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The evidence presented in this paper shows that differential mortality by economic status is strongly present in the United States today, and that this relationship is monotonic, with men's death rates being lower among the wealthier. Also, the greater the number of spells of poverty, the higher the death rate. These data suggest that differential mortality rates by economic status are being confused with the well-known ethnic differences in mortality. An implication of this paper, therefore, is that ethnic differences in mortality are, in large part, a consequence of poverty or permanent low income, as opposed to genotype. Consequently, it may be just as valid, or even more so, to publish mortality tables by income as by race. A policy implication of this paper is that the redistributive effects of longevity-based transfer systems, such as social security (public pensions), may be less 'progressive' than has been assumed, since would-be poorer recipients are either less likely to live long enough to collect any benefits in the first place, or will not live to collect them for as long as more affluent recipients. In addition, I have failed to find a direct effect of schooling on probability of survival. Hence, the beneficial effect of schooling on longevity must work through its effect upon income, with only the latter directly influencing mortality risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the correlates of religiosity among blacks and whites, asking two questions: (1) Is the relationship between SES and religious attendance the same for both races? (2) What factors best predict church attendance among both races? The findings show that (1) SES is positively related to religious participation among whites; (2) the best non-religious predictors of attendance across all denominations and churches studied are SES and age; (3) including a measure of religious belief greatly increases the explanatory power of a predictive model; but (4) the relationship between SES and attendance varies by denomination and church among blacks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent studies there appears a tendency to generalize white-black differences in fertility to a majority-minority context. Results are regarded as providing general information on the fertility behavior of all minority groups in American society. However, unlike findings relating to some sub-groups of the population, e.g. Roman Catholics, the basic premise that the fertility of blacks is the product of social constraints different from those which affect white America is as yet unresolved. The purpose of this paper is to examine the assertion that the minority group status is indeed, relevant to the study of black fertility. Part of the tenuous current position of this assertion stems from inadequate conceptualization of the problem's many aspects. A major goal is to review the limited literature on the topic, bringing together the set of ideas currently available. This process generates a number of hypotheses, which are examined with data from the 1970 Census Public Use Sample. To examine this problem properly, a methodological innovation is necessary. As this innovation has value beyond, the current study, a subsidiary objective of this paper is to demonstrate the utility of this technique in the study of fertility.

"Athletics is to the Black community what technology is to the Japanese and what oil is to the Arabs. We're allowing that commodity to be exploited... We really need to turn it around... if those schools cannot do for us what we need done, i.e., provide an education for the next generation, then we should be looking to steer clear of those institutions." (Charles Farrell, Director, Rainbow Coalition for Fairness in Athletics) While many observers would not agree with Farrell's claim that schools are responsible for the low graduation rate of African American student athletes, most would agree that sport is a precious commodity to the black community. The message from most of the media identifies sport as a way for anyone who has talent and is willing to work hard to improve his or her station in life. Nearly every article written about African American athletes by sports magazines (e.g., Sports Illustrated, Sport, etc.) points to the athletes' rise from the ghetto, drug-infested neighborhoods, etc., as evidence of sport's ability to elevate one's status. And, of course, they also include the obligatory comparison of the athlete who made it to all of his or her friends who did not make it - those with or without athletic talent. Still there are others who dismiss the idea that sport is a route to social mobility for African Americans (Edwards 1973; Curry and Jiobu 1984; Eitzen and Sage 1993; Coakley 1994; Leonard 1997), and it is not unusual to find that sport sociology books and occasional magazine or newspaper articles and vignettes detail the long odds one faces when trying to make a career of sport. Has sport ever been the escalator that the above essays tout? What has the meaning of sport been to the black community? This paper examines some crucial athletic events in American sport and their impact on the black community. It then comments on the media's role in creating/maintaining sport's status in the black community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adverse pregnancy outcomes disproportionately affect non-Hispanic (NH) Black patients in the United States. Structural racism has been associated with increased psychosocial distress and inflammation and may trigger oxidative stress. Thus, the nitric oxide (NO) pathway (involved in the regulation of inflammation and oxidative stress) may partly explain the underlying disparities in obstetric outcomes. Cohort study of 154 pregnant patients with high-risk obstetric histories; n = 212 mRNAs and n = 108 microRNAs (miRNAs) in the NO pathway were evaluated in circulating white blood cells. NO pathway mRNA and miRNA transcript counts were compared by self-reported race; NH Black patients were compared with women of other races/ethnicities. Finally, miRNA-mRNA expression levels were correlated. Twenty-two genes (q < 0.10) were differentially expressed in self-identified NH Black individuals. Superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1), interleukin-8 (IL-8), dynein light chain LC8-type 1 (DYNLL1), glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4), and glutathione peroxidase 1 (GPX1) were the five most differentially expressed genes among NH Black patients compared to other patients. There were 63 significantly correlated miRNA-mRNA pairs (q < 0.10) demonstrating potential miRNA regulation of associated target mRNA expression. Ten miRNAs that were identified as members of significant miRNA-mRNA pairs were also differentially expressed among NH Black patients (q < 0.10). These findings support an association between NO pathway and inflammation and infection-related mRNA and miRNA expression in blood drawn during pregnancy and patient race/ethnicity. These findings may reflect key differences in the biology of inflammatory gene dysregulation that occurs in response to the stress of systemic racism and that underlies disparities in pregnancy outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Many trans women of color communities experience high HIV seroprevalence, extreme poverty, high rates of victimization and substance use, and poor mental health. Greater knowledge of trans women of color social capital may contribute toward more effective services for this marginalized population. Methods: These data come from a mixed-methods study that examined trans/gender-variant people of color who attended transgender support groups at harm reduction programs in NYC. The study was conducted from 2011 to 12, total N = 34. The qualitative portion was derived from six focus group interviews. Results: Two support groups stood out as exhibiting very strong alternative kinship structures. One group was comprised of immigrant trans Latinas, and the other group were trans women of African descent living with HIV. Both groups demonstrated ample cultivation of "trust capital" in the form of "thick trust" (bonding capital) and "thin trust" (bridging/linking capital) both inside and outside/beyond the support groups. Thick trust included the cultivation of intimacy, support in primary romantic relationships, and community leadership. Thin trust included networking with a variety of organizations, increased educational opportunities, and cultural production. Discussion: Participants "opened up to social capital" through the process of trusting as a series of (1) risks; (2) vulnerabilities; and (3) reciprocities. A solid foundation of thick trust resulted in a social, psychological, and emotional "base." Upon this foundation, thin trust was operationalized resulting in positive material, economic, and quality-of-life outcomes, leading to an expanded space of capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the author's opinion on the article Measurement of Economic Distance Between Blacks and Whites, by H. D. Vinod in the 1985 issue of the Journal of Business & Economics. Vinod noted that there was room for additional measures to compare two distribution functions and introduced a new concept--economic advantage--that could be defined over either a small range of the income curve or the whole range. His emphasis on the difference between the corresponding percentiles may be new, however, it should be noted that the U.S. Bureau of Census reports the quintiles and upper 95th percentile of the black and white income distributions and the share of the total that each quintile receives. Thus Vinod arrives at an analysis similar to that contained in the basic census reports. Nothing in the general statistical literature states that all parameters need to be based on metrics on the space of cumulative distribution functions. Moreover, one approach to estimate--minimum distance estimation--has produced useful robust estimators without requiring that the measure of discrepancy be a formal metric. Vinod restricted his comparison of the distributions to the percentiles in which the data were published. With modern interpolation procedures, it may be preferable for economists to decide on the most informative percentiles.

Background: Women of African descent are disproportionately affected by intimate partner abuse; yet, limited data exist on whether the prevalence varies for women of African descent in the United States and those in the US territories. Objective: In this multisite study, we estimated lifetime and 2-year prevalence of physical, sexual, and psychological intimate partner abuse (IPA) among 1,545 women of African descent in the United States and US Virgin Islands (USVI). We also examined how cultural tolerance of physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence (IPV) influences abuse. Design: Between 2009 and 2011, we recruited African American and African Caribbean women aged 18-55 from health clinics in Baltimore, MD, and St. Thomas and St. Croix, USVI, into a comparative case-control study. Screened and enrolled women completed an audio computer-assisted self-interview. Screening-based prevalence of IPA and IPV were stratified by study site and associations between tolerance of IPV and abuse experiences were examined by multivariate logistic regression analysis. Results: Most of the 1,545 screened women were young, of low-income, and in a current intimate relationship. Lifetime prevalence of IPA was 45% in St. Thomas, 38% in St. Croix, and 37% in Baltimore. Lifetime prevalence of IPV was 38% in St. Thomas, 28% in St. Croix, and 30% in Baltimore. Past 2-year prevalence of IPV was 32% in St. Thomas, 22% in St. Croix, and 26% in Baltimore. Risk and protective factors for IPV varied by site. Community and personal acceptance of IPV were independently associated with lifetime IPA in Baltimore and St. Thomas. Conclusions: Variance across sites for risk and protective factors emphasizes cultural considerations in subpopulations of women of African descent when addressing IPA and IPV in given settings. Individual-based interventions should be coupled with community/societal interventions to shape attitudes about use of violence in relationships and to promote healthy relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the revolution of the Black studies. Incorporation of digital technology into production of knowledge; Construction of new language for talking about race that advances the material interest of most black Americans; Overview of the current crises in the racial history of the U.S.

This article examines the ways in which sugar planters in South Africa and the United States constructed a labour problem and then moved to solve it during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In both cases, planters came to believe that black labour was unsuited for sugar cultivation and production. In both contexts planters' solutions to this problem involved the recruitment of a new workforce, the racialisation of the division of labour, and the use of state power to facilitate the workings of the new system. The results, however, diverged dramatically. Whereas sugar planters in Natal successfully used the British imperial system to secure large numbers of indentured labourers from the Indian subcontinent and to free themselves from reliance upon African workers, Louisiana's planters found the state (both local and national) an unreliable ally. Although they attempted to recruit first Chinese contract labourers and later Italian migrants, they still remained dependent upon African-American workers for labour in their fields, mills and refineries. Two key variables explain these outcomes. First, each industry was affected in different ways by the structure of the world sugar economy: at a period when the Natal sugar industry was entering a period of growth and expansion, Louisiana's was in steep decline. Second, and more crucially, planters and estate managers in Louisiana and Natal contended with vastly different forms of state power and capacities. On the one hand, as a colony within the British empire, Natal was plugged into an efficient low-cost system of international labour migration. Louisiana, on the other hand, supported a weak local state and contended with a federal state committed to free trade and indifferent to the labour requirements of an ailing southern industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the institution of sharecropping in the racialised countrysides of the American South and South Africa, where, in the second half of the nineteenth century, black sharecroppers farmed white-owned land in return for a share of the crop. In both countries, the labour of sharecropping families was an important ingredient in the recovery of the countryside from the devastating effects of war, which left white landowners vulnerable and ill-equipped to assert mastery over farm labour. This article explores how sharecropping brought labour to the farms, but also allowed a degree of autonomy and independence to develop that sat uncomfortably with the imperatives of agricultural 'modernisation' and white supremacy. Sharecropping ended after interventions in the countryside by the state, which aimed to promote 'modernisation' of agriculture and control of black labour in South Africa, but which, in the American South, became as concerned with restoring white supremacy, and which allowed a 'pre-modern' form of labour organisation - share- cropping - to continue long into the twentieth century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article compares the interactions of the communist parties of South Africa and the United States with the black working class of each country until 1950. It discusses, in particular detail, the influence of internationalist currents of radical syndicalism on the course and destiny of each party. The analysis also focuses on how each communist movement adjusted its tactics in response to indigenous patterns of black migration, white working-class racism, black radicals' negotiation of recurring tensions between class, nationalist and reformist influences, and the ways in which communist labour activists in each country were limited or empowered by the changing ideological influences of the Communist International. South African and American communists endured periods of sectarian political rigidity and isolation but, ultimately, communist activists' pragmatic and flexible interpretations of working-class dynamics in each country were more important in shaping each party's relationship with blacks than Leninist ideology or the requirements of Soviet or Cold War politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article compares and contrasts paths, patterns and experiences of migration undertaken by blacks from the southern United States moving to northern cities, and by Africans from the South African countryside moving to the Witwatersrand. It suggests marked parallels between the migration of black share-croppers from the American South in its latter stages and in the aftermath of the First World War and the migration of African labour tenants from white South African farms in the 1930s and 1940s. It identifies analogous causes (the increasingly depressed condition of both groups, as well as natural disasters), but emphasises the distinction between causes of, and motives for, migration. It highlights the paradox of the coexistence of servitude and mobility in both situations, and plots different modalities of mobility preceding both waves of urbanisation. The article then shifts focus to examine patterns and experiences of working and survival by black immigrants in American cities and on the Witwatersrand. It plots parallel patterns of workplace oppression and discrimination (especially by white foremen) and similar kinds of overt and covert resistance among those so treated, including high levels of occupational mobility. Against this background, it examines the partly similar forms of family unit and modes of family reproduction (taking in lodgers, liquor brewing) that emerged in both places. The article concludes by exploring briefly some of the political outcomes of these pressures and experiences, and suggesting an agenda for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecological models of black and white suburban socioeconomic status persistence/ change are explicated and evaluated utilizing data for 505 American suburbs for which status data were available. It was found that black and white status characteristics persist but the determinants of status change differed somewhat for each group. White status change was related to suburban age and region, while black status change was related to suburban percent black and age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Causal models of initial occupational rewards for black and white males are developed from the responses of first-year workers in the National Longitudinal Surveys of Labor Market Experience. A comparison of the black and white models shows that while blacks have experienced considerable upward mobility, their income and prestige remain far behind their white counterparts. Two explanations for this racial gap are indicated by the data: (1) blacks begin work with lower levels of key background variables, and (2) racial discrimination in the labor market. Our measurement of racial discrimination in labor market entry accounts for only a small proportion of the gap between black and white levels of rewards; and when compared with earlier research, the data indicate a national trend of decreasing racial discrimination in the labor market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyzes the movement of blacks to the suburbs of American metropolitan areas, using the framework developed by Taeuber and Taeuber (1965) for the analysis of racial transition in inner city neighborhoods. The data are consistent with their model and suggest that the rate of black population growth is a function not only of the characteristics of individual suburbs themselves, but also of the central cities of the metropolitan areas within which they are located. The units of analysis are all suburbs with populations of 10,000 or more in 1960 and 1970. Suburban size is a key characteristic because the independent variables affect black population growth quite differently in different size categories. While there are clear differences between southern and nonsouthern suburbs in average levels of the push and pull variables, as well as the rate at which the black suburban population grew in the 1960s, the effects of these variables on black suburban growth were the same in both regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is an attempt to replicate and extend past research dealing with the controversy over the existence of common versus class-differentiated success values. Three sets of hypotheses derived from Rodman's theory of the value stretch are tested. Two random cluster samples, one white, one black, were drawn from Roanoke, Virginia, yielding a total of 202 respondents. Results generally contradicted Rodman's theory; instead, a moderately class differentiated set of success values was found. Comparisons between blacks and whites surprisingly showed blacks with higher expectations when class was controlled. Age was associated with lower expectations as predicted. New directions for future research are offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on social work, while highlighting a homevisiting research project which can both facilitate data gathering in poor and minority communities. The purpose of this article is to offer a structure for learning about data gathering and intervening in high-risk communities, while teaching these skills to direct practice students. The article studies experiences over the 1996-97 academic year in a longitudinal study of current and former welfare recipients in New York City. These experiences included data gathering in the homes of single, poor and near-poor, African-American mothers and their preschool children. Structured interviews and pre-school readiness assessments were carried out with 188 mothers and their children in three communities with large numbers of single-parent and low-income families. The article focuses on three areas: (a) the background of the research project, (b) the importance of homevisiting in high-risk communities as an aspect of social work training, and (c) thoughts about integrating policy, research, and direct practice for students working on a research project.

The failure of black mayoral candidates in Detroit and Los Angeles in 1969 can be attributed to an increased voter turnout by the white electorate, combined with bloc-voting by blacks and whites. In 1973 racial bloc-voting increased in the Detroit and Atlanta mayoral elections and continued at a high rate in Los Angeles. Black candidates were successful in the three cities because of a significantly higher rate of black voter turnout. Significant changes in the voting surfaces of the three cities occurred between 1909 and 1973 related to residential change, the choice of candidates, voting age, and social status. The success of black political candidates can be predicted with some accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whether or not blacks in the United States desire a larger family size than whites is controversial. But the overall black-white differential in fertility is well established. Blacks not only exhibit higher fertility but also expect more births than whites. Basically, two views about excess Southern black fertility seem to emerge from the literature. According to the first which may be labelled "`assimilationist," it is suggested that "by the time non-white couples are one generation or more removed from the rural South, their fertility is very much like that of white population." It is assumed that socioeconomic inequality in the South is responsible for black-white differentials in fertility and as blacks move away from the Southern milieu and are exposed to a more open social structure their fertility will decline. The South differs from other regions in many respects. Southerners differ from Northerners not only socially and economically, but also in their personalities. Northern-born blacks have considerably higher self-esteem than those born in the South. They do not have a lower self esteem than whites. Possibly distinct patterns in family life developed both among blacks and whites in the South because of their geographical and cultural isolation from each other.