Race and the “I Have a Dream” Legacy

Abstract

In the study reported here, the author had two objectives: (1) to test the relationship between racial attitudes toward Blacks and attitudes toward civil rights and (2) to find predictors of positive civil rights attitudes. Using multivariate regression modeling, the author finds that there is a positive relationship between racial attitudes toward Blacks and attitudes toward civil rights. The model also suggests a positive relationship between ideological proximity, or how close one feels to Blacks, and attitudes toward civil rights. In addition, the author finds that political party identification, age, education, gender, racial identification, and region of residence are all significant predictors of positive civil rights attitudes. The final model has an explained variance of 19%, thus calling for additional research in this area.