Extending the Debate over Nationalism Versus Integration: How Cultural Commitments and Assimilation Trajectories Influence Beliefs About Black Power

Abstract

This paper revisits the longstanding ideological debate over black nationalism versus inter-racial integration. Survey research in this area concentrates on various concerns related to black nationalism. Consequently, scholars know very little about the relative effects of factors influencing the broader variation in beliefs about Black Power. The present study addresses this gap in the literature in several ways, most notably by testing predictions deriving from the Investment in Blackness Hypothesis. This new assimilation-based theory of adult African American identity posits that cultural commitments and assimilation trajectories drive contrasting levels of support for black nationalism and inter-racial integration. Findings from the 1997 Survey of Chicago African Americans are largely consistent with the investment thesis. The implications of the results are discussed, as well as the study's limitations and suggestions for future research.

Get Up, Get Out, and Git Sumthin’

“…This finding-that an elevated class position encourages attitudinal intricacies and inconsistencies in Black political and social thought-is common to the existing literature (Anderson, 1999;Dawson, 2001;Lacy, 2007;Patillo, 2003;Pew, 2007;Shelton & Emerson, 2010;Shelton & Wilson, 2009). Blacks in the second highest (OR = 0.88) and highest (OR = 0.83) income categories are more likely to declare the equality of opportunity in America, whereas those with at least some college (OR = 1.28), a college degree (OR = 1.31), and/or a graduate degree (OR = 1.32) are less likely to do so.…”

“…For several decades now, both nationally representative and local area studies have shown that most Americans attribute poverty to individual-level factors. This idea, which is known as structuralism, posits that the American social "system"-or the way that our society's institutions, patterns of relationships, and dynamics of status are organized-constrains opportunities for some people while simultaneously enhancing them for others (Emerson & Smith, 2000;Feagin, 1975;Huber & Form, 1973;Hunt, 1996Hunt, , 2007Shelton & Emerson, 2010;Smith, 1985;Robinson, 2009). 2 However, many Americans believe that factors beyond a person's control strongly influence his or her prospects for success.…”

“…Blacks in the second highest (OR = 0.88) and highest (OR = 0.83) income categories are more likely to declare the equality of opportunity in America, whereas those with at least some college (OR = 1.28), a college degree (OR = 1.31), and/or a graduate degree (OR = 1.32) are less likely to do so. A number of studies have shown that higher levels of income and educational attainment can differentially impact beliefs about inequality: The former tends to wield a conservatizing influence, whereas the latter can sometimes wield a liberalizing influence (Huber & Form, 1973;Hunt, 1996Hunt, , 2004Robinson, 2009;Shelton & Emerson, 2010;Smith, 1985;Wilson, 1996). Such intragroup conflicts are a product of minority group members' increased awareness of and participation in the American mainstream (Alba & Nee, 2003;Gordon, 1964;Portes & Rumbaut, 2001;Shelton, 2008;Steinberg, 1981).…”

A Dream Deferred?

“…My coding scheme for these predictors is pivotal: income and education are examined as a series of dummy variables so as to isolate socioeconomic effects for respondents positioned at some of the highest levels of the American class structure. I did not develop a composite measure for socioeconomic status or examine income and education as continuous variables because studies have shown that these approaches can conceal the class-based nuances of higher status Blacks' beliefs (Shelton and Emerson, 2010;Shelton and Wilson, 2009). Regarding income, I established cutoff points on the REALINC variable based on poverty level and median household income data to capture the distribution of respondents with incomes in the "lowest category," "second lowest category," "middle category," "second highest category," and "highest category."…”

What About Disillusionment? Exploring the Pathways to Black Nationalism

“…It seems less likely, for example, that Blacks who were socialized in affluent and politically conservative households will feel strongly connected to the majority of Black America, which does not share their economic and political backgrounds (see McClerking 2001, Chap. 2;Shelton and Emerson 2009). It is also possible that some Blacks will reject linked fate because they subscribe to the more individualistic belief that they alone are the masters of their destiny (McClain et al 2009).…”