Minority Is Not a Harmless Word by Saniya Patel

It is a common misconception that the term “minority group” refers to a group of people that are lesser in numbers. However, this is far from the truth. Formally, a minority group is any group that is relatively disadvantaged compared to others. So why is this not common knowledge? Many sociologists and critics are correct when they argue that the term “minority” lends itself to misinterpretation, since it tends to spread the idea that their classification has to do with numbers.

When a location is inhabited by a greater proportion of ethnic minorities, they are still not considered the majority; the location becomes “majority minority.” As an Indian-American woman who lives in the greater Princeton area, I have always been surrounded by folks of the same ethnicity as me. However, I am no stranger to feeling out of place. The same stereotypes perpetuated against us in other parts of the United States are just as prevalent here, and the pressure to assimilate into American society is in no way diminished. I am constantly reminded that unless things change, I will always be a minority.

But the danger our ignorance presents is larger than just stereotypes and internalized racism.  Our neighboring city, Trenton, is home to almost eighty-five thousand residents, eighty-five percent of whom identify as an ethnic minority. African Americans make up almost half of the population, yet police brutality against Blacks is one of the most prominent issues the state’s capital is facing today. African Americans are three to twenty-two times more likely to face police brutality than a white person depending on their location, regardless of how much of the population they account for. Their numbers are of no use since they are still treated as poorly as African Americans elsewhere. 

The term “minority” is not just a harmless word which signifies quantity; it is a less troubling way of saying “oppressed”. Our inaction towards the struggles minorities face is due in part to our inability to realize the word’s true meaning. Furthermore, the fight against xenophobia is not over until no group is considered a minority. By 2046, the United States will be considered a “majority minority” country, and yet roughly half of white Americans are opposed to this, stating that this transition goes against “American Ideals.” Do we not ask countries for their tired, poor, huddled masses yearning to be free? Are we not the country which purports life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all? Considering the number of minority groups that exist in the United States, which is only going to grow, it is imperative that we work to create a country free of institutionalized racism and oppression by first acknowledging, dismantling, and eradicating the terminology that seeks to categorize and dehumanize us.