A “Mulatto Escape Hatch” in the United States? Examining Evidence of Racial and Social Mobility During the Jim Crow Era

Abstract

Racial distinctions in the United States have long been characterized as uniquely rigid and governed by strict rules of descent, particularly along the black-white boundary. This is often contrasted with countries, such as Brazil, that recognize "mixed" or intermediate racial categories and allow for more fluidity or ambiguity in racial classification. Recently released longitudinal data from the IPUMS Linked Representative Samples, and the brief inclusion of a "mulatto" category in the U.S. Census, allow us to subject this generally accepted wisdom to empirical test for the 1870-1920 period. We find substantial fluidity in black-mulatto classification between censuses-including notable "downward" racial mobility. Using person fixed-effects models, we also find evidence that among Southern men, the likelihood of being classified as mulatto was related to intercensal changes in occupational status. These findings have implications for studies of race and inequality in the United States, cross-national research on racial classification schemes in the Americas, and for how demographers collect and interpret racial data.

America’s Churning Races: Race and Ethnicity Response Changes Between Census 2000 and the 2010 Census

“…There was some response churning between single-race white and single-race black responses (as found in historical data by Saperstein and Gullickson (2013) and Loveman and Muniz (2007)). …”

“…Using the limited data available, other scholars have raised important questions and given helpful insights (e.g., DeFina and Hannon 2016; Guo et al 2014; Harris and Sim 2002; Liebler and Ortyl 2014; Loveman and Muniz 2007; Saperstein and Gullickson 2013; Saperstein and Penner 2012, 2014). Previous empirical studies have been constrained in their ability to give information about all types of people in the United States.…”

“…Previous empirical studies have been constrained in their ability to give information about all types of people in the United States. In quantitative studies, sample sizes have inhibited investigation of dynamics within smaller response groups (particularly American Indians, Pacific Islanders, and double minorities; e.g., DeFina and Hannon 2016; Saperstein and Penner 2012), cohort-specific studies have focused attention on a limited range of ages (e.g., Harris and Sim 2002; Saperstein and Penner 2014), analyses of cross-sectional data have revealed net changes but not flow or churn (e.g., Liebler and Ortyl 2014; Perez and Hirschman 2009), and publicly available linked census data is from a century ago (Loveman and Muniz 2007; Saperstein and Gullickson 2013). Qualitative studies necessarily focus on particular populations (e.g., Rockquemore 1998; Sturm 2011).…”

Interrogando la gramática racial de la blanquitud: Hacia una analítica del blanqueamiento en el orden racial colombiano

“…Para este análisis también incorporamos dentro de este grupo a los individuos que se autoidentificaron como palenqueros y raizales. Aquellas personas que se identificaron como mulatas no fueron agregadas a esta categoría debido a que la literatura sobre el blanqueamiento aborda el concepto de la ventana de escape del mulato para dar cuenta de la existencia de un estatus intermedio entre personas blancas y negras en países como Brasil (Degler 1986), Colombia (Wade 1993) y los Estados Unidos (Saperstein y Gullickson 2013). Nos interesa analizar especialmente el rol de las categorías intermedias de autoreconocimiento étnico-racial (mulata y mestiza) en un contexto en el que ha primado la ideología del mestizaje.…”

How Much Does Physical Attractiveness Matter for Blacks? Linking Skin Color, Physical Attractiveness, and Black Status Attainment

“…It has also been observed that colorism, a system of racial stratification and social privilege that favors light complexion over dark complexion, plays a central role in defining standards of beauty for African Americans (hereafter blacks) (Harvey et al 2005;Maddox and Gray 2002;Thompson and Keith 2001). Numerous studies have shown the many ways in which colorism affects the African American community (Hannon et al 2013;Hochschild and Weaver 2007;Saperstein and Gullickson 2013;Ryabov 2013).…”