North Central Sociological Association Presidential Address. Renewing Sociology: Integral Science,Solidarity, and Loving Kindness

Abstract

We contribute to the debate about the effects of immigration in the United States by analyzing the impact of recent (1980-2000) immigration on the economic outcomes of African Americans. We use Census 2000 data for a sample of 150 U.S. metropolitan areas to examine these outcomes. Our findings indicate that after controlling for a variety of theoretically relevant control variables, increases in recent immigration decrease labor force non-participation and poverty, and increase median earnings, among blacks. We argue that recent immigration expands blacks' job opportunities in or near the middle of the occupational hierarchy (e.g., protective services; office and administrative support). However, we also find a non-linear effect of immigration on black median earnings which indicates an immigrant population threshold where black earnings begin to decline. Thus, both sides of this debate may be correct: middle-class blacks benefit from increased immigration, but the gains of the black middle class do not always offset the fact that poor and lower-skilled blacks are losing out because of increased competition with immigrants.     

Election Systems and the Representation of Black Women in American State Legislatures

Both blacks and women are under-represented in American elected offices. At the local and state legislative levels, however, the under-representation of blacks is almost entirely due to the under-representation of black women. Black men have achieved or exceed parity between their population proportions and their proportions among elected officials; therefore, the under-representation of blacks and women are one and the same. Women are more likely to be elected in multi-member districts than in single-member district systems. Black women, in particular, are more likely to come from multi-member district systems whether in overwhelmingly white or black majority constituencies. Redistricting to multi-member districts with black majority and overwhelmingly white constitencies, then, could aid in the election of more black women without hurting black representation overall.     

“Call to Home?” Race,Region, and Migration to the U.S. South, 1970–20001

This research examines recent migration patterns of native‐born blacks and whites to the U.S. South. Our primary research questions concern race and regional migration dynamics, and whether new insights into such can be gleaned by comparing migrants to the South with persons moving within the non‐South. Using samples of 1970–2000 census data, we focus on race differences in the tendency to choose the South as a migration destination, and whether whites and blacks differ in key selection mechanisms shaping movement to different regional destinations. We observe increasing rates of black (compared to white) migration to the South. Additionally, patterns of selectivity within this growing African‐American migration stream are especially dramatic when southern migrants are compared to persons moving within the non‐South. Our analyses also show that black migrants are targeting particular parts of the South (e.g., states where blacks are a larger share of the population), suggesting that future research should disaggregate the “Census South” region to provide a more comprehensive picture of contemporary interregional migration in the United States.     

Polarization and progress in the black community: Earnings and status gains for young black males in the era of affirmative action

We examined the occupational mobility and earnings attainment of young black and white male workers in the period 1974–1981 for evidence of class polarization among blacks in the era following the 1960s' antidiscrimination legislation. Our model links occupational status and earnings to the social resources of education and father's socioeconomic status, using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, 1968–1981. The results suggest that such resources operated more strongly for advantaged blacks than for whites. But for less advantaged blacks, race remained a significant barrier. As predicted by the polarization hypothesis, enforcement of affirmative action guidelines was beneficial, but only to more qualified blacks.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the annual meetings of the Society for the Study of Social Problems, August 1987.     

RACE AND THE EDUCATIONAL EXPECTATIONS OF PARENTS AND CHILDREN: The Case of South Africa

South Africa, a country that is highly stratified by race, is an important location for studying the relationship between race and educational expectations. Using a longitudinal data set, we examine the educational expectations of black (African), colored (mixed race), and white (European ancestry) parents and children in Cape Town, South Africa. We find that parents and children have high educational expectations regardless of race, but black parents and children have higher educational expectations than coloreds and whites once socioeconomic and other factors are controlled. We also find that parents' and children's expectations tend to agree more and are more closely correlated among coloreds and whites than blacks. We test two explanations for the educational expectations of parents and children, finding more support for the status attainment perspective among coloreds and whites than blacks and support for the family social capital perspective among blacks and coloreds only.     

The northern “Black Metropolis” of the early twentieth century: a reappraisal

The new perspective of the "Black Metropolis" implies that conditions created by the Great Migration helped blacks in northern cities to establish themselves in professional, entrepreneurial, and artistic, entertainment and mass media occupations. The present study evaluates this argument with Census data, focusing on the nation's largest black communities, Harlem (New York) and Bronzeville (Chicago), at time points that capture the first wave of the Great Migration. Contrary to expectations, the odds of black employment in the aforesaid occupations declined or remained essentially unchanged in both communities over the study period. Harlem and Bronzeville were surprisingly limited in their potential to offer opportunities for blacks to become professionals, entrepreneurs, and artists, entertainers and writers, perhaps because these communities were saturated by the tremendous influx from the South. Accordingly, it is recommended that the Black Metropolis perspective be modified, to provide a more accurate view of the consequences of the Great Migration.     

CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF LAYOFFS

Using probit analysis, this article finds that differential treatment accounts for a substantial portion of the higher layoff rates of blacks in comparison to whites. However, women are found to be considerably less prone to layoffs than men with similar characteristics. Among those who obtained subsequent employment (taking into account the possible selectivity bias in such a subsample), white males are hurt more by layoffs than black males in terms of both short-term and long-term earnings growth; women's earnings are not necessarily affected by layoff at all. However, whites and males are found to be more likely to be reemployed than blacks and females, respectively.     

FROM OLD SOUTH TO NEW SOUTH? BLACK-WHITE RESIDENTIAL SEGREGATION IN MICROPOLITAN AREAS

This article examines black-white residential segregation in micropolitan areas across the South. Micropolitan areas are newly defined urban clusters with a core population that ranges from 10,000 to 50,000. By shifting the focus to the nonmetropolitan South, we take debates about the “American dilemma” back to a historically important terrain of black-white relations that few scholars have systematically examined in the post-Civil Rights era. Using the most recent census, we find that the dynamics of residential segregation in our sample of micropolitan areas reflect both important opportunities and constraints. In contrast to their counterparts in metropolitan areas, blacks in the nonmetropolitan South face “only” moderate levels of segregation. Surprisingly, southern micropolitan areas afford greater opportunities for spatial assimilation to the least economically advantaged blacks as well as those who are more advantaged. Perhaps most importantly, this finding holds for micropolitan areas located in the historic Black Belt as well as elsewhere; however, several patterns emerge that suggest a set of barriers to spatial assimilation similar to those facing African Americans in metropolitan areas. In sum, our analysis clarifies the complexities of black-white segregation in the “New South/Old South,” pushing scholars to more systematically map the distinct trajectories of “American Apartheid” across time and place in the United States.     

The Tenant Labor Market and Lynching in the South: A Test of Split Labor Market Theory*

Split labor market theory was originally advanced as a general approach explaining ethnic antagonism as the result of class-based interests. In this investigation, the threat to “high-priced” (white) labor from “cheap” (black) labor within the farm tenancy system of the postbellum South is examined as an underlying cause of the lynching of blacks by whites. Supporting this interpretation, the ratio of black to white tenants in southern counties, a measure of the level of economic threat to high-priced labor, is shown to be a strong predictor of lynching rates in the Cotton South. Findings for the Non-Cotton South, however, are inconsistent with theoretical expectations. We conclude that racial violence linked to economic competition between working-class whites and blacks was limited to that part of the South dominated by the plantation system.     

Race, Gender, and Opinion Toward Black and Female Presidential Candidates

Using data from the 1974 and 1978 General Social Surveys, publicopinion toward blacks and women as presidential candidates wasexplored. We tested the hypotheses that white males would beleast likely to support presidential candidates from both groups,while black females would be the most likely to express thissupport. We found that although blacks in general were moresupportive of black candidacies than were whites, women werenot consistently more supportive of female candidates. Whileblack women were more likely than black males to support femalecandidates, among whites few gender differences were found.     

Black-White Differences in Attitudes toward Homosexuality and Gay Rights

Black homophobia has been cited as a contributing factor inslowing mobilization against AIDS in the African-American community,as an obstacle to black lesbians and gay men in coming to termswith their sexuality, and as a challenge to the legitimacy ofthe gay rights movement. Yet evidence that blacks are more homophobicthan whites is quite limited. This article uses responses fromalmost seven thousand blacks and forty-three thousand whitesin 31 surveys conducted since 1973 to give more definitive answerson black-white attitudinal differences and their demographicroots. Despite their greater disapproval of homosexuality, blacks'opinions on sodomy laws, gay civil liberties, and employmentdiscrimination are quite similar to whites' opinions, and AfricanAmericans are more likely to support laws prohibiting antigaydiscrimination. Once religious and educational differences arecontrolled, blacks remain more disapproving of homosexualitybut are moderately more supportive of gay civil liberties andmarkedly more opposed to antigay employment discrimination thanare whites. Yet religion, education, gender, and age all haveweaker impacts on black than on white attitudes, suggestingthat black and white attitudes have different roots.     

BLACK IS,BLACK AIN'T: BIRACIALS,MIDDLE-CLASS BLACKS,AND THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF BLACKNESS

Several scholars claim that group cohesion among black Americans is necessary for black advancement. Our research examines the extent to which group cohesion is possible given the increasing diversity of Black America, particularly with regard to race and class. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 33 middle-class blacks and 40 black-white biracials, we explore (1) the similarities and differences in the experiences of both groups, (2) their encounters with marginalization, (3) how they negotiate perceived marginalization, and (4) the extent to which all of the above are shaped by socially constructed ideas of blackness. We find that narrow notions of “authentic” blackness challenge group cohesion and threaten to splinter the black community along class and ethnic/racial lines. However, we find evidence of greater tolerance for the community's racial diversity than its class diversity. Nevertheless, the data presented here suggest that the increasing heterogeneity of Black America poses significant challenges to group cohesion.     

How unions affect minority representation in building trades apprenticeship programs

I use program-level data to compare the relative representation of blacks and Latinos in the construction industry apprenticeship programs organized with and without trade union participation. Econometric analysis shows that there are significant differences between the black and Latino experiences. The black share is higher in union-management joint programs, but the Latino share appears to be higher in the unilateral employer programs. Although both groups have lower representation in the higher status (electrical and mechanical) and higher paying occupations, the Latino share is more sensitive to earnings.     

Race,Sex, and Perception of the Occupational Opportunity Structure among College Students*

Questionnaires were administered to 70 black female, 75 black male, 1,457 white female and 1,429 white male university freshmen. In order to test three alternative theories regarding perceptions of discrimination, analyses of variance related sex, race, and SES to total scores of perceived occupational discrimination against blacks (BDST) and against women (WDST). Blacks perceived significantly more discrimination against black people than did whites; neither sex nor SES differentialed scores on BDST. Black females and white males perceived significantly more discrimination against women than did white females; black females had the highest and white females the lowest WDST scores. A discriminant analysis on white females indicated that high WDST scorers were characterized by an “underdog syndrome” whereas low WDST scorers held internal, individualistic values. The findings indicated the greatest support for the formulation that differential anticipatory socialization into the role of “a person who is discriminated against” characterized white females who perceived more or less discrimination against women.     

Gender and racial earnings differentials in academic labor markets

This study estimates earnings differentials across racial and gender groups among college faculty, and decomposes these differentials into the components attributable to differences in individual and institutional characteristics and that which remains unexplained. We find that white females earn approximately 4 percent less than white males; black males earn 7.4 percent more; black females earn one percent more; Hispanic males earn 2.7 percent more; Hispanic females earn 1.7 percent less; and Asian males earn 7.7 percent more than comparable white males. We also find a significant earnings penalty for being a naturalized citizen or noncitizen versus an U.S.-born citizen.     

REGION, RELIGIOUS COMMITMENT, AND LIFE SATISFACTION AMONG BLACK AMERICANS

Using data from the National Survey of Black Americans (NSBA), this research examines three sets of hypotheses regarding the effects of religious commitment on life satisfaction. Further, given evidence of historical geographical differences in black culture and social structure, this study explores the regional specificity of religious influences on life satisfaction. Religious participation contributes to subjective well-being only among non-southern blacks, while private religiosity is unrelated to well-being in any analysis. There are also denominational effects: non-southern members of traditional black denominations (i.e., Baptists and Methodists) and southern Catholics report particularly high levels of life satisfaction. In addition, the effects of religion on life satisfaction are contingent upon age for non-southerners only. This study concludes with a discussion of directions for future research on religion and mental health.     

Racial differences in infant mortality rates: United States, 1969

Using multiple regression analyses, we measured the effects of demographic, health, and socioeconomic variables on race-specific neonatal and postneonatal infant mortality rates. The racial difference in rates in 1969 is due to (1) effects of mean differences in black and white population characteristics, (2) differences in the impact of independent variables, and (3) differences from other causes. Higher black than white infant mortality is the result of unfavorable black means on birthweight, age of mothers at birth, education, and marital stability. Black mortality is also higher because mothers' age at birth, marital stability, and education have more favorable impact on mortality for whites than blacks.     

CALL FOR PAPERS

In this article historical patterns and recent trends in black migration in the United States are examined. The purpose of the article is two‐fold: (1) to examine historical changes in the volume and rates of migration between the southern region and nonsouthern regions; and (2) to determine the relative impact of migration types on the South's changeover to net in‐migration during the 1975–1980 migration interval.

The findings of this study indicate that the reversal of the historical pattern of net out‐migration of blacks from the southern region occurred two decades after the turnaround for the general population. The southern region changed from sizable net out‐migration for blacks during the period before 1970 to net in‐migration during the 1975–1980 migration interval. The changeover was due to a substantial decrease in the number of both southern‐born and non‐southern‐born blacks leaving the South. There were also increases in the rate of in‐migration into the region among both return migrants and nonsouthern migrants. The single most important factor influencing the turnaround was a decrease in the number of southern‐born blacks migrating out of the region. This finding is contrary to much current speculation about the role of return migrants in influencing the South's changeover to net in‐migration for the black population.     

Helping Hands: Race,Neighborhood Context,and Reluctance in Providing Job‐Finding Assistance

In order to explain persistent racial inequality, researchers have posited that black Americans receive fewer job benefits from their social networks because of their reluctance to provide assistance to others who are looking for work. We test this idea on a national scale using geo‐coded data from the General Social Survey. Our results show that, on average, blacks offer more frequent job‐finding assistance to their friends than do whites. However, additional analyses reveal that race‐based job‐finding assistance is context dependent, as blacks living in areas characterized by concentrated black poverty have lower odds of helping others search for jobs than members of other races and in other community contexts.     

Which Child Immigrants Face Earnings Disparity? Age‐at‐immigration,Ethnic Minority Status and Labour Market Attainment in Canada

Using Canadian Census microdata from 1990 to 2005, we investigate the earnings attainment of immigrants to Canada in 6 age‐at‐arrival cohorts. In comparison to past work we extend our understanding regarding three dimensions of the age at immigration debate: we explore heterogeneity across fine grained age‐at‐arrival cohorts, over a fifteen‐year period and across different ethnic groups. We find that white immigrants and female immigrants arriving in Canada prior to age 18 face little earnings disparity. In contrast, visible minority male immigrants face significant earnings disparity regardless of their age‐at‐migration, and additionally this disparity increases sharply with age‐at‐migration. We find a break in earnings attainment at an age‐of‐arrival of 17, with immigrants arriving after this age performing much worse than those arriving at this age or earlier. The patterns observed are found for visible minority immigrants as a whole, and for Chinese, South Asian and African/Black origin immigrants examined separately.