Intra- and Inter-group Identity
POL 168
Latino Politics
Prof. B. Jones
Topics for Today
• Group identity
– We’ll return to the concept of pan-ethnicity
– Consider mobilization efforts
– And then consider inter-group
commonality/competition
• Latino Commonality
– Why care about it?
Latino Identity
• Kaufmann article
– Importance of Latino “Affinity” or feelings of
Pan-Ethnicity
– Commonality within
• Some Data Analysis
– 2006 Latino National Survey
• Latinos’ sense of commonality with
“Latinos”
Latino Commonality
Latino “Linked Fate”
• Why might Latinos have a sense of “linked
fate”?
– First off, what is it??
– Does the concept apply to Latinos
• 2006 LNS Data
– How much does “doing well” depend on other
Latinos also doing well?
Linked Fate
Latino Linked Fate
Do Latinos see their futures, and those of their national origin group,
linked to that of other Latinos? YES
Mex
indiv.
Mex
group
Cuban
indiv.
Cuban
group
PR
indiv.
PR
group
Nothing
14.3
7.1
18.4
13.4
22.1
11.3
Little
15.3
13.2
11.9
8.6
15.3
14.1
Some
24.6
25.8
20.5
22.2
21.7
28.5
A Lot
39.2
46.8
36.3
43.7
34.1
38.5
How much does your “doing well” depend on other Latinos/Hispanics also
doing well? How much does [national origin] “doing well” …?
Contributing Factors to Latino Linked Fate
Perceived commonality1
•
•
•
•
•
•
Nativity
Language Use
Linked fate w/ African. Amer.
Partisan Identity
Linked fate w/ Latinos
Race/ethnicity of co-workers
1
Latino Linked Fate
67.4/62.9
67.9/61.7
74.3/58.6
74.5/61.2
73.7/46.1
66.6/63.3
The set of percentages represents Latino respondents who indicated some or a
lot of commonality for native/foreign born, English/Spanish speakers. For the
linked fate percentages, it is some/a lot vs. little/nothing. For partisan, it is
partisans vs. non-partisans. And coworkers represent mixed group of coworkers
vs. only Latinos.
Levels of Pan Ethnicity and Connectedness
Of One’s Subgroup to Other Latinos
• One-half of LNS Latinos perceive a lot of
commonalities with one’s group and other Latinos
• Stronger pan-ethnic identifiers are more inclined to
see this connection.
• Over three- fourths of the combined stronger panethic identifiers see their own national origin group
as having a similar fate with other Latinos
•
(This slide is a part of an LNS ppt)
Linked Fate
• Note differences by US born vs. non-US
born
• High level? Low level?
• Implications of Pan-Ethnic Identity…?
Pan-Ethnic Identity and Participation
(in percentages)
Weak Latino
Strong Latino
All
Identity
Identity
Very Interested
in politics
27
30
27
Contacts officials
42
44
42
Asked to Vote/
Give $
40
39
33
Registered
78
80
78
Voted
62
67
62
Voted for Kerry
54
48
55
Voted for Bush
40
45
40
Question: In general, how strongly or not do you think of yourself as Hispanic or Latino? Weak = Not at
all or Not very Strongly; Strong = Somewhat Strongly or Very Strongly? (This slide is from LNS
ppt)
American Identity and Participation
(in percentages)
Latino
Identity
National Origin
Identity
American
Identity
Very Interested
in politics
21
23
39
Contacts officials
38
39
52
Asked to Vote/
Give $
29
28
47
Registered
77
72
88
Voted
59
55
75
Voted for Kerry
55
57
50
Voted for Bush
38
39
45
Question: Of the three previous terms, Latino/Hispanic, (selected national origin descriptor), or
American, which best describes you?
Pan-Ethnicity
• Attempts to foster pan-ethnicity—which
presumably would foster perceptions of
shared fate—have been widespread.
• Quick History Lesson
Mobilization and Organization
• Southwest Council of La Raza now…
• National Council on La Raza:
http://www.nclr.org/
• Mexican American Legal Defense and
Education Fund
http://www.maldef.org/
Two recent examples
Historical Groups
• Orden de Los Hijos de Americana
• La Alianza HispanoAmericano
– 19th century groups
• Focus in the southwest and was on
Mexicanos
• Population in-flux in early 20c prompted
emergence of other groups.
• 1927 League of United Latin American
Citizens (LULAC)
LULAC
• Website: http://lulac.org/
• Promoted cultural assimilation (language
acquisition) and started the Little Schools
of the 400 program (1950s)
• Nonpartisan advocacy organization
• Mass-based membership (Latinos
generally)
• There are group-specific organizations
Groups within Political Institutions
• Congressional Hispanic Caucus
• National Association of Latino Elected and
Appointed Officials (NALEO)
–
–
–
–
http://www.naleo.org/
Formed in 1976
About 6000 members
Goals? Aims?
• Southwest Voter Registration and Education
Project (SVREP)
– http://www.svrep.org/
Back to Intergroup Relations
• Concerted effort to foster pan-ethnic
“feelings” within the Latino community.
• But to what extent do Latinos sense
commonality with other groups?
• Whites, blacks, Asians specifically?
• Why should we care?
• Offers evidence, among other things, for
or against claims of black-brown divide.
• Relevant questions:
Inter-Group Relations
How do Latinos View their Political Interests vis-à-vis African
Americans and Whites?
Are there some characteristics about Latinos that facilitate
positive views toward other groups?
Do Latino national sub-groups see themselves as connected
to other Latino sub-groups?
Do Latinos believe that their collective future is linked to that of
African Americans? To other Latinos?
(This slide taken from LNS Presentation)
Latinos’ Communities of Residence and
Inter-Group Connections
A RECENT INGREDIENT TO THE INTER-GROUP MIX:
The Latino population, particularly immigrants, has
moved beyond such traditional states as California,
Texas, and New York to establish a considerable and
increasing presence in such states as Arkansas,
Georgia, Iowa and North Carolina.
These latter states -- Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa and North
Carolina – are also states that had previously had little
experience with immigrants and/or have substantially
large African-American populations. Also the majority
“Anglo” population have less familiarity with Latinos.
Latinos Seeing Commonalities
with Other Groups
•
Response Choices: nothing, little, some, a lot, DK/NA
• Question: Thinking about issues like job opportunities, educational
attainment or income, how much do [selected ethnic term] have in
common with other racial groups in the United States today? Would
you say [selected ethnic term] have
….. in common with African Americans
Results:
• In all 7 states (mentioned on previous slide) more respondents say
“some” or “a lot”-- ranging from 46% to 57% -- than say “nothing” or
“little.”
• However, in the 4 “emerging states” 50 percent or less of
respondents say “some” or “a lot,” while more in the other states say
“some” or “a lot”: CA (51%), TX (52 %), NY (57%)
Commonality and Competition
• Minority politics often centers on
competition
– Scare Resources
• Jobs
• Services
• Recall C. Gay article
• Let’s consider commonality with the LNS
data
– “How much do Latinos have in common with
other racial groups in the US?
Commonality: SES Issues
Extent of Commonality among Latinos regarding their
political situation with African Americans and Whites
Latinos in National
Latino Survey
Commonality with
African Americans
Commonality with
Whites
Colombians (139)
49.6
41.7
Cubans (419)
51.3
49.9
Dominicans (335)
52.8
43.3
El Salvadorans (406)
45.3
40.9
Guatemalans (149)
40.9
39.6
Mexicans (5690)
46.9
42.6
Puerto Ricans (759)
60.6
47.7
Latino Sub-Groups
1
2
The numbers in the parentheses represent the number of respondents in that category
The operational definition for the foreign-born includes all persons born outside the U.S.,
including being born in Puerto Rico.
Commonality: Political Situation
Commonality
• What do we learn?
• Be sure to know the take-away points from
those slides…the relevance of them.
• Now let’s turn to competition.
• A motivating argument for the black-brown
divide has centered on competition.
• But competition for what?
• The black-brown divide (?)
Intergroup Relations
• Black-Brown Divide
– Does it Exist?
– What is it?
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BBT9
mtmDBA (go to 1:59; nice summary of
some arguments underlying the “divide”)
• Evidence for it? Source of concern?
Black-Brown Divide
•
•
•
•
Fear of Displacement
Loss of being dominant Outgroup
Economic Factors?
This is the premise of C. Gay’s article (which you
MUST read)
• What is her argument?
• “Black economic insecurities” (p. 983)
• Economic Resources and Material Well Being
Strongly related to Latino judgement
Black-Brown Divide
• The “divide” has implications
– Discriminatory Behavior
– Policy Consequences
• Efforts to “bridge the gap” have been
important
• Intragroup Mobilization
– Kaufmann paper (2003)
• Main findings?
Competition
• Consider some LNS data
• Do you “believe there is strong
competition, weak competition, or no
competition at all with African-Americans?”
Competition
Commonality and Competition
• Take away points?
• Patterns?
• Differences attributable to US born vs.
not?
• What about black-brown divide?
• “Linked fate” and Latino/Blacks
• LNS data
Concept of “Linked Fate” with Others:
African Americans and Latinos
Question:
How much does [Latinos] doing well depend on African Americans
doing well?
Results:
Percent saying “some” or “a lot” in 4 emerging states ranges from
58% (NC) to 65% (AR).
Plot of Data by birthplace (next slide)
Is “doing better” linked to blacks
doing better?
How much does Latinos doing well depend on
African Americans doing well?
Latinos in National
Latino Survey
Linked Fate with African Americans
Latino Sub-Groups
1
2
Colombians (139)
66.9
Cubans (419)
61.3
Dominicans (335)
72.2
El Salvadorans (406)
68.2
Guatemalans (149)
64.4
Mexicans (5690)
62.4
Puerto Ricans (759)
61.8
The numbers in the parentheses represent the number of respondents in that
category
The operational definition for the foreign-born includes all persons born outside the
U.S., including being born in Puerto Rico.
Linked Fate?
• What is the take-away point?
• Kaufmann argument relevant?
• But the real question is: why do we care
about this question?
• Or perhaps, why would we ever expect
“linked fate”?