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The United States is experiencing growth in racial and ethnic diversity, yet racial tensions remain high. Proponents of contact theory suggest that interracial contact should alleviate racial tensions when contact occurs under the right conditions. The current study uses a network approach to examine the relationship between race, racial attitudes, and friendship within a novel setting satisfying the "right" conditions: a good behavior prison unit. Using social network data from 133 men and Exponential Random Graph Models, we examine whether racial attitudes influence the patterns of intraracial versus interracial ties. Results reveal that negative racial attitudes do not differentially impact the sending of intraracial versus interracial ties, but reduce the odds of receiving interracial ties from other participants. We discuss the implications of these findings for contact theory as well as for research on race relations both within and outside of prison.

Unfortunately, there is a long history linking pandemics to Anti-Asian prejudice and xenophobia; these negative outcomes have been particularly pronounced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some scholars have suggested that these relationships are driven by fear, wherein individuals respond to disease threat by "othering" that threat. Other research has implicated the role of the state, including the political rhetoric of former President Trump, in exacerbating bias by enabling a divisive political environment. Yet, very few existing studies have been able to assess the nature of these impacts or examine the mechanisms behind observed increases in xenophobia. To that end, this research presents results from a survey administered in May 2020 to respondents residing in the U.S., which assessed COVID-19-related attitudes and behaviors, as well as anti-Asian prejudicial attitudes. Using these data, we assessed the direct and interactive relationship between perceptions of risk (i.e., fear), exposure to COVID-19 information, support for Trump, and anti-Asian prejudice. Results reveal that fear—and support for Trump—are associated with increased anti-Asian prejudice, but that exposure to more information about COVID-19 is associated with decreased prejudice; we also note complex interactions between each of these factors.

Abstract
Many Confederate monuments were erected during the Jim Crow era, sending symbolic messages of intimidation and hostility to the Black population. Yet no studies have examined the relationship between contemporary Confederate memorialization and bias crime. Drawing from research on hate crime law compliance, we posit an inverse relationship between Confederate monuments and mobilization of hate crime law, such that compliance with hate crime laws will be lower in communities with memorialization, but that among complying agencies, anti-Black hate crime rates will be higher. To examine these relationships, we combined data from the Uniform Crime Report Hate Crime Statistics and the American Community Survey with Confederate monument data from the Southern Poverty Law Center. We conducted analyses predicting a) monument presence, b) agency non-compliance, and c) anti-Black hate crime. Results indicate that monuments are located in communities exemplifying a challenge to racial hierarchies: economically advantaged communities with larger Black populations. Regarding hate crime, analyses show that (1) the American South is associated with reduced compliance, and, (2) after accounting for compliance, Confederate memorialization is associated with increased anti-Black hate crime. These findings have implications for intergroup conflict and the impact of local symbolism on the formal mobilization of hate crime law.