Latino Group Consciousness and Perceptions of Commonality with African Americans^*

Abstract

Objective. Currently, Latinos and African Americans constitute more than one-quarter of the U.S. population. The sheer size of these groups suggests an opportunity for increased political influence, with this opportunity providing the incentive for greater social and political interaction between them. The objective of this article is to determine the role of Latino group consciousness in the formation of attitudes toward African Americans. Methods. Utilizing data from the 1999 Washington Post/Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation National Survey on Latinos, a multivariate ordered logit model is employed to test the relationship between Latino group consciousness and perceptions of commonality with African Americans. Results. Results show that group consciousness in the form of Latino internal commonality and perceived discrimination are contributors to Latino perceptions of commonality with African Americans. Conclusion. This analysis demonstrates that before any meaningful political alliances can be formed between the nation's two largest minority groups, Latinos may need to develop strong levels of panethnic identity.

Race, partisanship, and perceptions of inter-minority commonality

“…One subjective perception of intergroup relations that seems particularly important for the success of biracial coalitions between blacks and Latinos is the belief that the two groups share something in common -typically referred to as "commonality" (Kauffmann 2003;McClain et al 2006;Rodrigues and Segura 2003;Sanchez 2008;Wilkinson and Earle 2012). Given the importance that perceptions of commonality are presumed to have for biracial coalitions, it is unsurprising that a large body of work has emerged on the individual-level determinants of Latino perceptions of commonality with African-Americans.…”

“…Given the importance that perceptions of commonality are presumed to have for biracial coalitions, it is unsurprising that a large body of work has emerged on the individual-level determinants of Latino perceptions of commonality with African-Americans. Relying primarily on cross-sectional survey data, these studies demonstrate that factors such as greater contact with African-Americans (McClain et al 2006), darker skin tone (Wilkinson and Earle 2012), racial identification as black (Kauffmann 2003), greater acculturation (Sanchez 2008), and stronger perceptions of Latino group consciousness (Sanchez 2008) lead Latinos to perceive more in common with African-Americans.…”

Trauma, Shared Recognition and Indigenous Resistance on Social media

“…Many scholars also claim that in-group consciousness leads to increased political participation (Sanchez 2006;Sanchez & Vargas 2016), and support for coalitions with other racial/ethnic groups (Kaufman 2003;Sanchez 2008;Uhlaner 1991). Therefore, even as one sees differences between one's own group victimisation and another's, if similarities in victimisation or disadvantage exist, groups can feel a sense of linked fate to the group to which one does not belong thereby invoking a kind of group-based victim consciousness and more importantly, a sense of collective traumatisation (Volhardt 2009;Volhardt 2010;Volhardt 2012).…”

Intraminority Support for and Participation in Race-Based Collective Action Movements: An Intersectional Perspective

“…Additionally, group consciousness is an important predictor of intergroup attitudes (Masuoka, 2006;Sanchez, 2008) and collective action (Dawson, 1994;Tate, 1994) above and beyond being a member of an oppressed group. Incorporating evidence of the role of social group membership, it is predicted that modern racism mediates the effects of intersecting identities on 1) support for protests and collective action movements, along with 2) participation in these movements (H2a).…”

“…For African Americans, group consciousness has repeatedly been found to be a significant predictor of own-group political participation (Dawson, 1994;Pinderhughes, 1987;Tate, 1994). Using secondary data from the 1999 National Survey on Latinos, group consciousness, which was comprised of perceived own-group discrimination, among other factors, played a significant role in Latinos' perceptions of commonality with African Americans (Sanchez, 2008). Similarly, analyzing data from the 2000 Pilot National Asian American Political Survey and the 1999 National Survey on Latinos, perceived own-group racial discrimination was a significant predictor of panethnic consciousness towards the other group for both Asian American and Latino American respondents (Masuoka, 2006).…”