The survey of 1,105 adults,
pooled from each of the three minority communities, revealed feelings of fear, mistrust, and blame between blacks, Hispanics,
and Asians. Nearly half of Asians (47 percent) and Hispanics (44 percent) stated that they are “afraid” of African-Americans,
because, “they are responsible for most of the crime.”
More than half of African-Americans
and nearly half (46 percent) of Hispanics maintain that Asian business owners “do not treat them with respect.” However, a majority of Hispanics (61 percent), more than half of Asians (54 percent)
and nearly half of the African-Americans polled stated that they would rather do business with whites than with members of
the other two minorities. In fact, all three minorities indicated a more positive view of whites than they did members of
other minorities.
What is at the root of the
tension between Hispanics and blacks, for instance? Half of African-Americans claim that Latin American immigrants are "are taking jobs, housing and political
power away from the black community."
Are there any minorities
who still believe in the American dream? Hispanics and Asians, largely immigrant populations, still contend that those who
work hard in the U.S. will reap just rewards.
By contrast, 60 percent of blacks argue that the American dream has not happened for them, dismissing it as a myth.
Professor Lenny Steinhorn,
professor in the School of Communication
at Washington D.C.’s American University, says the poll begs the
question, “So what else is new?” Steinhorn is co-author
of By the Color of Our Skin: The Illusion of Integration and the Reality of Race,
which examines racial barriers and the reasons why perspective differ between the races.
The professor contends that
racial tensions have existed throughout history, but today the groups involved are those that are “vying for a piece
of the American Dream, especially newer immigrant groups who see each other through a prism of the larger cultural stereotypes
and their own anxiety about getting ahead.”
Jeanne Hurlbert, PhD, professor
of sociology at Louisiana State University (LSU), and her husband, John Beggs, PhD, associate professor of sociology at
LSU, have researched race relations and demographics. They blame the tendency for groups to stick together, isolating themselves
from other ethnicities, as the reason for racial and even socio-economic tension. “Research shows that social networks
in the United States tend to be homophilous—that
is, our networks tend to connect us to individuals who are socially similar, in terms of both race-ethnicity and social class,”
Hurlbert and Beggs wrote to demo dirt
via email.
If that is the case, why
do minorities trust whites, an “other” group, rather than other minorities? “Whites own so many businesses
that [minorities] are far more accustomed to dealing with whites,” Steinhorn explains.
Hurlbert and Beggs, who also head optinetresources.com, a company that conducts demographic and survey analysis and helps business people build social networks, name the “perceived or real” economic competition among minorities as a key factor.
“Hispanics and African Americans both have lower income and higher rates of
poverty than Asians. That difference may underlie the resentment of both groups toward Asians, as well as fueling competition
between Hispanics and African Americans,” the researchers say. “Some Asians, for example, have played the role
of ‘middleman minorities,’ carving out an economic niche as merchants in sections of cities. Relations between
African Americans and those Asian entrepreneurs sometimes become strained because of that.”
And, because ethnicities tend to stick within themselves, they are more likely to
believe unfair and negative stereotypes about other ethnicities. “The comments that Asians and Hispanics made about
African Americans as perpetrators of crime may reflect not only inter-ethnic competition but also the stereotypical portrayals
of African Americans that persist in the media,” Beggs and Hurlbert explain.
How large a role do economics
play in racial tensions? Are wealthy blacks or Hispanics less likely to be viewed suspiciously by other minorities? “Privilege,
or money, is a great leveler, especially among people who don’t feel anxious about their status in society,” Steinhorn
says.
“Certainly, a well-dressed and well-spoken African American who appears to be
well educated is likely to be perceived very differently than one who lacks those characteristics. But a well-dressed,
well-spoken African American is still likely to be perceived less well than a white person with similar characteristics, in
many cases,” say Beggs and Hurlbert. “Hispanics may have an advantage over African Americans here; successful
Hispanics are generally better able to integrate into the mainstream than successful African Americans.”
Hurlbert and Beggs explain that “middle- and upper-middle class African Americans
are more likely to live in predominantly African American neighborhoods than economically successful Hispanics are.”
Citing their research on Houston, TX demographics which found
that wealthy Hispanics acclimate more easily into white neighborhoods than do wealthy African Americans, the demographics
experts explain, “While designing a research project in Houston,
for example, we planned to compare middle- and upper middle-class African American to comparable Hispanic neighborhoods.”
That was not feasible, the researchers found. “Although one can easily identify
predominantly black middle/upper-middle-class neighborhoods in that city, one cannot easily find a comparable area that is
predominantly Hispanic,” they maintain. “This suggests that economically successful Hispanics integrate into
white neighborhoods more easily than economically successful African Americans.”
Younger Americans may hold
less prejudices, and many of those polled or referenced (e.g. business owners) may be of an older age group. There has also
been a generational shift, says Steinhorn, explaining that those who do business tend to be older, “carrying the baggage”
of previous generations’ prejudices. Today’s young people “are the wave of the future,” while older
generations are a “wave of the past.” Young people today are the
“most socially liberal and inclusive generation in our history,” although, Steinhorn adds, “Prejudice is
not erased, but there is far more willingness of people to break through, and even not care about, racial barriers.”
Steinhorn is quick to point
out that this not to generalize all young people as tolerant; some still are capable of engaging bias-related bigotry, as
some have inherited the prejudices of previous generations. However, this current generation of young people, may be called
a “pluralistic generation.”
Simply diversifying one’s
social network and getting to know individuals from other backgrounds may help ease racial tension. Beggs and Hurlbert point
out that “greater contact between groups tends to increase trust…individuals whose networks contain greater race-ethnic
diversity express higher levels of trust of other people, in general.”
“If we can find ways to increase social contact and diversify our social networks,
we should be able to increase trust,” Beggs and Hurlbert say. “Because voluntary organizations serve as a key
location in which social ties are formed, taking steps to increase diversity in those organizations could help to diversify
social networks.”
Task-oriented or goal-oriented organizations, like volunteer groups and sports teams,
tend to create “that kind of meaningful interaction can lead to the formation of social ties (network ties) and contribute
to the dissolution of stereotypes,” the sociologists explain.
There was at least one encouraging
poll result that may leave Americans hopeful. All three minorities agreed that the U.S. would be a better place to live if members of each ethnic group held high
positions of power at universities, and in business, media and government.
