Louis Wirth’s Five Characteristics of Minority Groups (Essay Sample)

Louis Wirth’s Five Characteristics of Minority Groups
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Louis Wirth’s Five Characteristics of Minority Groups
Louis Wirth defined a minority group as a group of people who are singled out and forced to face collective discrimination from society. According to him, the main attribute of all minority groups is their lack of power (Berend, 2019). This definition was expounded further by Charles Wagley and Marvin Harris who proposed five distinguishing characteristics of minority groups. This paper investigates whether African Americans fit the definition of a minority group using Charles and Marvin’s five characteristics of minority groups.
The first distinguishing characteristic of minority groups is unequal treatment and less power over their lives. African Americans faced racial discrimination for many years. However, today they enjoy equal rights and freedoms as any other race in the United States. They also have more power over their lives. African Americans have made massive advancements in the social, economic, and political spheres of their lives. Consequently, many have become very successful in life. Therefore, African Americans fail the first distinguishing trait of a minority group.
Second, the group should have distinguishing physical or cultural traits like skin color or language. African Americans