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Than Just Race May/June 20092008 VolumeVolume 17:18: NumberNumber 33 TensionsMore Than Among Just Race: Minority Being Groups? Black Last December, New Americaand Media Poor (NAM) released in thethe results Inner of a major Citynational poll, “Deep Divisions, Shared Destiny: A Poll of African Americans, Hispanics and Asian Americans on Race Relations Sponsored by New America Media and Nine Founding Ethnic Partners.” A total byof 1,105 William African-American, Julius Wilson Asian-American and Hispanic adults were polled (as noted below, Native Americans were not included), using sophisticated methodology, “designed to be representative of theI adultn More population than Just of Race, the three I hope major to racialTaking and ethnic Culture minorities Seriously in the United States.”those settings. A typical newspaper headline furtherreporting our the understanding story was “Survey of the Pointscom- to Tensions Among Chief Minorities” (New YorkI want Times to ,avoid 12/13/07). limited conceptions plex Yetand the interrelated results—covering factors thatattitudes con- about aThe wide book range will of likelyissues—are generate far con-more complex,of culture and lessdefined one-sidedly in the simpleconflictful, and tinuethan theseto contribute headlines to suggested. racial inequality We thereforetroversy asked inseveral some ofcircles PRRAC’s because close I dare associatestraditional to comment terms on of the group results. norms, Full pollval- inresults the United are available States. atIn http://media.newamericamedia.org/images/polls/race/exec_summary.pdfthe process, I to take culture seriously as one of the ues and attitudes toward family and call for reexamining the way social explanatory variables in the study of work, and also consider cultural rep- scientists discuss two important factors race and urban poverty—a topic that ertoires (habits, styles and skills) and associated with racial inequality—so- is typically considered off-limits in the micro-level processes of meaning- cial structure and culture. AlthoughRacial-Ethnicacademic discourse because Destinies of a fear making and decision-making—that is, the book highlights the experiences of that such analysis can be construed as the way that individuals in particular inner-city African Americans, it “blamingby the S.M. victim.” Miller Indeed, I de- groups, communities or societies de- should be emphasized that the com- velop a framework that integrates velop an understanding of how the plexitiesPolls, ofsuch understanding as this one onrace “Deep and structuraltime of the forces—ranging question-asking. from Would those the worldcompetition works andfor make jobs decisions and political based racialDivisions, inequality Shared inDestiny,” America report are notthe thatrespondents are racial, have such the as same segregation response and in onspace, that operateunderstanding. against that The potential. processes limitedlow (5%) to research margin onof blacks.error of Formal their discrimination,today’s reeling toeconomy those that as theyare non- had of meaning-makingUnfortunately, andAmerica decision-mak- needs andstudy. informal Like aspectsmany otherof inequality polls, havethey racialin August-September, such as changes 2007 before in thethe ing are reflected(Please turn in to culturalpage 2) frames alsoneglect victimized to point Latinos, out that Asian this Ameri- error economy—andeconomy’s faltering cultural became forces disturb- to not (shared group constructions of reality). cansmargin and applies Native to theAmericans. study as a Inwhole. this onlyingly showevident? how Better the two times are breedinextrica- op- Racism has historically been one of book,The margin however, of errorI use forthe researcheach of theon blytimism. linked, As butthe alsoreport to declares,explain why the the most CONTENTS:prominent American cultural inner-citythree racial-ethnic African Americans groups, theto elabo- sub- structuralracial-ethnic forces landscape should is inreceive flux. Thefar framesRacial/Ethnic and has played Tensions a major role1 in ratesamples, my analyticmay be largerframework than the because over- morelandscape attention will bethan made cultural by events, factors cir- in determiningS.M. Miller................... how whites perceive 1and all error margin. Some lowering of they have been the central focus of the accountingcumstances, for actions the social and responsesoutcomes byof act Wadetoward blacks.Henderson......... In the United States 2 structure-versus-cultureconfidence in the reports dispute. for each poor African Americans and in fram- each group and by the broader soci- Don (PleaseT. Nakanishi turn to page ........2) 6 group is necessary. ingety. publicIn a fewpolicies months to addressand certainly racial john a. powell ............. 7 A second concern is that polling is inequality.years from now, new outlooks may CONTENTS: affectedWilliam by Julius contexts—political, Wilson (bill_wilson eco- appear.That said, my book examines two Maria Blanco ............... 8 @harvard.edu)nomic, cultural—that is the occur Lewis around P. andthe typesDespite of cultural these and forces: other doubts(1) national about MoreHoward Than Winant Just Race........... 101 Linda L. Geyser University Professor viewsthe confidence and beliefs we onshould race, place and (2)in poll- cul- LandThe Colfax Use Regulations Massacre .. 3 at Harvard University and the author turaling reports, traits—shared it is usefuloutlooks, to modesexamine of Low& Segregation........... Income Housing 3 of S.M.several Miller award-winning ([email protected]), books, in- a behavior,convergence traditions, and differences belief systems, among NewTax CreditPRRAC................. Grants .... 5 cludingPRRAC Theboard Declining member, Significance is a Senior of worldviews,the three racial-ethnic values, skills, groups. prefer- The TechnologyHartford School of RaceFellow (1980); at the TheCommonwealth Truly Disadvantaged Institute ences,great positive styles of report self-presentation, is that people eti- of MobilizationSettlement ................ .............. 68 (1987);in Cambridge, and When MA, Work and Disappearsprofessor quette,color have and positivelinguistic attitudes patterns—that about HousingTax Aversion: Surveys......... The 8 (2006).emeritus His of précissociology is drawn at Boston from MoreUni- emergeAmerican from society patterns and each of intra-groupother. That FarmworkerSequel ....................... Victory . 129 Thanversity. Just He Race: is currently Being Blackwriting and a bookPoor interactionprovides the in potential settings ofcreated their becom-by dis- Resources ..................................13 10 inon thea longer-runInner City progressive(W.W. Norton politics Co., criminationing a (somewhat) and segregation, unified politicaland that 2009and policy. – 190 pp., $24.95). reflectforce. Manycollective pressures, experiences particularly within Poverty & Race Research Action Council • 1015 15th Street NW • Suite 400 • Washington, DC 20005 202/906-8023 • FAX: 202/842-2885 • E-mail: [email protected] • www.prrac.org Recycled Paper (JUST RACE: Continued from page 1) racial exclusion and that may not be the destructive acts is in no way to deny conducive to factors that facilitate so- the causal role of their earlier victim- today, there is no question that the cial mobility. ization and the need to address it.” more categorical forms of racist ide- However, many liberal scholars are Patterson also contends that a cultural ology—in particular, those that assert reluctant to discuss or research the role explanation of human behavior not only the biogenetic inferiority of blacks— that culture plays in the negative out- examines the immediate relationship have declined significantly, even comes found in the inner city. It is between attitudes and behavior, but it though they still may be embedded in possible that they fear being criticized also looks at the past to investigate the institutional norms and practices. for reinforcing the popular view that origins and changing nature of these The vast majority of social scien- the negative social outcomes—poverty, attitudes. tists agree that as a national cultural unemployment, drug addition and frame, racism, in its various forms, crime—of many poor people in the in- has had harmful effects on African ner city are due to the shortcomings of The Perils of the Americans as a group. Indeed, con- the people themselves. Harvard Uni- Cultural Argument siderable research has been devoted to versity sociologist Orlando Patterson the effects of racism in American so- maintains that there is “a deep-seated The use of a cultural argument, ciety. However, there is little research dogma that has prevailed in social sci- however, is not without peril. Anyone and far less awareness of the impact ence and policy circles since the mid- who wishes to understand American of emerging cultural frames in the in- 1960s: the rejection of any explana- society must be aware that explanations ner city on the social and economic tion that invokes a group’s cultural at- focusing on the cultural traits of in- outcomes of poor blacks. ner-city residents are likely to draw far Americans tend to more attention from policymakers and the general public than structural ex- How Cultural Frames de-emphasize the planations will. It is an unavoidable Are Shaped structural origins of fact that Americans tend to de-empha- poverty and welfare. size the structural origins and social Note that distinct cultural frames in significance of poverty and welfare. the
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