Ethnic groups in America
July 29, 2007 – 3:38 amIt's a complex topic, to say the least. There are literally hundreds of cultures that come together to make up the American population. "Right now, relations between the largest groups are pretty quiet," criminal justice professor Yvonne Downes says. "We aren't seeing any significant race-based protests, let alone any actual riots."Problems between ethnic groups are going to occur more frequently in urban areas because that's where the greatest amount of contact will be, Downes explains. "People in rural areas tend to accept a very small number of 'outsiders' with some distrust but general acceptance," she says. "In suburban areas there is greater tolerance, and those in middle or upper middle-class suburbs feel quite smug about their willingness to tolerate people from many different groups - as long as those people are well educated and have high incomes."While Downes notes that some racial hostility still exists, many Americans, especially youth, ...