3
Notably absent from these discussions has been close attention to the economic
environment as a factor contributing to fears of black displacement (but see Oliver and Wong
2003). Yet insofar as tensions between blacks and Latinos emanate from a clash of material
interests and from feelings of material vulnerability, we might reasonably expect economic
conditions to shape relations between the two groups. The level and the distribution of economic
resources in an area have direct implications for the socio-economic well-being and future socio-
economic mobility of individuals. With the narrow emphasis on the relative size of groups,
scholars have largely ignored the potential fears and anxieties generated by conditions of
material scarcity and by disparities in the economic status, and not simply the size, of racial and
ethnic groups.
With those issues in mind, I consider how black racial attitudes vary across economic
environments. In this article, I distinguish between the effects associated with the material
condition of neighborhoods and those associated with the material conditions of group life.
Drawing on a multilevel dataset of individual racial attitudes and neighborhood characteristics,
the analysis reveals that the relative economic status of racial groups is an important influence on
black attitudes, more important than either the relative size of groups or the aggregate level of
resources in a community. In environments where Latinos are economically advantaged relative
to their black neighbors, African Americans are not only more likely to harbor negative
stereotypes about Latinos, they are also more reluctant to extend to Latinos the same policy
benefits they themselves enjoy. While the results suggest that diversity without conflict is
possible, they also make clear that the prospects for inter-group comity will depend on some
resolution of blacks’ economic insecurities. I elaborate on these political implications in the
conclusion.
Convention