A Theory of Immigration and Racial Stratification
Author(s): Vilna Bashi and Antonio McDaniel
Source: Journal of Black Studies, Vol. 27, No. 5 (May, 1997), pp. 668-682
Published by: Sage Publications, Inc.
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A THEORY OF IMMIGRATION AND
RACIAL STRATIFICATION
VILNABASHI
ANTONIOMcDANIEL
University
ofPennsylvania
is thesubject,bothacademicliterature
and
When immigration
andpersevering
publicdiscoursetendto assumethathardworking
immigrantswill earn entreeinto the labor marketand society at
large. It is also assumed thatthose who trywill be rewardedwith
successfulintegrationintothe largercommunityof citizens.This
basic assumptionis thebasis oftheassimilationmodel (McDaniel,
the
1995).It is an assumption
thatis oftenusedwhenconsidering
relativesuccessesofvariousgroupsinAmerican
society;therefore,
The classicmodelof assimilation
assumes
it is worthexamining.
arrivewitha relativedisadvantage
vis-a-visEurothatimmigrants
andthattheyareculturally
distant
anddistinct.
The
peanAmericans
to be likethe
immigrant
groupis assumedto have thepotential
ormajority
native-born
group.Thepassageoftimebringsincreasthatfacilitate
thewithingeducationandeconomicopportunities
and socioeconomicadvancement
eringof ethnicdifferences,
The idea of an
translatesinto social mobilityand integration.
oftheclassicmodel
American"melting
pot"is a characterization
ofassimilation.
The modelwas appliedin a famedstudyof theproblemsof
AfricanAmericans--GunnarMyrdal'sAmericanDilemma (1962).
In thatbook, Myrdal explains thatAmerica's problemis one of
version
waspresented
atthesession
Anearlier
article
AUTHORS'NOTE:
ofthis
at theannualmeetingof theAmerican
on PatternsofRacial Discrimination,
D. C.,August22, 1995.
SociologicalAssociation,
Washington,
JOURNALOF BLACK STUDIES, Vol.27 No. 5, May 1997 668-682
@ 1997 Sage Publications,
Inc.
668
Bashi,McDaniel/THEORY OF IMMIGRATION
669
racialinassimilability-acharacterization
he suggestswouldbe
correctedwhen those who are systematically
marginalized
by
societyfinallygainaccess. Myrdalpondersthequestionof why
certaingroupsareunableto assimilateas Europeanethnicgroups
doneovertime,buthe errson twocountsas he
havesuccessfully
attempts
toanswer.Bothofhiserrors
arecommonandextendfrom
his relianceon the assimilation
model.He firstconfoundsthe
problemofrace withthatof ethnicity-allpersonsarriveon this
landwithanethnicidentity
butacquire(andofteninvoluntarily
so)
a racialtag.It is theraciallabel thatdelimitstheextentof one's
in Americansociety(McDaniel, 1995). Myrdal's
assimilability
modelas his
seconderroris also common:Withtheassimilation
hemustchoosea baselinesocialtypetowhichindividuals
premise,
mustconform.
and communities
MyrdalsuggeststhatEuropean
inorderforoneto
shouldbe emulated
behaviorpatterns
American
assimilate
intoAmericansociety.
As otherresearchers
have done since,Myrdalfocusedon the
andassumesthatbehavioral
structural
causesofracialdifferences
differences
arein partto blame(Lieberson,1980;Wilson,1978).
assumethattheproblemsAfricanAmericans
These researchers
face are due to theirinabilityto emulatethe behaviorof their
"fellowcitizens."The barriers
to AfricanAmericanemulation
of
Europeanbehaviorareseenas structural,
thatis,racialsegregation
in schoolingand housingand a lack of economicopportunities
preventfullsocioeconomicincorporation.
It is thoughtthatby
removing
thebarriers
toAfrican
American
in society
participation
couldfoster
as a whole,local socialinstitutions
a changeinAfrican
Americanbehavior.Thisidea stemsfromthebeliefthata similar
processsucceededin thecase oftheethnicEuropeanimmigrant
Oneofthemanyproblems
withtiis beliefstemsfrom
experience.
ofracewithethnicity.
theconfounding
Racial systems
arewaysofclassifying
people,usuallybyjudginghowcloselytheirphenotype
fitswiththesomaticnormimages
of whatthedifferent
races"look"like. Races derivefromthese
Racialclassification
has implications
classification
fora
systems.
is a socialhierarperson'slifechancesbecauseracialstratification
chy.IntheUnitedStates,havingAfrican-likefeatures
anddarkskin
670
JOURNALOF BLACK STUDIES /MAY 1997
colorplaces one withinthelowerlevels of theracialhierarchy
1991;McDaniel,1995;Telles&Murguia,1990).
(Keith& Herring,
Ethnicity,
on theotherhand,emergesfromcultural
identification.
Ethnicgroupsarethosewho sharecultural
traitssuchas similar
andseethemselves
as
foods,waysofdress,language,andso forth,
distinct
fromothergroups(Smedley,1993,p. 29). Race and ethnicityareoftenconfounded,
bothinthepopularandintheacademic
literature,
makingitall thehardertounderstand
raceandracismin
theUnitedStates.However,it is important
to recognizesomeof
thecrucialdifferences
betweenraceandethnicity.
Racehas meaningonlyin thecontext
ofa racialhierarchy.
Racial systems
musthavemechanisms
fordetermining
whois
inwhichrace,forthatdetermines
wherepeople,families,
andother
groupsfitintotheracialhierarchy.
In theUnitedStates,immigrarolein shapingthathierarchy.
Immitionhas playedan important
theUnitedStatesandareassimilated
intothedominant
grantsenter
andthisprocessincludesassimilation
socialorganization,
intothe
We
will
focus
systemofracialstratification
on
(Cox, 1948,p. 47).
thislatteraspectof theimmigrant
experience.First,we briefly
outlinetheoriginsoftheU.S. racialsystem.Second,we suggest
thatstudiesrace,and,finally,
we
waysto broadentheliterature
therelationship
betweenimmigration
presenta modelforstudying
andracialstratification.
ORIGINSOF THE SYSTEM
OF RACIALSTRATIFICATION
The biologicalexistenceof race is an ideologicallyloaded
merit(King,1981).Infact,thereis
conceptwithdubiousscientific
muchevidenceto contradict
thebiologicalconception
ofraceand
to suggestthatraceis a socialconstruct
thatis farfromuniversally
and applied.Yettheassumption
understood
of a biologicalbasis
forraceis stillwidelyusedin academicandpopularliterature
(see
Herrnstein
& Murray,1994; Sowell, 1994). For example,the
widelyread authorsof TheBell Curveuse race to studygenetic
inintelligence
inthepopulation
& Murray,
differences
(Hermstein
Bashi,McDaniel/THEORY OF IMMIGRATION
671
thisbookshow
1994).Thepublication
andthedebatesurrounding
racehas notbeenclearlyabsorbed,
thattheliterature
demystifying
muchlessunderstood
andapplied.'
norhas thereeverbeen,a societyor
Thereis notin existence,
on the
thatmadeitsracial classifications
scientificcommunity
ofthepopulation.
Sucha schemeis
basis ofgeneticexaminations
is greaterwithin
doomedto failuregiventhatgeneticvariability
a race andhow
thanbetweenthem.Whatconstitutes
populations
is culturallydetermined.
one recognizes a racial difference
areregarded
as ofthesameracedepends
Whether
twoindividuals
and personalexperiences,
not their
on theirhistory,
traditions,
individuals
is a funcgeneticmaterial.Theprocessofidentifying
Inthecontext
oftheUnitedStates,
ofdifference.
tionofthisculture
has playedan important
and essentialrole in racial
immigration
identification.
The creationand development
of theidea of race and racial
ideologyin NorthAmericahas itsrootsin theEuropeanenslavementofAfricanpeoples(Drake,1990;Smedley,1993).The very
of racial groups.Withinthis
idea of race assumesa hierarchy
wereon thebottomandEuropeanson thetop.
Africans
hierarchy,
theobythedeeplyfelt,andsometimes
"Thesystemwasjustified
beliefthatblackpeoplewerebornto serve
logicallysanctioned,
whitepeople" (Drake,1987,p. 290). The slave was expectedto
inphysicaltypefrom
"No whitescouldever
theslavemaster:
differ
into
a
state
of
was
'fall'
slavery"(Drake,1987,p. 290).TheAfrican
the"ideal typeof savage" and theEuropeanwas the"Fatherof
TheAfrican
other.
The
becamethe"ideal-typical"
civilization."
betweenAfricansandEuropeanswas used as
physicaldifference
criteriaof otherness.
rethe defining
Removingone's otherness
in mostcases,butit
quiresreplacingone's race,an impossibility
forpopulations
a desirethathasnegativeconsequences
constitutes
American
suchas theAfrican
population.
is a symbolofsocialstatus,andan imporRacialidentification
in
The work
of groupdifferentiation.
tantfactor themaintenance
Clarkwasoneofthefirst
studies
toempirically
demofKenneth
theimportance
ofthisidea,andhisworkhas
onstrate
beensubstanresearch
tiated
(Clark& Clark,1939,1940;Hoebymorerecent
672
JOURNALOF BLACK STUDIES /MAY 1997
tink,1962; Powell-Hopson& Hopson,1988; Rosenberg& Simis believedto affectall racial
mons,1971). Racial identification
implicagroupswithinsocietyin a similarfashionwithdifferent
tions.For example,theEuropeanAmericanracialidentification
is a confirmation
ofpositiveself-esteem
among
with"Whiteness"
Americansof Europeanorigin;however,forAfricanAmericans
is a confirmation
of theirnegative
thissame culturalpreference
statuswithinthesociety.
RACEANDIMMIGRATION
roleinthedevelopment
ofthe
Immigration
playedanimportant
of theUnitedStates,the
U.S. racialsystem.In theearlyhistory
andNorthern
was composedmainlyofWestern
Europecitizenry
ans. As others-particularly
groupsfromSouthernand Central
Europeancountries-beganto arrivein greaterandgreaternumwiththemundesirable
bers,it was fearedthattheywerebringing
and Western
traits.(Withthe exceptionof the Irish,Northern
wellbeyond
immigrants
Europeansweredeemedtheonlydesirable
ofthetwentieth
thefirstquarter
century).
are assignedto
"Black,""Hispanic,"and "Asian"immigrants
whichmaybe
theEuropeanmodelofracialhierarchy,
raceswithin
quite differentfromthe racial systemsin theirhomelands
(McDaniel, 1995). Categoriessuch as Hispanicand Asian are
to grouptogether
similar(e.g.,
constructed
peoplesnotnecessarily
East Indiansand Koreans).These concernsare emphasizedby
researchthat
Petersonwhoquestionsthevalidityofdemographic
countsand analyzesvariousaspectsofethnicgroupmembership
(Peterson,
1987,p. 187).Iftheabilitytoknowa person'sethnicity
theEuropeanmodelofracialhierarchyis in question,certainly
ofpeoplesofvarious
racesas a grouping
whichtendsto construct
do notcometo America
ethnicities-isproblematic.
Immigrants
raciallyclassifiedin theAmericansense(Alba, 1990; McDaniel,
areforcedto assimilate
as members
ofdifferent
1995).Immigrants
Thusimmigrants
from
racialgroupsbecauseofracialstratification.
be
assimilated
"White"
into
America,while
Europewilltypically
Bashi,McDaniel/THEORY OF IMMIGRATION
673
immigrantsfromelsewherewill be fitinto various categoriesof
"otherness."In theUnitedStatesracial assimilationof immigrants
oftheracial
ofvariousnationaloriginsis centralto theconstruction
hierarchy.
THE PERSISTENCE
OF RACL1L STRATIFICATION
William J.Wilson's (1978) Declining SignificanceofRace sughas historicallyinteractedwithsocial
geststhatracial stratification
structure.Accordingto thisreadingof events,it is underslavery
was
andintheperiodimmediatelyfollowingmanumissionthatrace
thedetermining
factor.However,industrialdevelopmentand strucof African
turaleconomic changehas enabled,first,a stratification
of
an
and
the
creation
underclass
of
Americansby class,
second,
people who are disaffectedand disconnectedfromthe fruitsof
society at large. Further,this underclassis seen as a class, not a
race-basedposition.Althoughwe agree withWilson's appreciation
we
of the importanceof class in analyzing racial stratification,
would like to suggesta reexaminationoftherole ofracial exclusion
in contemporary
Americansociety.We present
and marginalization
thisevidencethatracismhas a persistent
impacton thelifechances
of the so-called minoritypopulation.
First,the Americanslave experienceinvolvedboth a class and
race position.However,thestateof being a slave has always been
a class position,not a race position.It was only afterslaverywas
in theAmericasthatitemergedherein itsracialized form
instituted
practiced
(Drake, 1990, chap. 7). The systemofracial stratification
in the UnitedStatesis a productoftheEuropean attemptto justify
slaveryof a people importedto produce underduress in the fastgrowing,cash-crop-basedeconomyof the UnitedStates. The majorityof Africansarrivedin thiscountryenslaved;however,notall
remainedenslaved.2Thus,froma technicalpointof view,enslavementwas a class position,which,however,became racialized in
the Americas. The racializationof slaverytransformed
the class
674
JOURNALOF BLACK STUDIES /MAY 1997
positionoftheslaveintoa race-classposition.It was thenthatthe
African
population
becameviewedas botha class anda race.
Second, althoughwe agreethatrecentstructural
changehas
alteredtheopportunities
opento AfficanAmericansin society,it
does notfollowthatraceplaysa diminishing
rolein determining
thoseopportunities.
Racialconflict
is playedoutona sociopolitical
fieldwiththeissuesofgreatest
concern
beingthoseofracialcontrol
of residentialareas,publicfacilitieslike schoolsand recreation
areas,and municipalpoliticalsystems.Such struggles
centeron
issuesthatverymuchdetermine
thelifechancesof theaverage
intheUnitedStates,andtheseissuesareclearly
African
American
aboutracialcontrol
ofresources
thatshapeone'slifeincrucialways.
Ithas alwaysbeenthecasethatbothraceandclassconjointoshape
andrewardsforAffican
opportunities
Americans,
justas raceand
class systems
shapelifechancesfortheirEuropeancounterparts.
Thereis a waytostudyracialdifference
thatwillrevealinsights
abouthowracialstratification
thosewholive
operatesandaffects
if themembersof
underthatstratification
system.But certainly,
as iftheirraceis anindividual
characteristic
that
societyarestudied
explains individualoutcomes,those insightswill notbe revealed.
Theproblemis thatonelooksatraceandracism,andevenslavery,
characteristics
within
itsvictims,
as ifitcreatesinternalized
rather
thanlookingattheseas institutions
thathavelastingconsequences
on thesocial relationsbetweentheinstitutional
participants.Race
is not an inherentset of psychobiological
characteristics,
and
is ita classification
thataffects
neither
Theracial
onlynon-Whites.
structures
forWhitesas well as fornonhierarchy
opportunities
Whites-Whitesendup ontopandBlacksonthebottom.
Notethe
historicalexample of the later-arriving
European immigrant
undesirable
forentry
intothelarger
groups,whowereconsidered
as theyweremade
"'White"
butweresoonassimilated
population,
Whitethemselves
(Alba,1990;Waters,1990).
modelassumesthattheimmigrant
The assimilation
groupwill
like
the
as
the
of
become
majority
population
passage timebrings
andsocioeconomic
ofethnicdifferences
a withering
advancement
In the United
translatesinto residentialmobility/assimilation.
arecultural,
ofsocialassimilation
forms
States,theprincipal
physi-
Bashi,McDaniel/THEORY OF IMMIGRATION
675
theAfrican
cal, andspatial.In eachofthesetypesofassimilation,
Americanhas beenuniquelyexcluded(Hacker,1992; Massey&
arenotbeing
Denton,1993;McDaniel,1995).African
Americans
orphysically.
AfricanAmeriassimilated
culturally,
residentially,
as oftenas othergroups,andresidential
cansarenotintermarrying
is increasing.
Thepassageoftimemaybringa withersegregation
and
ing of ethnicdifferences
forEuropean-origin
immigrants,
is not
racialdifferences
amongtheseEuropean-origin
populations
issue (Alba, 1990;Waters,1990). However,foriman important
LatinAmerica,
andtheCaribbean,
fromAsia,Africa,
race
migrants
life.
continues
tobe a salientissueofAmerican
AFRICANANDCARIBBEANIMMIGRANTS
ANDTHEIR U.S.-BORNDESCENDANTS
The legacyof enslavement
permeatesall social,political,and
and EurobetweenAfricandescendants
economicrelationships
Racismderivesfroma systemofracialslavery,
peandescendants.
or not;race was
butit appliesto all "Blacks,"slave descendants
as a sociobiologicaltypefromwhichonlythosewho
constructed
ThustheAfrican
connotations.
can"pass"escapeitsmostnegative
Americanpopulationis oftenviewedas a classlessgroupof forDifferences
within
theAfrican
Amerimerlyenslavedindividuals.
can population,
however,have alwaysexisted.Therewereclass
withinthe AfricanAmericanpopulationduringendifferences
andindeedclassdifferences
existedfollowing
enslaveslavement,
thefurther
ment.The modemperiodhas witnessed
crystallization
Americans
oftheseclassdifferences
amongAfrican
(Butler,1991;
DuBois, 1935/1992;Horton,1993). However,thepowerof the
viewofthe"Blackrace"persists.
monolithic
Classifiedas "Black,"Caribbeanand Africanimmigrants
are
a
a
thatsees monoforcedto contendwith socioeconomic
system
and"race"withinthe
lithic"culture"
AfricanAmericanpopulation.
oftheAfricanandCaribbeanimmitheethnicdifference
Initially,
thegeneralAfrican
Amerithemfrom
grantgroupmaydistinguish
The
time
one
or
two
of
can population. passage
genera(within
676
JOURNALOF BLACK STUDIES /MAY 1997
tions), however,brings a witheringof ethnicdifferences,which
resultsin theiror theirdescendantsbecomingAfricanAmericans.
This systemimposes a racial identityin accordance to the racial
stratificationsystem as it operates in the United States. New
arrivalsmay not know theirrace when theyarrive,but theycertainlylearn it eventually.4
The immigrant'sresponse to racism depends on where in the
racial hierarchy of the countryof origin the immigrantwas
placed-that is, how one perceives oneselfin bothsocieties. Thus
one may try(a) to pass, (b) to distinguishoneselffromthe group
known as AfricanAmericans,or (c) to decide to bear as best one
can the racist treatmentin exchange for access to economic and
betterthanone would facein one's home
educationalopportunities
country(Bryce-Laporte,1972; Stafford,1987).
Race has a hierarchicalcharacterthatpermeatesthelives of the
alike. Of course,theinfluenceithas on
nativebornand immigrants
thelives of those consideredBlack-who remainat thebottomof
the racial hierarchy-is. nearly exclusively negative. It is interinstancesin popular and academic
estingto note,on the contrary,
discourse wherethe West Indian experience in the United States
on the basis
is used as the example thatshows thatdiscrimination
of race is not as importantto shapingthelife chances of the African descendantswho live here.However,empiricalevidence does
not substantiatethisconclusion(e.g., Jasso & Rosenzweig, 1990).
As discussed earlier,the assimilationmodel expects an immigrantfamilyto succeed eventually,or at least in subsequentgenthatsuccess is seen as an anomalywhenthe
erations.Interestingly,
immigrantfamilyis Black: Generallyit is West Indian "success"l
thatis theanomalymostwidelydiscussed.The truthis thatsuccess
of Black immigrantsis notgreatif comparedto Whites.Comparisons are oftentimesmade between AfricanAmericans and West
Indians where differential
success is attributed
to culturaldifferences betweenWest Indians and AfricanAmericans.Differential
success amonggroupsraciallyidentifiedas Black is wronglytaken
to imply thatrace is not very importantin shaping the African
Americanexperiencein the UnitedStates.
Bashi,McDaniel/THEORY OF IMMIGRATION
677
case in point.He suggeststhat
Sowell (1978) is a well-known
thanAfrican
WestIndiansare"moreAfrican"
Americans,
yetstill
show"a highincidenceof 'success' (income,education,
occupation,etc.)" and thatthisevidencesufficiently
"undermines
the
whitediscrimination
explanatory
powerof current
as a cause of
blackpoverty"(Sowell, 1978,p. 49). Evidencefromthe
current
1960,1970,and 1980censuses,as presented
byJassoandRosenzweig(1990) suggestexactlytheopposite.Theycomparethereal
and foreign-born
meanearningsof native-born
Black and White
immigrants
to theUnitedStatesforeach decennialcensus.Their
data showthat(a) foreach yearexcept1970,Black native-born
personson averageearnedmorethanforeign-born
Blacks, (b)
Whiteforeign-born
personsearnedsignificantly
higherthaneither
ornative-born
foreign-born
Blacks,(c) thegapbetweenBlackand
Whitemean real earningsis fargreaterthanthe gap between
and native-born
of eitherrace, and (d) Black new
foreign-born
earnleast,relativeto bothWhiteand Black native-born
entrants
in1960
differences
(withverystark
personsandWhitenewentrants
and 1980). Significantly,
althoughearningsrose forall groups
between1960 and 1970,andfellforall groupsbetween1970and
1980,theracialgaps-and thesearethegreatergapsin earnings
here-all remained
throughout
A number
ofcomments
canbe maderegarding
Sowell's analysis,andhowhe comestohis conclusions.
First,Sowellmayhave
onincomefigures
from1970,,
erredbecausehebasedhisstatements
a yearthatshowsrealmeanearnings
forBlackimmigrant
malesas
thanthatforBlacknative-born
somewhat
higher
males.Thedifferin thepopulation
encemaybe dueto differences
to the
reporting
censusthatyear,or,as suggested
above,thisyearmaybe a historical anomaly.(Sowell'sconclusions,
however,
definitively
suggest
thathe believesWestIndiansuccessis a permanent
historical
phenomenon,
notjustoneevidentin 1970.)
AfricanAmericansof different
Sowell also errsby comparing
in ordertotalkabouttheeffects
ofrace.
ethnicities
to one another
Thisis an errorintwosenses.First,raceandethnicity
areneither
One is a sociobiological
identicalnorinterchangeable:
phenomenonthatplacespeoplein a valuehierarchy;
theotheris a cultural
678
OF BLACKSTUDIES/MAY1997
JOURNAL
phenomenon
thatis sharedamongpeoplewhooriginate
fromthe
samegeographic
areas,andsharelanguage,customs,
and/or
other
markersof groupidentity.
Second,thateconomicprivilegeis
accordedon thebasisofracewhileone examinesonlyoneraceis
inresearchdesign.Itis misleading
tomakean error
todrawlarger
in success
implications
aboutracebymerelystudying
differences
onthebottomwithout
reference
tothegroupon
amongsubgroups
thetop.
in New York
WestIndiansare overwhelmingly
concentrated
descendants
movedtoNewYorkCity,and
City.EvenifallAfrican
facedthesameopportunity
theoretically
structures,
youwouldstill
in economicperformance
findethnicdifference
amonggroups
raciallyclassifiedas Black.To knowthis,oneneedstoknowa few
thingsaboutimmigration:
(a) thatit is selective-onlyhighly
of theirmeansor race,makeit
motivated
individuals,
regardless
intothe UnitedStates,and theyare usuallyinsertedintocities,
industries,
andjobs thatcenteranddependon immigrant
labor
(thus,noteveryonewillgetthesesamelabormarketpositions);
in a "chain!"and
followotherimmigrants
and (b) thatimmigrants
theimmigrant
"socialnetwork"
findjobs andhousingthrough
of
whichtheyaremembers
(Bryce-Laporte,
1972;Massey,Alarc6n,
Durand,& Gonzalez, 1987; Sassen, 1988, 1991). In fact,the
ofBlackimmigrants
all havetodo
selectionandsocialnetworking
withaccesstojob nichesandsocialsupport
tocopewithandadapt
to theracialstratification
theyfacewhentheyarrive.
CONCLUSION
studiesofteninvolvea comparison
ofdifferent
Migration
ethnic
in
various
social
groups'performances
processes(likeassimilation,
and socioeconomicattainment),
butrace is rarely
acculturation,
used as a macrolevelvariableto explainoutcomes.If race is
thatis used to
discussed,it is seen as an individualattribute
differential
outcomes
as
"explain"
amonggroups "evidenced"by
suchas educational
orlaborforceexpemicromeasures
attainment
Bashi,McDaniel/THEORY OF IMMIGRATION
679
rience.Whenvariousethnicgroupsofthesame race are compared,
"successes" are evident,race is not
especially when differential
seen as a relevantfactor.Strangely,thisworksuggeststhatonlyif
all groupsofthesamerace showthesame socioeconomicoutcomes
would the null hypothesis"racism and discriminationexists" be
accepted.
Pluralist argumentsthat suggest the merits of a multiethnic
societyignorethehierarchicalconceptualizationof therace issue:
theU.S. hierarRacial classificationis notvalue free.Importantly,
chyis of a dichotomousnature,whichclearlymeansthatone group
is on thebottomand anotheron top. Justas races are constructed,
so are the characteristics-physical,moral, and otherwise-that
identifythegroup.But it is a factnotonlythatracial identitygives
one a value in societybutalso thatit determinesone's life chances.
race plays
Thus, forthenew arrivalas well as forthenative-born,
or "failure."
It is, then,
one's "success"r
a rolein determining
tautological to study economic success by looking at variation
across race if the researcherdoes not acknowledgethatrace is a
macrolevel variable that determinessocioeconomic variation
among groups. Most researchersinclude race as an individual
occupation,and
attribute-likeresidence,educationalattainment,
so on-that can be controlledforwhilecomparinggroupsin a study
of socioeconomic difference.
In sum, we argue thatracial stratification
is a very important
factorin shapingthelivesofall personsdeemedBlackinthe United
States, and immigrantsfromAfrica and the Caribbean are not
exempt.Much earlierworkon AfricanAmericansand imnmigrants
of Africandescenthas failedto see thisbecause it has erredby not
several crucialfactsaboutrace and ethnicityin the
understanding
is a dichotomoushierarUnitedStates: (a) thatracial stratification
chy,and to properlystudyit, one mustlook at the social relations
between and socioeconomic outcomes for both the group that
comes out on top and the one thatis on the bottom;(b) thatrace
and ethnicityare neitheridenticalnorinterchangeable;and (c) that
immigrantslose theirethnicidentifiersas they are reconstructed
racial assimilationof immigrantsof various
intoraces; therefore,
680
JOURNALOF BLACK STUDIES /MAY 1997
ethnicgroupsis centralto the constructionof theracial hierarchy
in the UnitedStates.
NOTES
thatdescribes
thesocialconstruction
For example,
1. Theliterature
ofraceis extensive.
thatabiologicalfoundation
King's(1981) TheBiologyofRaceis agood sourcethatsuggests
is seriouslyquestionable.
fordistinct
racialcategories
Two otherbookssuggesttheidea of
has historical
raceis one thatwas constructed,
originsofa politicalandeconomicnature,
andcontinually
transformed
andexported
andwasinvented
byEuropeans.
OmiandWimant's
(1994) Racial Formationin theUnitedStates:Fromthe1960s to the1990s and St. Clair
Drake's(1990) BlackFolkHereand Thereexplainthattherearedifferent
typesofracism,
all ofwhichhavehistorical
rootsin thesocialsystemswheretheywerefound.
2. Sowell (1978) writesthat"legallyfreeNegroesaveragedbetween10 and 14 percent
oftheBlackpopulation
from1800to 1860,andtheyappearedalmostas farbackas slavery
firstcameto theUnitedStatesas otherthanslaves: 'in the
itself."Furthermore,
Africans
earliestdaysof Africanbondagein colonialAmerica-in thefirsthalfof theseventeenth
thesamestagesas Whiteindentured
century-Blackbondsmenprogressed
through
servants,
as freemenaftera fixednumberof years"(Sowell,1978,p. 9). BothWhiteand
emerging
servants
whenthefirst
Blackindentured
Blackmenservedas indentured
servants
arrived
in
Janstownin 1619. Chattelslaveryonlydevelopedin thelatterhalfofthecentury.
It was
later,too,thatracialslaverywas instituted.
3. In thisregard,Bryce-Laporte
(1972) refersto one particular
studyof 'passing"
imgrants:
blackandwhite,areawareeventhough
notpersonally
Mostimmigrants,
acquainted
andblatancyoftheraceproblemin thiscountry
relativeto their
with,theseverity
own. Hence, as Mills et al. (1950) suggested,it was forthisreasonthatmany
mixed-bloodand marginalPuertoRican blackshesitatedto have settledin this
andthatmanyoftheotherPuertoRicanswhodidsettlemayhavetriedto
country
orevennon-Puerto
Ricanswhenever
possible.(p. 42)
pass as nonblacks
See C. W. Millsetal., PuertoRicanJourney
(NewYork:OxfordUniversity
Press,1950).
4. For examplesofhowHaitianandPuertoRicanimmigrants
learntounderstand
their
race,see RodriguezandCordero-Guzman
(1992) andStafford
(1987).
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Vlna Bashi receivedherPh.D. in 1997fromtheUniversity
inNew York
is a studyofWestIndianimmigrant
social networks
Her dissertation
tostudythesocial
herwork
on WestIndians,sheis beginning
City.Whilecontinuing
Blackmigrants
to theNorth.Dr.Bashi,a postnetworks
ofearlytwentieth-century
StudiesCenter,
attheUniversity
begins
ofPennsylvania'sPopulation
doctoralfellow
University
herappointment
as an assistant
professor
ofsociologyat Northwestern
inSeptember
1997.
of
AntonioMcDaniel is an associateprofessorof sociologyat the University
and a member
His researchemphaPennsylvania
ofthePopulationStudiesCenter.
sizesAfricanpopulation
dynamics,
developedinhisbookSwingLow,SweetChariot:
CostofColonizingLiberia
He is completTheMortality
intheNineteenth-Century.
intheAmericas.
inghissecondbookonAfrican
populationdynamics