If all you have is a hammer,everything looks like a nail: Operationalization matters

Operationalization has been the focus of less research than many other methodological topics. In this article, we argue that considering operational decisions is particularly critical for those who study stratification, because measures of inequality often involve multiple layers of operationalization: researchers first decide how to assign individuals to social groups (e.g., race), which are then themselves used to construct measures of group‐level differences and inequality (e.g., racial segregation). We provide examples of this by drawing on contemporary debates about how to operationalize social groups based on class, race, gender, and religion. Then we discuss three examples (religion, racial segregation, and family type) of second layer operationalization decisions, focusing on the consequences of operational decisions for research findings. We conclude by discussing the broader implications of operational decisions, focusing particularly on issues of power and applications for policy makers.     

Racial Residential Segregation and Crime

Racial residential segregation is a pervasive and persistent feature of life in urban America. The consequences of segregation are numerous and are generally deleterious for minority populations. One consequence of segregation is inflated rates of crime in segregated areas. However, the study of segregation and crime is limited to a handful of studies and many questions remain unanswered. These include: (i) Does the criminogenic effect of segregation remain when research employs a unit of analysis other than cities (e.g., neighborhoods, regions)? (ii) What is the primary theoretical mechanism by which racial segregation produces crime? (iii) What types of mediating processes can attenuate the criminogenic effect of segregation? The current article will summarize the interdisciplinary literature on segregation and crime and discuss avenues for future research.     

The effects of racial/ethnic segregation on Latino and Black homicide

Racial/ethnic residential segregation has been shown to contribute to violence and have harmful consequences for minority groups. However, research examining the segregation–crime relationship has focused almost exclusively on blacks and whites while largely ignoring Latinos and other race/ethnic groups and has rarely considered potential mediators (e.g., concentrated disadvantage) in segregation–violence relationships. This study uses year 2000 arrest data for California and New York census places to extend segregation–crime research by comparing the effects of racial/ethnic residential segregation from whites on black and Latino homicide. Results indicate that (1) racial/ethnic segregation contributes to both Latino and black homicide, and (2) the effects for both groups are mediated by concentrated disadvantage. Implications for segregation–violence relationships, the racial-invariance position, and the Latino paradox are discussed.     

Residential Segregation on the Island: The Role of Race and Class in Puerto Rican Neighborhoods

In this paper, we use racial data from Census 2000, available for the first time in 50 years, to examine the links among race, socioeconomic status, and residential location on the island of Puerto Rico. Puerto Ricans overwhelmingly chose white as their race, and they chose only one race, not a combination of races that would seem more in keeping with the ideology of mestizaje. Overall, segregation by race is modest compared with residential segregation in the United States. In keeping with the Puerto Rican claim that class is more important than race, we find that segregation by race is generally lower than segregation between the lowest and highest income categories in all metro areas, but that the results for education and occupational status differ by metropolitan area. In San Juan-Bayamón, the most diverse metropolitan area on the island, we find that as percent black increases, neighborhood socioeconomic status decreases, though the changes are not that stark, except in Loiza, a community of black Puerto Ricans and in some Dominican neighborhoods, though there are relatively few of these neighborhoods.     

Racial/Ethnic Patterns of Kindergarten School Enrollment in the United States

Enrollment into unequal schools at the start of formal education is an important mechanism for the reproduction of racial/ethnic educational inequalities. We examine whether there are racial/ethnic differences in school enrollment options at kindergarten, the start of schooling. We use nationally representative data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study‐Birth Cohort (ECLS‐B) to model whether parents seek information about their child's school before enrolling, whether parents move to a location so that a child can attend a certain school, or whether parents enroll their child in a school other than the assigned public school. Results indicate that enrollment patterns differ greatly across race/ethnicity. Whereas Black families are the most likely to seek information on a school's performance, White families are the most likely to use the elite option of choosing their residential location to access a particular school. These differences persist when controlling for socioeconomic status and sociogeographic location. Kindergarten enrollment patterns preserve the advantages of White families, perpetuating racial/ethnic disparities through multiple institutions and contributing to intergenerational processes of social stratification. Research should continue to examine specific educational consequences of housing inequities and residential segregation.     

Racial Segregation,the Concentration of Disadvantage,and Black and White Homicide Victimization

Discriminatory housing market practices have created and reinforced patterns of racial residential segregation throughout the United States. Such segregation has racist consequences too. Residential segregation increases the concentration of disadvantage for blacks but not whites, creating African-American residential environments that heighten social problems including violence within the black population. At the same time, segregation protects white residential environments from these dire consequences. This hypothesized racially inequitable process is tested for one important type of violence—homicide. We examine race-specific models of lethal violence that distinguish residential segregation from the concentration of disadvantage within racial groups. Data are from the Censuses of Population and Federal Bureau of Investigation's homicide incidence files for U.S. large central cities for 1980 and 1990. Our perspective finds support in the empirical analyses. Segregation has an important effect on black but not white killings, with the impact of segregation on African-American homicides explained by concentrated disadvantage.     

African American Digital Practices: Mobile E-Health and Residential Segregation

We ask two questions about the relationship between race, using mobile phones for e-health, and living in segregated neighborhoods: Are racial differences associated with using mobile phones for e-health, especially as they relate to African Americans? Is living in segregated neighborhoods associated with changes in mobile phone usage? We merge the National Trends Survey (HINTS) conducted by the National Cancer Institute, for information on e-health, and the US 2010 project, for the necessary measures of residential segregation. Multilevel models (Level 1 N = 2,023, Level 2 N = 183) produced two major conclusions. First, African Americans exhibit unique “digital practices” vis-à-vis e-health, such that they use e-health to share personal diagnostic information less than whites but use e-health for more practical, logistical uses than do whites. Second, residential segregation is associated with digital practices; however, considering racial differences in where people live does not reduce racial differences in e-health patterns.     

Race and inequality at work: An occupational perspective

Recent research on racial inequality at work offers fruitful insights on the organizational conditions that reproduce racial segregation, racial disparities in wages, and racial hierarchies in the labor market and the workplace. Much less is known, however, about the specifically occupational influences that impinge on equitable work outcomes by race. In this paper, we explore three processes at the occupational level that relate to racial segregation, racialized access to resources, and status in one's line of work. We review research on racial inequality at work over the last 20 years to elucidate what is known, and remains to be seen, about these occupational processes. First, we review how occupational members get selected, and attempt to self-select, into occupations via recruitment, licensing, credentialing, or certifications. Second, we consider how occupational incumbents teach, govern and evaluate new entrants, and with what consequences for racial inclusion/exclusion and retention in careers. Third, we examine research on client- or service-based work, and highlight how workers navigate not only their roles, but also racial dynamics, vis-a-vis clients. We conclude with suggestions for how future research can harness occupational analysis to advance understanding of racial inequality at work.     

UNDEREMPLOYMENT AND RACIAL COMPETITION IN LOCAL LABOR MARKETS

The primary concern in this paper is to analyze the effects of black population concentration on black and white men's relative and absolute underemployment levels in labor market areas while controlling for the degree of occupational segregation by race. We draw hypotheses from two primary bodies of research; one literature focuses on general racial competition and the other considers competition to be more limited. Our findings that racial inequality in underemployment levels increases with blacks' population share are most consistent with the general competition model. However, we also find some support for the limited competition model which holds that not all whites benefit from increased competition with blacks. Finally, we find that occupational segregation helps to determine the form that racial discrimination in employment adequacy takes. Where occupational segregation is high, black men hold relatively more low-wage jobs, but where occupational segregation is low, they experience higher levels of unemployment and more disadvantage relative to whites.     

Racial and Ethnic Residential Patterns in Canada

The aim of this study is to understand how city factors explain racial and ethnic residential patterns in contemporary multiethnic cities. We examined residential patterns among 17 groups in 12 Canadian cities. The results suggest that we should be cautious in taking factors derived from literature based largely on European experiences at the beginning of the last century and applying them uniformly to different groups in Canadian multiethnic cities. Our results show that the residential segregation of different racial and ethnic groups is affected by different sets of city factors. In addition, most factors suggested in that literature do not relate to the segregation patterns among visible minority groups.     

Still Life in Black and White: Effects of Racial and Class Attitudes on Prospects for Residential Integration in Atlanta

I use the 1993 Atlanta Survey of Urban Inequality to evaluate the effects of five types of racial and class attitudes on assessments of the desirability of residential integration: (1) preferences for neighbors of the same race, (2) perceived racial differences in social class characteristics, (3) Whites'perceptions of group threat from Blacks, (4) Blacks'perceptions of discrimination, and (5) negative racial stereotypes. For Whites the strongest predictors of resistance to integration are negative racial stereotypes and perceptions of group threat from Blacks. For Blacks in-group preferences, negative racial stereotypes and, to a small extent, beliefs that Whites tend to discriminate against other groups are positively associated with resistance to integration. I conclude by arguing that since racial attitudes are linked to attitudes about residential integration, open housing advocates should focus their efforts on addressing persistent racial mistrusts and prejudices.     

Racial residential segregation and the concentration of low- and high-income households in the 45 largest U.S. metropolitan areas

"The objectives of this paper are to determine the relationship between racial residential segregation and (1) the spatial concentration of low- and high-income households, and (2) the socioeconomic characteristics of racial minority households. The three largest racial minority groups are compared (blacks, Hispanics, and Asians) in the largest 45 metropolitan areas in the United States. Data were obtained from the U.S. bureau of the Census' Population and Housing Summary Tape files. The results revealed that residential segregation of blacks was distinctly different from Asians and Hispanics. Moreover, for Asians and Hispanics, their socioeconomic characteristics matter in their level of residential segregation. For black households, however, their socioeconomic characteristics matter little."     

“Black Children Are an Endangered Species”: Examining Racial Framing in Social Movements

The “Endangered Species” anti-abortion billboard controversy in Atlanta in 2010 gained international attention and sparked lengthy discussion about the causes and consequences of black women’s abortion rates and abortion in general. While abortion is typically presented as gendered phenomenon, race and class dimensions influence the contours of support and opposition to the issue. This case provides a unique opportunity to consider black social movements as black people led both sides of the billboard controversy and engaged particular authentic discourses. This article builds on the research on race frames to illuminate the (micro) processes of racial framing, the social movement organizations’ implicit and explicit deployments of race in claims making. By examining how both sides engaged participants, opponents, and media, this article demonstrates how racial framing is an important tool for minority social movements with implications for other social movements and policy.     

Beyond the Numbers: Institutional Influences on Experiences With Diversity on Elite College Campuses

In this article we bring together the burgeoning qualitative literature on the socializing influence of residential colleges, the survey‐based literature on campus racial climate, and the literature on diversity work in organizations to analyze how two elite universities’ approaches to diversity shape students’ experiences with and feelings about diversity. We employ 77 in‐depth interviews with undergraduates at two elite universities. While the universities appear comparable on measures of student demographics and overall diversity infrastructure, they take different approaches. These varying approaches lead to important differences in student perspectives. At the university that takes a power analysis and minority support approach, students who participate in minority‐oriented activities develop a critical race theory perspective, while their white and nonparticipating minority peers frequently feel alienated from that programming. At the university that takes an integration and celebration approach, most students embrace a cosmopolitan perspective, celebrating diversity while paying less attention to power and resource differences between racial groups. The findings suggest that higher education institutions can influence the race frames of students as well as their approaches to multiculturalism, with implications for their views on a variety of important diversity‐related issues on campus and beyond.     

Emerging Patterns of Hispanic Residential Segregation: Lessons from Rural and Small‐Town America

The past two decades have ushered in a period of widespread spatial diffusion of Hispanics well beyond traditional metropolitan gateways. This article examines emerging patterns of racial and ethnic residential segregation in new Hispanic destinations over the 1990–2010 period, linking county, place, and block data from the 1990, 2000, and 2010 decennial censuses. Our multiscalar analyses of segregation are framed by classical models of immigrant assimilation and alternative models of place stratification. We ask whether Hispanics are integrating spatially with the native population and whether recent demographic and economic processes have eroded or perpetuated racial boundaries in nonmetropolitan areas. We show that Hispanic residential segregation from whites is often exceptionally high and declining slowly in rural counties and communities. New Hispanic destinations, on average, have higher Hispanic segregation levels than established gateway communities. The results also highlight microscale segregation patterns within rural places and in the open countryside (i.e., outside places), a result that is consistent with emerging patterns of “white flight.” Observed estimates of Hispanic‐white segregation across fast‐growing nonmetropolitan counties often hide substantial heterogeneity in residential segregation. Divergent patterns of rural segregation reflect local‐area differences in population dynamics, economic inequality, and the county employment base (using Economic Research Service functional specialization codes). Illustrative maps of Hispanic boom counties highlight spatially uneven patterns of racial diversity. They also provide an empirical basis for our multivariate analyses, which show that divergent patterns of local‐area segregation often reflect spatial variation in employment across different industrial sectors.     

Restructuring for Whom? Race,Class, Gender,and the Ideology of Invisibility

This paper examines how changes resulting from economic restructuring affect views of racial inequality across different race, class, and gender groups. First reviewing some of the consequences of restructuring for different race, class, and gender groups, the paper also reviews research documenting the different views of racial inequality held by dominant and subordinate groups. The paper concludes by examining how race-blind ideologies affect discussions of race and multiculturalism and suggests that race-blind thinking has thwarted teaching about structural racism.     

Blind Faith in the Free Market: Urban Poverty, Residential Segregation, and Federal Housing Retrenchment, 1970–1995

In recent years, research on poverty and segregation has been organized within a dominant discourse that centers on the relative salience of racial discrimination or macroeconomic change as a determinant of concentrated minority poverty. In contrast, little sociological research has focused on federal housing policies and programs as important factors shaping racial patterns of poverty and residential segregation in U.S. metropolitan areas. Drawing upon census data, public documents, housing reports, and interviews with local residents, I examine how federal and local housing initiatives in the 1980s and 1990s have interacted with the shift to a service-oriented economy to reinforce racial residential segregation and exacerbate urban poverty in Kansas City. I find that persistent racial residential segregation, including minority poverty concentration and the spatial isolation of inner-city neighborhoods, is due to post-1970 changes in the operation of the metropolitan housing market and retrenchment in federal and local housing policy. Rather than viewing racial discrimination and macroeconomic change as disconnected and separate "variables," I focus on the interconnectedness and mutually reinforcing character of both factors. Such an emphasis moves beyond separate-variables approaches and analyses to identify how concentrated minority poverty is sustained not only by racial discrimination and large-scale macroeconomic and demographic changes, but also by the market-centered orientation of federal housing programs and policies.     

Social Heterogeneity and Volunteering in U.S. Cities

In this research we explore the relationship between social heterogeneity and volunteering across U.S. metropolitan areas testing a theory that race heterogeneity, racial segregation, and income inequality are negatively associated with the rate of volunteering. Theorizing that social heterogeneity will have different effects for religious and secular volunteering rates, we analyze them separately. We use nonlinear multilevel models to analyze nearly 200,000 individuals across 248 cities, controlling for nonprofits per capita, religious congregations per capita, proportion of the population with college degrees, and the family poverty rate. While much of the intercity variation in volunteering is due to the composition of the population living in each city, we find general support for the predicted negative effect of social heterogeneity on volunteering. However, the effects vary by volunteering type. Race heterogeneity is negatively related only to secular volunteering, racial segregation is negatively related to both general volunteering and secular volunteering, and income inequality is negatively related to all types of volunteering.     

Critical Race Theories,Colorism, and the Decade's Research on Families of Color

In the millennium's inaugural decade, 2 interrelated trends influenced research on America's families of color: the need for new knowledge about America's growing ethnic/racial minority and immigrant populations and conceptual advances in critical race theories and perspectives on colorism. Three substantive areas reflecting researchers' interests in these trends emerged as the most frequently studied topics about families of color: inequality and socioeconomic mobility within and across families, interracial romantic pairings, and the racial socialization of children. In this review, we synthesize and critique the decade's scholarly literature on these topics. We devote special attention to advances in knowledge made by family‐relevant research that incorporated ways of thinking from critical race theories and the conceptual discourse on colorism.     

When Birds of a Feather Don't Flock Together: A Macrostructural Approach to Interracial Crime

The greater prevalence of intraracial crime to interracial crime is a common finding in criminology. This issue is best understood when specific crimes are studied from a proper theoretical basis. We argue that variation in rates of cross‐racial crime is explained by homophily bias, reflected in residential segregation, in conjunction with the motivational mindset of an offender, specifically whether a crime is instrumental or expressive in nature. We hypothesize that homophily bias is stronger in expressive crimes than it is in instrumental crimes. Using the National Incident‐Based Reporting System (NIBRS) for 2009 and 2010, we analyze robbery and aggravated assault as instrumental and expressive crimes, respectively. The analyses show that racial residential segregation increases, as expected, the relative frequency of black intraracial assault to black interracial assault, whereas it does not affect the relative frequency in robbery. Contrary to our hypothesis, however, the same variable shows little effect on the relative frequency of white intraracial to interracial assault. We give possible explanations as to why white crimes are insensitive to residential segregation.