Which statement best describes the relationship between ethnicity and minority status?

Which statement best describes the relationship between ethnicity and minority status?

• A. They were voluntary guidelines
• B. They promoted interracial marriage
• C. They enforced racial segregation in public settings
• D. They had no effect on society

Answer: (C)

Ethnicity and minority status become linked when laws or social norms place a group on the margins and restrict their access to public resources. The statement reflects how historical policies were used to enforce segregation in public spaces—like schools, transit, and facilities—keeping people apart based on ethnicity. This shows how ethnicity can define who is treated as a minority with limited rights in society. The other options don’t fit because they describe voluntary guidelines, promote interracial marriage, or claim there was no effect, which don’t describe how segregation operated in practice.