Melvin E. Thomas

The continuing significance of race: a study of race, class, and quality of life in America, 1972-1985.

There has been a great deal of interest recently in the issue of whether or not race has been declining in significance relative to social class in American society. The present paper evaluates the significance of race for psychological well-being and quality of life over the years 1972 to 1985 using data from the General Social Survey. Our analysis shows that blacks score consistently lower than whites on measures of psychological well-being and quality of life after controls have been introduced for social class variables, age, and marital status. Furthermore, the differences between blacks and whites remained constant between 1972 and 1985. We conclude that the significance of race as a determinant of psychological well-being and quality of life continues in spite of recent changes in the social and legal status of black Americans. Interpretations of these findings are offered.

The continuing significance of race revisited : A study of race, class, and quality of life in America, 1972 to 1996

More than a decade ago, we (Thomas and Hughes 1986) demonstrated that the subjective well-being of African Americans in the United States was significantly and consistently lower than that for whites over the 14-year period from 1972 to 1985. Since then, evidence has accumulated on several important dimensions of well-being that African Americans fare as well as or better than whites, suggesting a change in the pattern observed for nearly 40 years. Using data from the General Social Survey (GSS) for the period 1972 to 1996, we show that quality of life continues to be worse for African Americans than it is for whites, although anomia and mistrust have increased a little more rapidly in recent years for whites than for blacks. Racial disparities in quality of life do not vary by and are not explained by socioeconomic status. Although racial inequality appears to be the primary cause of these differences, the exact processes producing them are as yet unknown.

Discrimination over the life course: a synthetic cohort analysis of earnings differences between black and white males, 1940-1990

Using data from the 1940-1980 United States Microdata Extract File and the Current Population Surveys 1990 Annual Demographic File, this study examines three competing explanations of the disparity in black and white male earnings over the life course. The “legacy of discrimination” explanation suggests that current racial disparities in earnings reflect nothing more than past discrimination against older blacks, and that the earnings of younger black and white males should be similar over the life course. The “cumulative effects of discrimination” explanation suggests that the black-white earnings gap increases over the life course, and that this divergence in earnings exists for younger cohorts of males as well as older cohorts. The “vintage hypothesis” argues that the net black-white earnings gap reflects differences in self-investments in human capital and that the racial earnings gap should be virtually constant over time and over the life course for all cohorts (vintages) of black and white male workers. This study presents a synthetic cohort analysis of the effects of aging on the disparity in earnings for black and white males from 1940-1990. It shows that aging has a curvilinear effect on the black-white earnings gap. Younger black males in each year and cohort analyzed were closer to their white male counterparts than middle-aged blacks. However, there was a convergence in the earnings of elderly black and white males. While not completely consistent with any of the formulations, the findings most closely conform to the predictions of the cumulative effect of discrimination explanation.

Race, Class, and Personal Income: An Empirical Test of the Declining Significance of Race Thesis, 1968-1988

This paper is an empirical test of the “declining significance of race” interpretation of the situation of blacks in the United States. Wilson (1980) argued that class has superseded race as the most important explanatory factor. Other scholars (e.g., Willie 1978) have claimed that race is still an important determinant of life chances for blacks, regardless of social class. This study tests both the “race” and “class” perspectives in regard to racial differences in personal income using data from the 1968 and 1988 Current Population Surveys (March). In both 1968 and 1988, significant differences in personal income between blacks and whites remained after controlling for social class and other demographic variables. However, there was a 5.5 percentage point reduction of the racial effect from 1968 to 1988. Contrary to the assumptions of the declining significance of race thesis, blacks with higher levels of education and occupational status were found to be worse off than less educated, lower status blacks when compared to similar whites. Continuing discrimination across class lines is offered as the best explanation of the findings.

Race, Gender, and Status: A Content Analysis of Print Advertisements in Four Popular Magazines

In this article, we consider the continuation of race gender stereotypes in advertising images by way of the products suggestive messages, specifically, connotations of higher or lower social status and promises of intangible social rewards (e.g., friendship, appearance, romance). We examined 1, 709 advertisements in magazines whose primary reading audiences differ by race and/or gender: Life, Cosmopolitan, Ebony, and Essence (1988-1990). For the analysis, we created and then compared three dimensions of status (affluent, trendy, and everyday) and five product promises (celebrity identification, sex romance, appearance, marriage family, and good times) as they are modeled by and presented to male, female, Black, and White readers in the magazines examined. We hypothesized that these status-image portrayals differ by race and gender. We found that most ads make use of positive (i.e., high-status) images of Blacks and Whites and women and men and that differences between magazines are more pronounced than differences between models. Some patterns in the use of status and product promises may be suggestive of continued, though subtle, stereotyping.In this article, we consider the continuation of race gender stereotypes in advertising images by way of the products suggestive messages, specifically, connotations of higher or lower social status and promises of intangible social rewards (e.g., friendship, appearance, romance). We examined 1, 709 advertisements in magazines whose primary reading audiences differ by race and/or gender: Life, Cosmopolitan, Ebony, and Essence (1988-1990). For the analysis, we created and then compared three dimensions of status (affluent, trendy, and everyday) and five product promises (celebrity identification, sex romance, appearance, marriage family, and good times) as they are modeled by and presented to male, female, Black, and White readers in the magazines examined. We hypothesized that these status-image portrayals differ by race and gender. We found that most ads make use of positive (i.e., high-status) images of Blacks and Whites and women and men and that differences between magazines are more pronounced than ...

Lost in the storm : The sociology of the black working class, 1850 to 1990

Contemporary sociologists implicitly have assumed that the race-class debate has been resolved: Blacks tend to fall in one of two categories - the black middle class or the truly disadvantaged. However, lost amid the controversies over the supposed privileges of the former and the problems of the latter is the plight of the forgotten category of blacks: the black working class. Accordingly, we present a sociological analysis of the black working class and ask: How has the black working class changed compared to its white counterpart from 1850 to 1990? Employing the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS) for our analysis, we find that for the last five decades blacks are more likely to be working class than middle class or bottom class. In addition, blacks currently are more likely to be working class than are whites. In fact, in recent decades the percentage of blacks who are working class exceeds those for whites and, indeed, are higher than ever recorded for whites

Rural-Urban Differences in Black Family Structure An Analysis of the 1990 Census

The nature and structure of the African American family continues to be a topic of importance in sociology. Since the much-maligned Moynihan report of the 1960s, sociologists have linked Black family structure to persisting disadvantage. However, the overwhelming majority of past studies have focused on the urban Black family. Accordingly, this article employs data from the 1990 Public Use Microdata Samples to compare the rural African American family to its urban counterpart. Results from the logistic regression analysis reveal that for rural Blacks, family structure is less important than community type and race relative to poverty status. These findings suggest a need for a refinement of the underclass debate.

Race, Class, and Family Structure: The Case of Family Income:

African Americans continue to represent one of the most disadvantaged groups in the United States, lagging behind whites on most measures of well-being. Most explanations for the black-white disparity focus on the continued effects of racial discrimination. Other explanations attribute disadvantage to differences in social class origins or family structures. This study provides a critical test of the “racial discrimination,” “social class,” and “family structure” perspectives in regard to family income using data from the 1968 and 1988 Current Population Surveys. Major findings include: 1) race continued to have a negative effect on family income after controls in both 1968 and 1988; 2) race declined in importance by a very modest amount from 1968 to 1988; 3) in both 1968 and 1988, the negative effect of race was stronger for higher-status African Americans than for lower-status African Americans; and 4) the negative effect of race was greater for married-couple families than for female-headed families. Explanations for the findings are offered.

Race, Socioeconomic Status, and Self-Esteem: The Impact of Religiosity

This research examines two factors that have an impact on the self-esteem of African Americans and whites: religion and socioeconomic status (SES). Using data from the National Survey of Families and Households, we find that for whites, belief in the Bible (i.e., that it is the literal word of God) and self-identifying as fundamentalist were significant predictors of self-esteem. For African Americans, belief in the Bible and being Catholic were significant predictors of self-esteem. However, the association between belief in the Bible and self-esteem was stronger for African Americans than whites. SES was positively associated with self-esteem for both groups. The interactions between SES and the measures of religiosity reveal a greater impact on self-esteem for lower SES respondents. This was especially true for African Americans. These findings are discussed in light of the resource compensation hypothesis.

Does race matter? The determinants and consequences of self-reports of discrimination victimization

Abstract Few empirical investigations have explored the determinants of discrimination. Even more rare are studies that explicitly link reports of discrimination to harmful consequences. This article investigates the determinants and consequences of self-reports of discrimination victimization. It addresses how likely different kinds of people are to say that they have been the victims of discrimination. After estimating who is likely to report being victimized by discrimination, the article presents estimates of the relationship of self-reports of discrimination victimization to the earnings of different social groups. Results indicate that African Americans, Latinos, and immigrants report being victimized more frequently than whites with rates that exceed twice the national average. For African Americans, the “cost” of felt discrimination exceeds