Suchergebnisse

Despite the successes of the civil rights movement, a largely impermeable color line continues to restrict African Americans from assimilation into the broader American society. In the meantime high rates of immigration have produced an increasingly culturally diverse population. A "people of color" hypothesis suggests that the color line the new immigrants face resembles that imposed on African Americans. A "black exceptionalism" hypothesis suggests instead that the color line will be more porous for them, allowing for greater assimilation over successive generations, including a gradual weakening of politicized racial and ethnic group consciousness. Using data from Los Angeles County Social Surveys, we find that the largest new immigrant group, Latinos, like blacks, show strongly group‐interested policy preferences and strong group consciousness. However, both effects are stronger for recent Latino immigrants than for the U.S.‐born. We conclude that the new immigrant groups are increasingly likely to assimilate politically into the broader society in future generations, whereas a rather strict color line will continue to restrict blacks and maintain their distinctiveness.

Hurtgen reviews 'Color Conscious: The Political Morality of Race' by K. Anthony Appiah and Amy Gutmann.

A wealth of literature in marketing and psychology asserts a relationship between color and personality; yet little information exists on the use and effect of color in political campaigns. The purpose of this research is to determine if certain public relations and social psychology
beliefs about color are adaptable to the market conditions of campaigns. A survey incorporating relevant questions on legibility, preference, and remembrance of color patterns was conducted on voting age people. Pertinent demographic and psychological factors were included as well. Tests were
employed to establish statistically significant relationships among color and campaign literature. One color combination - black on yellow - was most legible, most preferred, and most remembered; blue ranked high. The harmony of opposites was not valid for campaign signs. Individuals recalled
patterns to which they responded positively. Proclamations by marketing researchers that liberal/conservative attitudes or political party preference correlate to color preference were not substantiated; however, some items were significant based on age and sex.

Despite a large and growing literature documenting the powerful and positive role that political discussion networks exert on the political behavior among whites, we know little about how political discussion networks affect political behavior among voters of color. To fill this void in the existing literature, we conducted an original survey in California to gather information on a diverse group of registered voters' political discussion networks and political engagement. The social positioning of ethnoracial groups in society, we contend, will affect how network characteristics explain their levels of political engagement. Our results support this contention. While we find that network characteristics, including network size, partisan homogeneity, and discussion frequency are positively associated with validated voter turnout and nonelectoral political participation, the effects are not uniform across black, Latino, Asian American, and white respondents. This is the first study that examines the relationship between political discussion network characteristics and political engagement among voters of color. Our analysis demonstrates that the opportunities for political integration and engagement offered by political discussion networks are not afforded equally across the U.S. electorate, which has important implications for broader patterns of engagement.