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This work interrogates the role of the law as an "actor" in the spatial patterning of racial classification. Laws governing racial intermarriage represent key ways that rigid distinctions between groups were codified. Critically, there is a great deal of state variation in these laws. We draw on a unique data set that combines samples from the 1990 and 2000 Census (5 percent IPUMS) and the 2009-2011 3-year estimates from the American Community Survey with information on state-specific legal bans against intermarriage. Results from multilevel logistic and multinomial analyses indicate that a past of legal regulation is associated with a lower likelihood of a "mixed" classification for the offspring of black-white interracial unions, particularly in the 2009-11 period. Ultimately, these results provide evidence that place-specific institutional legacies are imprinted on the classification choices made even in the midst of expanding options. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Empirical studies of the causes of racial inequalities in the United States direct our attention to structural forces, yet many white Americans continue to provide individual-focused explanations. Utilizing data from the Portraits of American Life Study and the General Social Survey, we provide insight into the American racialized social structure through a unique study that compares whites' explanations for black and Asian disadvantage. Results suggest that there is a continued - but adapted - adherence to individual explanations among whites that is consistent with the colorblind understanding of contemporary American racism. Critically, reliance on individual explanations differs depending on whether whites are asked to explain the disadvantage of blacks or Asians, suggesting that whites' perceptions are impacted by the disadvantaged group's social position. Additionally, importance given to one's white racial identity relates to the use of individual explanations, further suggesting the role of social distance and outgroup perceptions in the persistence of individual-focused explanations. This work emphasizes an important point when considering future policy development: Individuals' perceptions of inequality are often not empirically based, and they continue to be strongly influenced by social position and interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disparities are pronounced along racial/ethnic lines in the United States. Convention draws our attention to blacks and whites, but increased racial/ethnic diversity in the United States requires shifts in that focus. We contribute to conversations regarding emerging racial/ethnic hierarchies by assessing the association between racial/ethnic composition and supermarket proximity in Houston, Texas. First, we assess the explanatory benefits of a new approach to defining the racial/ethnic composition types used to categorize local areas; an approach that acknowledges an increasingly complex racial/ethnic demography. Second, we examine the extent to which the built environment mediates racial/ethnic associations, in addition to traditional SES measures. Our results suggest a persistent link between racial/ethnic composition and supermarket location, which highlights entrenched black disadvantage coupled with malleable relative positions for Hispanic and no majority block groups. Measures of the built environment partially illuminate these associations, but ultimately they reinforce our understanding of differential development within Houston. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I investigate the influence of multiracial identification on assortative mating by race for the African American population. Using 2000 1 percent Public Use Microdata File of the U.S. Census, I compare mate selection patterns of the single race non-Hispanic Black population to the multiple race population whose selected ?Black? at least once. I employ multinomial logistic regression models to explore how likely a respondent selects Black (single race) spouses compared to non-Hispanic Whites and Multiracial Blacks. The results show Black persons who selected at least one other race are more likely than their single race counterparts to have White spouses, they are far more likely to have multiracial spouses. These analyses also show that neither of these tendencies are explained by other identity choices such as alternative races or ancestry responses, structural assimilation of the multiracial population, or regional location near other interracial couples. These results indicate that a ?Black? identity is still salient in the mate selection of multiracial Blacks. Although some marital assimilation is occurring , multiracial persons appear to engage in more marital homogamy with other multiracial persons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Texas stands at the forefront of the social change in several aspects. Demographically, Texas is among the most racially and ethnically diverse states with a large portion of immigrants which contributes to an increasingly diverse and cultural prominent Hispanic population. In addition to issues of race/ethnicity and citizenship, the state?s oil industry has given rise to a long-standing elite class. This elite class is founded on the norm of masculine achievement, which continues to shape the context of gender and relationships of Texans. Within the context of these changes, the image of Texas has remained stable--signifying a mythology all its own. This mythology and fantasy that is Texas is exemplified in cinematic representations of Texas and Texans. In this work, we examine notable Texas films, attending directly to the treatment race, class, and gender during the post-World War II era. Additionally, we focus on the evolution of these images and themes within the socio-historical context of increased social awareness of identity politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on racial identification in interracial families shows that children are more likely to be labeled as minority if the father is of minority race. Yet, prior studies have not sufficiently considered the role of parent-child relationships in shaping children's identification with either mother's or father's race. We address this limitation using data on 706 adolescents in interracial families from Wave I of Add Health. We examine whether adolescents identify with their mother's or with their father's race, as opposed to selecting a multiracial identity, within specific combinations of parents' races. In addition, we explore whether indicators of parental involvement (i.e., quantity of involvement, quality of involvement, educational involvement, and social control) explain any gender effects. Contrary to prior studies, we find that a tendency to match father's race is only true in black/white households, particularly if he is white, while adolescents in Asian/white families tend to match mothers regardless of her race. Moreover, while father's involvement, particularly educational involvement, was more likely to influence racial classification, adjusting for involvement does not explain gender patterns. This study shows that the larger gender influences on parenting have little to do with the complex ways in which parent-child relationships impact racial classification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]