feed a family of four.

All these jokes were obviously not initially written about geographers, but serve to deconstruct the idea of
many ethnic “jokes”—the geographer can be replaced with an unpopular ethnic group. Ask the class:
Why are ethnic “jokes” frequently interchangeable? What is the purpose of most of these “jokes”?

This discussion can be furthered by noting the changing butts of ethnic jokes . . . a moment of reflection
on students’ part will demonstrate that the most recent migrants to the country or place are frequently
subjected to ridicule and scorn. A constructive discussion about the nature of prejudices and stereotypes
should follow.

Ethnicity vs. Nationality

After the discussion of ethnicity vs. race, students are next challenged with the distinction between
ethnicity and nationality. The linchpin to the text’s definition of nationality as separable from ethnicity is
whether an ethnic group has a history of, or desire for, self determination.

Ethnic Conflict vs. Religious Conflict

Students will occasionally ask why a conflict is portrayed as ethnic in nature instead of religious. An
example of an ethnic group that competes for national identity or potential sovereign status is that of the
Kurds, who share Islam with other ethnic groups from Turkey, Iran, and Iraq.

Assignments

Review/Reflection Questions
 Give some examples from your personal experience that demonstrates the difference between
race and ethnicity.
 List some genetically inherited traits that are usually not associated with race. Why do you think
these traits are not used to define race, and skin color so often is?
 Support the argument “every ethnicity should have its own state.” Now criticize this argument
from a geographic perspective.
 If two conflicting groups have different religions, should the conflict be termed “religious” or
“ethnic?” Does the distinction matter?
 Briefly research and summarize an ethnic conflict not mentioned in the text. Why does ethnic
cleansing continue to happen? What can we do to prevent it?

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Ethnicity Field Studies Paper

Ethnicity is identity with a group of people who share the cultural traditions of a particular homeland. Our
own ethnicity (culture and experience) shapes our beliefs and also influences our perceptions of differing
people and places encountered throughout our lives. Therefore, it is important to reflect on and
understand our own opinions. Furthermore, we need to increase our awareness of the diversity of people
and places not only in the world at large, but also in our own fascinating, multicultural Southern
California environment. You must, however, get out and about to experience and taste this richness for
yourself.

This assignment (fieldwork) is intended to be enjoyable. You choose the time and the place. Many
students have combined this assignment with a family outing, a date, time with friends, or even have
formed informal groups with classmates to venture out together. It is your choice.

Procedure

1. Choose one of the locations from the attached list (the instructor needs to provide this list). No
passports are required to explore your city’s many ethnic neighborhoods.

2. You need to thoughtfully answer the questions below using as much detail as possible in your
descriptions. Be observant to the sights, sounds, and smells that create this unique sense of place.
Your responses to the questions need be typed (using 12 point font) and double spaced. Your
responses need to be numbered and you should not write out the questions. You will be required to
turn in at least two full pages, but most students usually need more than two pages to adequately
respond to all the questions.

3. You need to write an essay discussing your visit from a geographical perspective. The essay needs to
be at least one full page. Your essay must be typed (using 12 point font) and double spaced. Some
possible topics in your essay could be: (1) how the landscape is arranged, (2) the creation of a cultural
landscape (architecture), (3) characteristics of the homeland country (political, economic,
environmental, cultural) that creates push factors for migration, etc. Be sure to connect the attributes
of the homeland your ethnic enclave represents. Include your internal reactions and feelings about
this place briefly in your conclusion.

Questions

1. Where did you go? Which ethnic, cultural group is dominant here?

2. Why do you think most of the people in this area migrated to the United States? What do you think
are the push/pull factors?

3. What landscape elements do you think give this area a distinctive appearance from surrounding
areas? Be specific—describe buildings, architecture, spatial arrangement, clothing, types of stores,
and music that you encounter.

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4. Try a new ethnic food (it doesn’t have to be expensive, just a little exotic to you and typical of what is
common in the homeland). What did you try? Did you like or dislike it? What ingredients were in it?

5. Do you see outward symbols of religious systems that are associated with the homeland? Look
closely and describe. Does it help or hinder your cultural understanding of this ethnic group?

6. Do you see evidence of the convergence of traditional and modern worlds? If so describe them—look
for impacts of communications and technological systems. What kind of connections are going on
between the homeland and this region?

7. Look at products sold in stores and businesses. Do you see references to specific locations in the
homeland? What cities and regions are on the labels of products? Where are the goods made?

8. What types of economic activities and businesses do you find here? Are there any surprises? Are
there any specific businesses that reflect social customs from the homeland? Describe.

9. Any interesting (or perhaps strange to you) items for sale in these stores? People and cultures
perceive and utilize resources differently, what is your cultural response to the unique items you see?

10. New immigrant groups have always tried to recreate their homelands when they migrated to the
United States. Why do you think it is helpful for new arrivals to the United States to live in or near an
ethnic enclave? Do you think you would be attracted to an American enclave if you moved to a
foreign country?

Thinking Geographically Questions

7.1: What are examples of ethnic foods that are now regularly consumed by people of other ethnicities?

In the United States, Mexican restaurants are regularly patronized by white Americans. Many rural
communities even have at least one Mexican restaurant, solidifying them as a common feature of the
American cultural landscape. Other ethnic restaurants, such as Indian and Vietnamese restaurants, are
increasingly becoming more common across the United States, as well.

7.2: South Africa is one of the world’s leading producers of wine. Despite the end of apartheid, very few
wineries and vineyards are owned by blacks. Why might this be the case?

Even though apartheid laws were abolished in South Africa in the 1990s, the legacy of their impact on
cultural interactions is still felt across the country. Programs may not be in place to help those black South
Africans that continue to be systematically discriminated against in many aspects of life, such as
education and economic opportunities.
7.3: The Kurds claim to be the world’s largest ethnic group not in control of a country. Based on Figure
7-37, what other ethnic groups might have a strong claim to reorganize territorial boundaries so that they
could become the majority?

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It appears as if the Pashtun, Punjabi, Sindhi, Hazara, and Baluchi ethnicities could all carve out territory
to constitute a country with majorities of each respective ethnicity from the existing countries of
Afghanistan and Pakistan. These new nations would radically change the map of South and Central Asia.

7.4: The Mostar bridge, pictured in Figures 7-43 and 7-45, was rebuilt to look almost precisely like the
original bridge. Why do you think it was important to Bosniaks to replicate the original bridge?

As the bridge was previously a key part of the local landscape, Bosniaks may have wanted to reconstruct
the bridge to exactly resemble its previous form to emphasize their rightful place in Bosnia and
Herzegovina. Tying their cultural identity to the physical landscape may help the Bosniaks create an
enduring connection to their homeland.

7.5: Professional divers jump off bridges as part of competitions. Why might the bridge be an important
place to hold professional diving competitions?

Diving competitions at the bridge have been an integral recreational activity for hundreds of years, with
the first recorded diving event taking place in 1664. Since 1968, professional diving competitions have
been held at the bridge. The historical importance of these competitions has influenced the citizens of
Mostar to continue to hold these events. Also, by holding these competitions at the bridge, they are
helping to reclaim part of the history that was attempted to be taken away by the Serbs and Croats in their
ethnic cleansing of the Bosniaks in the late twentieth century.

Pause and Reflect Questions

7.1.1: President Obama has self-identified his ethnicity as African American. Based on his parents’
ethnicities, what other way might his ethnicity be identified?

Ethnicity is generally left up to individuals themselves to decide. However, based on my knowledge of

his parents, he could identify as mixed-race, or identify his ethnicity with the country of origin of his
father (Kenyan or American Kenyan).

7.1.2: What might be benefits and challenges of changing the census questions about ethnicity and race
from multiple choice to short answer format?

It would be beneficial for change the format of census ethnicity questions from multiple choice to short
answer format to let people decide on their own how they choose to self-identify. This may lead to more
accurate demographic information in the country. However, this format change would likely require
increases in census staff to process forms, and the effort would be hampered by budgetary concerns.

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7.1.3: What region of the United States has low concentrations of all four of the ethnicities?

Maine and some areas of the northern states in the U.S. West, such as Montana and the Dakotas, have
relatively low concentrations of all four of the ethnicities.

7.1.4: Can you give an example of an ethnoburb in or near your community?

I live in a relatively rural area, so there are no examples of ethnoburbs in or near my community.
However, the closest thing resembling an ethnoburb in my community would be a large trailer park
outside of town that is predominantly occupied by Hispanic Americans.

7.1.5: If you had to fill out Brazil’s census, what race would you select for yourself? Why?

I would check the “branco” box, as I self-identify as a white person.

7.2.1: Which area of Africa appears to have been the place of origin for most slaves send to the North
American colonies?

The upper coastal region of West Africa (Senegambia) appears to have sent the most slaves to North
America according to Figure 7-20.

7.2.2: Which has changed the most in Detroit, the number of African Americans or the number of whites?

The number of whites has changed most dramatically in Detroit, with sharp declines occurring from 1950
to the present.

7.2.3: Why might schools in cities like Baltimore and Detroit still be racially segregated (refer to Figures
7-24 and 7-25)?

Schools may still be segregated in Detroit and Baltimore due to enduring systemic racial discrimination
that has maintained the landscape feature known as the ghetto. As school districts are drawn to draw
children from certain neighborhoods, segregation can be seen in the present-day United States. Many
whites have left urban areas over the past decades (“white flight”), segregating students within cities and
their suburbs.

7.3.3: How do the ethnic complexities in Southwest and Central Asia make it difficult to set up stable
democracies?

Many ethnicities may be included in the ethnic composition of a single country. Disagreements between
these ethnicities, such as how to treat religious monuments, may lead to deep rifts in the relationships
between these groups. Historical atrocities, such as ethnic cleansing perpetrated against minorities in
certain countries, may complicate matters further. Without base cooperation, the formation and
maintenance of a stable democracy is difficult.

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7.4.1: What is another example of a country that is inhabited primarily by ethnic Slavs?

Bulgaria is a country that is inhabited primarily by people of Slavic ethnicity.

7.4.2: In which regions within Bosnia & Herzegovina did Serbs gain most of their territory?

The eastern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina is where the Serbs gained most of their territory.

7.4.3: Which two countries carved out of former Yugoslavia have not been mentioned in these two
sections on ethnic cleansing? Why might they not have suffered from ethnic cleansing?

Slovenia and the Republic of Macedonia were not discussed in the two sections on ethnic cleansing. They
may not have suffered from ethnic cleansing because the ethnic composition of both countries may be
more homogenous.

7.4.4: Why might the areas of individual ethnicities be much larger in northern Africa than in the rest of
the continent? Refer to Figure 1-47 on page 34 and Figure 2-4 on p. 48.

Areas of individual ethnicities might be larger in northern Africa due to the low population density. Not
many people live here as a result of the harsh desert climate.

7.4.5: Why might the European colonial powers have preferred to place in leadership positions members
of the minority Tutsis rather than members of the majority Hutus?

By placing a minority in leadership positions, European colonizers may have wished to engender social
strife based on ethnicity in order to maintain power in the country.

Explore

Use Google Earth to see evidence of ethnic diversity in the heart of Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia.

Fly to Gazi mosque, Sarajevo, Bosnia.

Click 3D buildings.

Under Primary Database, click Places.

1. What other religions are represented by religious symbols in the vicinity of the Gazi mosque?

A Jewish temple and Old Orthodox church are both present in the vicinity of the Gazi mosque.

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GeoVideo Questions
1. What was the relationship between Turks and Armenians in the Ottoman Empire at the time of
World War I? Explain.

Prior to World War I, Armenian Christians played a major role in Ottoman society, holding
positions of power in finance, education, and commerce. However, during the events of World
War I, the Ottoman government decided to deport the Armenians.

2. What evidence supports claims that the killing of Armenians during 1915 constituted genocide?
What position does the government of Turkey take with regard to these claims?

The Deir ez-Zor camps in Syria are stark pieces of evidence that the claims of genocide are
factual. The Turkish government acknowledges the deportation of Armenians; however, they
claim that the massacre of Armenians were collateral damage of the deportations, and that they
cannot be held accountable for them.

3. Why have efforts to obtain official U.S. government recognition of the Armenian genocide been
controversial?

These efforts have been controversial because the U.S. and Turkish governments are strategic
partners – for Turkey, the U.S. provides monetary and military aid, while the Turkish government
acts as a broker to the Muslim world for U.S. military and diplomatic actions. As a NATO
member, Turkey allows the U.S. military to use their military facilities to carry out operations in
Iraq and Afghanistan.

Resources
Japanese Internment

The internment of American citizens of Japanese American ethnicity during World War II is an excellent
example of when ethnicity and nationality were contested. Discussions may also include racism and racist
constructions of the Japanese during the war. Some resources can be found at the National Park Service
website:

Manzanar National Historic Site (National Park Service): www.nps.gov/manz/index.htm

African Americans in the United States

The Library of Congress hosts an excellent collection of primary documents online with descriptions and
context at:

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/aaohtml/exhibit/

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Kosovo

The United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo maintains a website at www.unmikonline.org/.
This site features news reports as well as updates on Kosovo’s legal status and future.

Human Rights Watch

A website monitors the abuse of human rights around the world and frequently identifies ethnic conflicts:

www.hrw.org/

Darfur

The U.N. News Centre maintains current information regarding Sudan and South Sudan:

http://www.un.org/apps/news/infocusRel.asp?infocusID=88

See also on: https://unmis.unmissions.org/, the homepage of the United Nations Mission in Sudan.

Connections between Chapters

Back to Chapter 6

Ethnicity and religion are cited as two of the most common reasons for conflict, so differentiating
between the two can be difficult. Students may be asked to decide whether religion or ethnic identity is a
stronger component of culture, or if the comparison can even be made.

Forward to Chapter 8

The groundwork for students’ understanding of political geography is laid in Chapter 7’s discussion of
nationality, nation-states, and multinational versus multiethnic states.

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