Wealthy Blacks Stay Connected
Ties benefit group, but may hurt individuals

By Cliff Hocker

November 8, 2006--Affluent African Americans place a higher priority on racial issues concerning public policies than their affluent Asian American and Latino counterparts, according to a recent study.

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Researchers at Northwestern University found that individuals in all three minority groups tend to de-emphasize race as they become wealthier, but that blacks shed less of their support of affirmative action and government intervention to correct racial disparities.

The study, The Experiences and Effects of Economic Status Among Racial and Ethnic Minorities, used data from a national survey conducted by The Washington Post, Kaiser Family Foundation, and Harvard University. While just 33% of Asian American and 41% of Latinos said too little attention is paid to race, 64% of African Americans said too little attention was given to racial issues.

Wealthier blacks may remain connected to their less-affluent counterparts because they have just as many run-ins with discrimination.

“Our study found that affluent blacks, on average, experienced similarly high levels of racial prejudice and discrimination as poorer blacks,” says study co-author Dennis Chong, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur professor of political science at Northwestern. “In contrast, Latinos and Asian Americans encountered significantly less racial and ethnic discrimination as their economic status increased. As a result of their more negative experiences, affluent blacks are more likely to continue to feel constrained by their race and to push for government policies that address racial inequality,” Chong says.
Johnnie Hamilton-Mason, a professor of social work and director of the Ph.D. program at Simmons College in Boston, observes, “No matter how affluent we get, because we’re visibly different, [black] people are still more likely to encounter discrimination and racism. And that’s something that you need to sort out with your community in some ways.”

The study found, however, that individuals in all three minorities were similarly more likely to emphasize individual interests over racial group interests if they had personally faced less discrimination and enjoyed equal opportunities.

“Better-off blacks, Latinos, and Asian Americans who report more favorable treatment in society are significantly less likely to focus on racial group concerns in their evaluations of public policies,” Chong says.

The persistence of race consciousness among wealthy blacks has positive implications for the group, but negative consequences for some individuals, says Gerald D. Jaynes, professor of economics and African American studies at Yale University and a member of the BE Board of Economists. “It means that more-affluent blacks aren’t likely to be abandoning less-affluent blacks in the political arena in the near future. It makes it easier to mobilize people for group action,” Jaynes says. Race consciousness, however, could thwart individuals’ aspirations. “If they are holding onto beliefs that the group is under some sort of persecution and that there is still a lot of discrimination that’s going to be against them, then that might hold them back from attempting to achieve things they really could achieve.”

http://www.blackenterprise.com/exclusivesekopen.asp?id=1976