African Americans

Demographics

• “African American” preferred by most African Americans

• Largest ethnic minority group at 35 million or 13%  

• 96% of African Americans have ancestors brought here as slaves

Poverty and Ethnicity:
Income and Household Size

Poverty % Rates and Ethnicity

Number of Poor People by Ethnicity

Segregration in the U.S. (Farley):
Most and Least Segregated Cities

• Segregation = monoethnic housing areas

• Most segregated

– Gary, Ind.; Detroit, Cleveland, Chicago, Atlanta

• Least segregated

– Sacramento; Long Beach; Virginia Beach; Tacoma; Aurora, Colo

• Higher segregation associated with higher mortality rates for Whites and Blacks

1600s-1800s: Slavery and the Civil War

• First African Americans who came to America in 1619 were probably indentured servants, not slaves

• During the 1640s in Virginia, African servants began to be treated as slaves for life

• Slave trade abolished in 1807

• By the Civil War, 4 million slaves held by 5.5% of Whites in South

Civil War

• Civil War freed African Americans from slavery

– 86,000 African Americans served

• 1865 – Gen. Sherman ordered 40 acres and a mule to freed slaves

– Order quickly rescinded

• No formal government apology or reparations for slavery since

Racism Following the Civil War

• 1867 –Howard University established, KKK founded

• 1896 – Plessy v. Ferguson “separate but equal” Supreme Court ruling

1900s-1930s: Racism, culture, and separatism

• 1909 – NAACP formed

– Response to lynching and burning in the South and anti-black riots in the North

• Social Darwinism and eugenics movements

• Cultural developments - Harlem Renaissance in 1920s

• Separatist movement

– Marcus Garvey and W.E.B. Dubois advocated a return to Africa

1940s-1970s: Civil rights

• 1948 – Pres. Truman desegregates the military

• 1949 – Jackie Robinson -- first African American major league baseball player

• 1954 – Brown vs. the Topeka Board of Education ruled separate but equal doctrine invalid

Nonviolent Protest

• 1955 - Rosa Parks sat at the front of the colored section of a bus in Montgomery, Ala and refused to move further back for a white patron when the white section became full

– Sparked Montgomery bus boycott, led by Martin Luther King, Jr.

• 1960 -- Greensboro, NC lunch counter sit-in led to formation of SNCC 

1960s

• 1961- an integrated busload of freedom riders traveled south from Washington, DC.

– Montgomery, Alabama -- riders were beaten and the bus burned

– Attorney General Robert Kennedy sent 600 federal marshals to restore order

• 1963 -- March on Washington culminating in the “I have a dream” speech by Martin Luther King, Jr.

1960s

• Civil Rights Act of 1964- equal opportunity

– 1965 – Affirmative action legislation

• Separatism

– Black Muslims – Elijah Muhammad, Malcolm X

– Black Power – SNCC, Stokely Carmichael

– Black Panthers – vigilante group

1970s

• Momentum in early 1970s

– African American Studies departments established

– Kwanzaa established

• Decline in late 1970s

– 1978 Bakke decision

– Election of Reagan

Tuskegee Study (1932-1972)

• Study of untreated syphilis

• 600 African American men in Alabama told that they would receive treatment for “bad blood” and $ to participate

• Study investigated by DHEW in 1972

• Led to the establishment of human subjects review boards

1980s

• mid 1970s-1980: African Americans with college and graduate degrees earned more than their White counterparts

– Reverse occurred from 1981 to 1993

• Hate Crimes Act of 1989 stimulated by racism

• Political correctness

1990s

• Legislation

– 1996 Hopwood Decision

– 1996 – University of CA ends affirmative action with Prop 209

• Psychology

– Africentrism

– Multicultural movement

Core African American Values

• Interrelatedness of nature and the universe

– Egalitarian relationships between men and women

– African American women assertive

Core African American Values

• Communalism

– More person than object-centered

– Family orientation

– Child-centeredness

African American Collectivism (Oyserman et al., 2002)

African American Individualism (Oyserman et al., 2002)

Core African American Values

• Spirituality

– African religions

– Christianity

– Islam

Developmental and Family Issues

• Single parenting

• More than 25% of U.S. families are headed by a single parent

African American Single Mothers vs. Other Constellations (Zimmerman et al., 1995)

Unmarried Fathers’ Emotional Support for Children (Zimmerman et al., 1995)

Unmarried Father Involvement with Children

• Among low income, unmarried African American mothers of 3-year-olds, half of the fathers were highly involved in raising their child (Coley & Chase-Lansdale, 1999)

African Americans’ Self-Esteem
(Gray-Little & Hafdahl, 2000)

• 261 comparisons of African Americans’ and European Americans’ self-report in meta-analysis

– 500,000 particpants

• Greater African American self-esteem

• May be a result of a distinctive social identity

Racial Socialization

• 1/3 of African American parents do nothing (Thornton, 1998).

• Older African American parents may promote views of egalitarianism

• Others emphasize cultural heritage and pride

– African American parents prepare their children to cope with prejudice and discrimination more than other ethnic minority groups do (Hughes & Chen, 1999)

Racial Socialization, Achievement, and Problem Behaviors
(Caughy et al., 2002)

• 140 African American 3-4 year-olds in Baltimore

• Parent involvement

– Affection, monitoring, reasoning discipline

• Africentric home environment

– Toys, photos, clothing, household items

• Achievement

– Kauffman Assessment Battery

• Problem behaviors

– Child Behavior Checklist

Correlations of Racial Socialization, Achievement, and Problem Behaviors

Correlations Between Racist Events and Mental Health
(Fischer & Shaw, 1999)

Stress When Dealing With European Americans
(Thompson et al., 2000)

Affirmative Action and Academic Performance (Brown et al., 2000)

Affirmative Action and Academic Performance (Brown et al., 2000)

• Students who were suspicious about preferential admissions had a lower GPA

• How can the stigma of preferential admissions be removed?

Identity and Academic Achievement (Arroyo & Zigler, 1995)

• High school students

• Racelessness Scale

– Blacks aren’t discriminated against

– Blacks are responsible for their own problems

Correlations Between Racelessness and Psychological Well-Being (Arroyo & Zigler, 1995)

Can Ethnic Identity, Academic Performance, and Mental Health Coexist for African Americans?

• Present evidence that person will not be stereotyped in the particular environment (Steele et al., 1998)

• The approach resulted in improved academic performance for African Americans at the University of Michigan

African Americans in the Workplace

Ethnic Differences in Interview Evaluations (Huffcutt & Roth, 1998)

• Meta-analysis of 31 studies

– 4169 Afr Am, 6307 Eur Am, 1200 Lat Am

• 3 levels of job complexity

– Low (custodian, paper mill worker)

– Medium (marketing specialist, process technician)

– High (technical manager, nurse)

Why are Ethnic Minorities Rated More Positively in Interviews for High Skill Jobs?

• High skill jobs require more extensive background

• Fewer minorities apply for high skill jobs

– Minorities highly sought after

% of African American Applicants and Interview Ratings
(Huffcutt & Roth, 1998)

• Interviewers may be more careful about biases when there are fewer minority applicants

Workplace Standards of Competence (Biernat & Kobrynowicz, 1997)

• Undergraduates evaluate resume of an African American or European American man for an executive position

– Both candidates are college graduates, have fund-raising experience

– Rated on decision-making, interpersonal relationships, leadership, mentoring, motivation, communication, problem-solving, planning, willingness to seek assistance

• Minimum standards this person would need for the job

• Standards this person would need to demonstrate ability on the job

Workplace Standards of Competence (Biernat & Kobrynowicz, 1997)

Solo Status and Perceived Distinctiveness in Academia
(Niemann & Dovidio, 1998)

Solo Status and Job Satisfaction
(Niemann & Dovidio, 1998)

African American Women in the Workforce (Sanchez-Hucles, 1997)

• African American women are often perceived as having an advantage in the workforce because of their gender and minority status

• Black women’s advantage = White men’s disadvantage?

Actual Disadvantages for African American Women

African American Mental Health

Mental Health Services in Los Angeles County: Utilization Rates (Sue et al., 1991)

Dropout After One Treatment Session (Sue et al., 1991)

Why Do African Americans Disproportionately Drop Out of Treatment?

• Alternative sources of help

– Family members

– Friends

– Religious leaders

– Physicians

Mean Number of Treatment Sessions (Sue et al., 1991)

Treatment Outcome: Global Assessment Score

• 1-10 = Persistent danger of hurting self or others

• 41-50 = Serious symptoms (e.g., suicidal ideation) of serious impairment in social, occupational, or school functioning

• 51-60 = Moderate symptoms (e.g., flat affect, occasional panic attacks) or moderate impairment (e.g., few friends, conflicts with co-workers)

• 91-100 = Superior functioning, no symptoms

Global Assessment Score After Treatment (Sue et al., 1991)

Ethnic-Specific Mental Health Services in Los Angeles
(Takeuchi et al., 1995)

• Ethnic-specific = >50% of clients from one minority group (N = 18 programs)

• Mainstream = >50% European American clients (N = 36 programs)

• Ethnic matching of clients and therapists

Dropout % After One Session (Takeuchi et al., 1995)

Global Assessment Score After Treatment (Takeuchi et al., 1995)

Why is Ethnic Matching Beneficial?

• Ethnic match vs. cultural match