Paula D. McClain

Black and Hispanic Socioeconomic and Political Competition

Many U.S. cities are becoming significantly multiminority. How does the significant presence of one minority group affect the other minority group? This research explores the question of socioeconomic and political competition between blacks and Hispanics in U.S. urban centers. Based on data from the 49 U.S. cities of over 25,000 population with at least 10 percent black and 10 percent Hispanic in 1980, findings indicate that while there is little evidence of general black and Hispanic socioeconomic and political competition, Hispanics appear to prosper less well socioeconomically and politically in cities with black majorities or pluralities.

The Changing Dynamics of Urban Politics: Black and Hispanic Municipal Employment--Is There Competition?

The question of competition for political and socioeconomic resources between blacks and Hispanics in urban politics is one receiving increased attention. How does the significant presence of one minority group affect the other minority group? This research explores the issue of municipal employment competition between blacks and Hispanics in U.S. urban centers. Based on EEO-4 data from 41 U.S. cities of more than 25,000 population with at least 10% black and 10% Hispanic in 1980, findings indicate that black and Hispanic municipal employment outcomes covary negatively with white municipal employment but not with each other. Still, evidence also indicates that competition in municipal employment does appear as the size of the black work force increases. Additionally, in cities with black majorities or pluralities, Hispanics seem to fare less well in municipal employment outcomes, while in cities in which Hispanics are a majority or plurality, the consequences for blacks are more diffuse.

Divided or Together? Conflict and Cooperation between African Americans and Latinos

This article examines the political relationships between Latinos and African Americans in 194 multiracial school districts. The empirical results indicate that at times the relationship between Latinos and African Americans is competitive and at times it is complimentary. When scarcity is a factor, such as in administrative and teaching positions, gains by one group often result in losses by another. When the focus changes to policy questions where scarcity is not a factor (e.g., student performance), both groups gain at the same time.

Black and Latino socioeconomic and political competition: has a decade made a difference?

Using 1980s data, McClain and Kamig (1990) examined the extent of socioeconomic and political competition between Blacks and Latinos in 49 cities that had a population over 25,000 with at least 10% Blacks and 10% Latino. That research found a positive correlation between Blacks and Latinos on socioeconomic indicators, but it discovered the emergence of political competition between the 2 groups. Using 1990s data, this article examines political and socioeconomic competition in the 45 cities from the earlier data set that still met McClain and Karnigs criteria. The authors have found that although there is still a positive covariation on socioeconomic indicators, the intensity of this relationship has diminished. On the political dimension, Black and Latino competition now may be displaced by increasing competition between Whites and Latinos. We conclude tentatwely that a decade has made a difference in terms of socioeconomic and political competition between Blacks and Latinos.

BLACK AMERICANS AND LATINO IMMIGRANTS IN A SOUTHERN CITY: Friendly Neighbors or Economic Competitors? 1

Dramatic demographic changes are occurring in the United States, and some of the most dramatic changes are occurring in the South from Latino immigration. Latinos, by and large, are an entirely new population in the region. How are Black southerners reacting

Presidential Address. “Racial Intergroup Relations in a Set of Cities: A Twenty-Year Perspective”

In 1990, Albert Karnig and I published an article in the American Political Science Review, “Black and Latino Socioeconomic and Political Competition,” which examined the extent of socioeconomic and political competition between blacks and Latinos in a set of U.S. cities using 1980s data. We made a number of predictions about the future of racial politics in cities based on our results. This article revisits the cities in the 1990 article to see what changes, if any, may have occurred over the course of 20 years. The results from the original 1980 cities viewed in 1990 and 2000 presents a very mixed picture. The accuracy of our predictions varied over the years.

Race, Place, and Risk Revisited A Perspective on the Emergence of a New Structural Paradigm

In 1990, our study of Black homicide in six cities over 25 years, Race, Place and Risk: Black Homicide in Urban America, was published. In the epilogue, the authors identified the emergence of a new phase of violent behavior occurring in low-income Black communities but were not able to identify its etiology. This article extends into the early to mid-1990s our earlier work on Black homicide in urban America. The authors focus on the 8-year interval, 1985 to 1993, after the publication of Race, Place and Risk. The factor that distinguishes homicides of the current period from those of our earlier period is that the age of both victimization and offending has moved downward. In an effort to identify the reasons for this downward shift, the authors examine victimization in 4 previous high-risk urban places (Atlanta, GA; Detroit, MI; St. Louis, MO; and Los Angeles, CA), and 4 newly emerged, high-risk centers (Washington, DC; New Orleans, LA; Milwaukee, WI; and Charlotte, NC). The authors suggest that the development of an oppositional culture among young Black males is an important element in accounting for the most recent upsurge in lethal victimizations in the nations larger urban centers.

Gender and Black Presidential Politics: From Chisholm to Moseley Braun

SUMMARY Carol Moseley Brauns entrance into the 2003 Democratic presidential primaries brought Representative Shirley Chisholms 1972 presidential run back into the spotlight. Numerous questions of interest immediately come to mind. Has the political environment for Black females interested in the presidency changed? Is a Black female candidate running nationally today in a better position than thirty years ago? Did Black Americans see a Black female as a serious contender in 2003 where they did not in 1972? Were Blacks more inclined to support a Black male in the race, Al Sharpton, regardless of the qualifications of Moseley Braun? While data are limited, this article attempts to address these questions and to draw some conclusions, albeit cautiously, about the current political environment for Black female candidates.

The New South and Black Economic and Political Development: Changes From 1970 To 1980

Tr HE 20TH CENTURY has witnessed a profound shift in the regional concentration of black Americans. Beginning the century as a population overwhelmingly located in rural areas of the South, by 1970 the great majority of black Americans resided in the larger metropolitan areas outside the states of the Old Confederacy. Indeed, the northward migration beginning about 1900 represents one of the most remarkable population movements in American history. The transfer of population from the rural South to the urban North was stimulated largely by the desire of blacks to improve their economic and political conditions. The earlier migration to northeastern states was followed by emigration from the South to selected manufacturing centers of the midwest. Migration continued through each decade and well into the post-World War II era. By 1960, trends had resulted in a concentration of blacks in most of the nations urban centers outside the South (Rose 1971). Blacks leaving the South were doubtless motivated by a belief, later confirmed by various social science research efforts, that the South was less satisfactory than other regions of the nation in promoting black economic and political development. No area of the nation had avoided the tragedy of racism; yet the open, often legal, and extreme acts of racial discrimination including lynching, Jim Crow legislation, rigid segregation, and overt violence were more frequent in the South (Lewinson 1932; Key 1949). Opposition to the simplest forms of black electoral participation and political organization continued in the South well into the 1960s (Matthews and Prothro 1966). Furthermore, research over the past decade confirms the on-going nature of problems in the South. For example, there have been findings that black public-sector employment is less equitable in the South than elsewhere (Sigelman 1976); there is less proportional black representation on city councils in the South (Jones 1976; Karnig 1976; 1979a; Engstrom and McDonald 1982); there is less likelihood of a black mayor in the South (Marshall and Meyer 1975; Karnig and Welch 1980); and Census reports have shown consistently that black economic and education levels are lower in the South. Indeed, in a study focused largely on

Black female homicide offenders and victims: Are they from the same population?

Abstract The growing interest in and changing status of women in numerous areas has resulted in increased research in the area of female criminality. Little attention, however, has been focused on the involvement of females, particularly black females, as perpetrators or victims of acts of lethal violence. Several research questions regarding the social and environmental characteristics of black female homicide victims and offenders are explored. Secondary data on 661 black female homicide victims and 119 black female homicide offenders and survey data on 10 victims and 9 offenders were assembled through the project, Black Homicide and Large Urban Environments, funded by the National Institute of Mental Health. Analysis indicates that black female homicide victims and offenders exhibit low socioeconomic status and essentially similar behavior patterns.