Evolving Issues of Integration and Inequality Among Middle Class Minorities

Over the past half century, racial and ethnic minorities in the United States have made significant socioeconomic progress. The expansion and influence of “middle-class minorities” is attributable to absolute and relative gains across a range of socioeconomic outcomes. For instance, despite meaningful differences by national origin, median household income among Asians now exceeds that among Whites (Beeghley, 2008; Kerbo, 2009; Massey, 2007). The percentage of second-generation Latinos (including Mexicans and Central Americans) working in white-collar jobs has not only substantially increased, but in some cases now exceeds that for Whites (Alba & Nee, 2003). And whereas the percentage of Black and White high school graduates is now comparable, the percentage of African Americans who have completed college degree and/or earned an advanced degree has doubled since 1965 (Hacker, 2003; Landry & Marsh, 2011; Stoll, 2005).

The dispersion of minorities across the American class structure has reenergized long-standing debates, as well as inspired new ones relevant to the modern era of racial and ethnic relations. For example, will the new immigrants—post-1965 arrivals from who are largely from Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean—be permitted to assimilate into American society? With the passage of time, anxieties over whether the old immigrants from Europe could be absorbed into wider American public proved to be baseless. However, today’s newcomers are far more racially, ethnically, and culturally diverse than those who arrived at the turn of the 20th century. As the American-born children of Mexican, Chinese, and Haitian nationals achieve middle-class status, will they be allowed to become full and equal participants in society like the Irish, Italians, and British before them?

Similarly, the impressive growth of the contemporary Black middle class has stimulated a vibrant and heated debate over “race versus class” in the post–civil rights era. Unfair laws that were specifically designed to limit Blacks’ socioeconomic progress have been changed, and nearly four decades of affirmative action policies have helped many Blacks “make it” to the middle class. Does this mean that the consequences of racial discrimination are less central to explaining African American life-chance opportunities? Is class position now more important than minority status in determining whether a Black person can achieve his or her American dreams?

The research papers included within this second volume of the American Behavior Scientist’s Special Edition on “Minority Middle Classes” engage these timely and important questions. The first three manuscripts address attitudes and identity development among middle-class African Americans. Matthew O. Hunt and Rayshawn Ray get us started by examining trends and determinants of subjective social class identification among Blacks. Their analysis of General Social Survey (GSS) data reveals that socioeconomic differences drive contrasting beliefs among Blacks about where they are individually located within the American class structure. In short, objective class position is increasingly critical to Blacks’ subjective beliefs.

Other studies published within this volume support this conclusion. For instance, Jason E. Shelton and Anthony D. Greene’s analysis of the Houston Area Survey shows that privileged Blacks’ beliefs about inequality often sharply differ from those reported by privileged Whites and disadvantaged Blacks. Moreover, findings from their trend analysis show that privileged Blacks’ ideological commitments to individualism and structuralism have meaningfully changed with the passage of time. George Wilson and Kryssia Mossakowski’s rigorous examination of GSS data also testifies to the connections between objective class position and subjective beliefs. Their analysis reveals that despite similarly high levels of job authority, Blacks and Latinos report significantly lower levels of perceived job security than Whites. What is more, these racial and ethnic differences are much wider among private sector workers rather than those employed within the public sector. Such findings suggest that even minorities who have experienced significant professional advancements feel that their racial and ethnic group memberships negatively impact their career trajectory.

The final articles contained within this volume address evolving issues among middle-class minorities from a completely different perspective. Frank Samson examines the intersections between the perception of racialized opportunities and political attitudes among Latinos. Findings from his PROPs models suggest that Latinos’ beliefs about whether they share similar opportunities with other racial and ethnic groups strongly influence their levels of support for school vouchers and government intervention in health care. Also, in an insightful think piece, Karyn Lacy argues that journalists, political pundits, and scholars have yet to adequately explain the intersections of race and class as they pertain to our nation’s current foreclosure crisis. Although it is widely known that Blacks have been more likely than others to lose their homes, she posits that those who are “solidly” middle-class—not the Black working and lower middle classes—are far less likely to lose their homes. Finally, Monique Walker Pickett, Marvin P. Dawkins, and Jomills Henry Braddock assess the extent to which Black and White females have benefitted from Title IX. Their results clearly show that race remains a major barrier to gender equity in high school and intercollegiate athletics.

Each of the articles contained within this second volume of the Special Edition on “Minority Middle Classes” makes a meaningful contribution to our evolving knowledge of the connections between race, ethnicity, and social class in the contemporary United States. They are not only well researched but also interesting and engaging. The editors hope these articles stimulate discussion and enhance the reader’s understanding of the dynamics of race, ethnicity, socioeconomic inequality at the middle-class level.