Race, politics, and perceptions of anti-Black and anti-White discrimination over time

2021 ◽  
pp. 136843022110401
Author(s):  
Navanté Peacock ◽  
Monica Biernat
Keyword(s):  
Individual Difference ◽  
Political Party ◽  
Racial Bias ◽  
Black Americans ◽  
Race Differences ◽  
White Americans ◽  
Temporal Framing ◽  
Race Politics ◽  
Education And Employment ◽  
Over Time

Race differences in perceptions of discrimination are well documented, but questions remain about contextual- and individual-difference moderators of when White and Black Americans see racial bias. We examined how temporal framing (focusing on past decades or not), race, political party, and domain of discrimination influence discrimination perceptions. Temporal framing did not moderate perceptions for White or Black participants (Study 1). Perceived anti-White and anti-Black discrimination converged over time (from the 1950s to the present), but especially so among White participants (Studies 1 and 2). Domain of discrimination moderated perceptions, with White respondents perceiving the steepest rise in anti-White discrimination and the steepest decline in anti-Black discrimination in the education and employment domains (Study 2). Across both studies, only White Republicans reported that White Americans face more discrimination than Black Americans. This research extends the literature on racial and political divides in discrimination perceptions, and highlights variability in perceptions across discrimination domains.

scholarly journals White (but Not Black) Americans Continue to See Racism as a Zero-Sum Game; White Conservatives (but Not Moderates or Liberals) See Themselves as Losing

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raea Rasmussen ◽  
David Levari ◽  
Muna Akhtar ◽  
Chelsea Crittle ◽  
Megan Gately ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Racial Differences ◽  
Political Ideology ◽  
Behavioral Science ◽  
Black Americans ◽  
Future Research ◽  
White Americans ◽  
Black And White ◽  
Perceptions Of Racism ◽  
Zero Sum ◽  
Over Time

Norton and Sommers (2011) assessed Black and White Americans’ perceptions of anti-Black and anti-White bias across the previous six decades—from the 1950s to the 2000s. They presented two key findings: White (but not Black) respondents perceived decreases in anti-Black bias to be associated with increases in anti-White bias, signaling the perception that racism is a zero-sum game; White respondents rated anti-White bias as more pronounced than anti-Black bias in the 2000s, signaling the perception that they were losing the zero-sum game. We collected new data to examine whether the key findings would be evident nearly a decade later, and whether political ideology would moderate perceptions. Liberal, moderate, and conservative White (but not Black) Americans alike believed that racism is a zero-sum game. Liberal White Americans saw racism as a zero-sum game they were winning by a lot, moderate White Americans saw it as a game they were winning by only a little, and conservative White Americans saw it as a game they were losing. This work has clear implications for public policy and behavioral science, and lays the groundwork for future research that examines to what extent racial differences in perceptions of racism by political ideology are changing over time.

Crispus Attucks Meets Jim Crow

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mitch Kachun
Keyword(s):  
Popular Culture ◽  
African Americans ◽  
American Revolution ◽  
Jim Crow ◽  
Black Americans ◽  
Community Organizations ◽  
White Americans ◽  
High Regard ◽  
American Memory ◽  
History Books

As Jim Crow segregation came to define black Americans’ place in the nation by the end of the nineteenth century, American memory also became largely segregated. African Americans continued to hold Attucks in high regard, but his name was invoked far less frequently in mainstream popular culture and historical scholarship. As white America all but abandoned its concern for the basic welfare and rights of black citizens, a black hero like Crispus Attucks had little chance to enter the heroic pantheon of the nation. School textbooks, mainstream popular culture, and white Americans in general virtually erased Attucks from the story of the American Revolution. African Americans kept his memory alive in history books, public commemorations, and memorial acts like the naming of children and community organizations.

scholarly journals Whites for racial justice: How contact with Black Americans predicts support for collective action among White Americans

2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 893-912 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hema Preya Selvanathan ◽  
Pirathat Techakesari ◽  
Linda R. Tropp ◽  
Fiona Kate Barlow
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
Collective Action ◽  
Intergroup Contact ◽  
Black Americans ◽  
White Americans ◽  
Racial Justice ◽  
Group Efficacy ◽  
Total N ◽  
Group Members ◽  
White Guilt

Advantaged group members have an important role to play in creating social change, and intergroup contact has tremendous implications in shaping intergroup relations. However, little research has examined how intergroup contact predicts advantaged group members’ inclinations toward collective action to support the interests of disadvantaged groups. The present research investigates how contact with Black Americans shapes White Americans’ willingness to engage in collective action for racial justice and support for the Black Lives Matter movement. Three studies of White Americans (total N = 821) consistently reveal that positive contact with Black Americans predicts greater support for collective action through a sequential process of fostering greater feelings of empathy for Black Americans and anger over injustice. These findings hold even when taking into account other relevant psychological factors (i.e., White guilt and identification, negative contact, group efficacy, and moral convictions). The present research contributes to our understanding of how advantaged group members come to engage in social change efforts.

“Past injustice and present prejudice”: Reducing racial bias and increasing sympathy by framing historical racism as recent

2021 ◽  
pp. 136843022110058
Author(s):  
Mason D. Burns ◽  
Erica L. Granz
Keyword(s):  
Racial Discrimination ◽  
Political Ideology ◽  
Racial Inequality ◽  
Racial Bias ◽  
Black Americans ◽  
Prejudice Reduction ◽  
Causal Connection ◽  
Subjective Perceptions ◽  
Past Injustice ◽  
Past Injustices

Racial privity judgments – or the perceived causal connection between historical racial discrimination and current suffering among Black Americans – predicts sympathy for the victims of past injustices and perceptions of contemporary racial inequality. Four studies investigated the ideological roots of privity judgments; focusing on subjective temporal perceptions associated with privity judgments (e.g., subjective perceptions that past discrimination occurred more, versus less, recently). Study 1 revealed that liberals perceived historical instances of racial discrimination as having occurred more recently than conservatives, and that temporal perceptions of recency were associated with less anti-Black bias. Studies 2–4 manipulated temporal perceptions of recency by framing past discrimination as having occurred more recently. Results revealed that increasing perceived temporal recency resulted in reduced anti-Black bias and greater sympathy for present-day victims of racial discrimination across political ideology. Discussion surrounds how framing historical information as subjectively recent has implications for prejudice reduction.

Do Racial Differences in Coping Resources Explain the Black–White Paradox in Mental Health? A Test of Multiple Mechanisms

2021 ◽  
pp. 002214652110410
Author(s):  
Patricia Louie ◽  
Laura Upenieks ◽  
Christy L. Erving ◽  
Courtney S. Thomas Tobin
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Support ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Racial Differences ◽  
Black Americans ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Coping Resources ◽  
Religious Attendance ◽  
Health Study ◽  
White Americans

A central paradox in the mental health literature is the tendency for black Americans to report similar or better mental health than white Americans despite experiencing greater stress exposure. However, black Americans’ higher levels of certain coping resources may explain this finding. Using data from the Nashville Stress and Health Study (n = 1,186), we examine whether black Americans have higher levels of self-esteem, social support, religious attendance, and divine control than white Americans and whether these resources, in turn, explain the black–white paradox in mental health. In adjusted models, the black–white paradox holds for depressive symptoms and any DSM-IV disorder. Findings indicate that black Americans have higher levels of self-esteem, family social support, and religiosity than white Americans. Causal mediation techniques reveal that self-esteem has the largest effect in explaining black–white differences in depressive symptoms, whereas divine control has the largest effect in explaining differences in disorder.

Did They Mind the Gap? Voter/Party Ideological Proximity between the BQ, the NDP and Quebec Voters, 2006–2011

2016 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 289-310 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Philippe Gauvin ◽  
Chris Chhim ◽  
Mike Medeiros
Keyword(s):  
Political Party ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Election Study ◽  
Federal Election ◽  
Party Manifestos ◽  
Longitudinal Approach ◽  
The Face ◽  
Election Results ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Over Time

AbstractThe 2011 Canadian federal election results changed the face of federal politics in Quebec. In a sudden and spectacular reversal of electoral fortunes, BQ support crumbled while that of the NDP surged. While most commentators focused exclusively on the 2011 election itself to explain what had happened, we offer an interpretation that takes a longitudinal approach. Using data from the Canadian Election Study and political party manifestos from 2006 to 2011, we propose a three-dimensional proximity model of voter/party congruence to explore the evolution of the ideological stances of Quebec voters and parties. Empirical results suggest these ideological distances between the NDP and Quebec voters decreased over time, whereas the BQ has distanced itself from voters. Furthermore, ideological distances between party and voters are a significant predictor of vote.

scholarly journals Blacks’ Diminished Health Returns of Educational Attainment: Health and Retirement Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. e000212
Author(s):  
Shervin Assari
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Educational Attainment ◽  
Black Americans ◽  
Education Level ◽  
Education Quality ◽  
White Americans ◽  
Highly Educated ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Retirement Study ◽  
Hispanic White

Background: Education level reduces the risk of health problems such as poor self-rated health (SRH), high body mass index (BMI), and depressive symptoms (DS). Marginalization – related Diminished Returns (MDRs), however, refer to smaller health benefits of socioeconomic status (SES) indicators particularly educational attainment for the members of racial minority groups such as non-Hispanic Blacks compared to the majority group (non-Hispanic Whites). It is not known, however, if MDRs also hold for middle-age and older adults over a long period of time.  Aims: The current study used a nationally representative data set to explore racial variation in the predictive utility of baseline education level on protecting people against poor SRH, BMI, and DS.  Methods: Data for this analysis were borrowed from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS 1992-ongoing), a nationally representative longitudinal study that followed 10,023 middle-aged and older adults (50+ years old) for up to 26 years. From this number, 1877 (18.7%) were non-Hispanic Black Americans, and 8,146 (81.3%) were non-Hispanic White Americans. Education level was the independent variable. We used cluster analysis to categorize individuals to low and high-risk groups (outcome) based on SRH, BMI, and DS over 26 years. Age and gender were the covariates. Race was the moderator.  Results: Overall, high education level reduced the odds of poor SRH, BMI, and DS over the 26 years of follow up. Interactions were observed between race and education on all three health outcomes indicating smaller protective effects of baseline educational attainment on poor health over time, regardless of the outcome.  Conclusions: In line with the MDRs, highly educated non-Hispanic Black Americans remain at high risk for poor health across domains, a risk which is unexpected given their education. The risk of all health outcomes, however, is lowest for non-Hispanic White Americans with highest education. Policies that exclusively focus on equalizing racial gaps in SES (e.g., education) may fail to eliminate the racial and ethnic health inequalities because of the racial inequalities in the marginal health return of education. Public policies must equalize education quality and address structural and environmental barriers that are disproportionately more common in the lives of non-Hispanic Black Americans, even at high education levels. Future research should test how contextual factors, segregation, labor market practices, childhood poverty, and education quality reduces the health return of education for highly educated non-Hispanic Black Americans.

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