Suchergebnisse

Out of what some call America's first truly multiracial riot in Los Angeles in 1992 was spawned a clarion call from Black newspapers to build an interminority alliance to avert a repeat performance. This article examines whether and how the Los Angeles Sentinel changed its coverage of Black–Asian American relations in the years after 1992. Using Ethnic NewsWatch, the author analyzed 102 articles published from 1993 to 2000 that included some discussion about that connection. Several things stand out: (a) The Sentinel's reporting for that period almost tripled output from all Black newspapers for 1980-1992; (b) the focus and breadth of coverage changed, from highlighting enmity between Korean (American) merchants and Blacks to emphasizing interminority collaboration and inclusion in a wide range of settings; and (c) rarely noted were intimate relationships and personal ties. The Sentinel provides proof that news organizations can significantly improve their coverage of race relations very quickly.

Most research on interracial couples, families, children, and individuals have tended to focus on Black-White, Asian-White, and minority-majority combinations. Moreover, early studies have focused on the problematic social and psychological adjustments of Amerasian individuals and their families. In addition to the maladjustments of racial strife and personal identity struggles, Amerasians also have to contend with the legacy of war, military occupation, poverty, and social and ecological devastation. Thus, these compounded problems have been treated as possessing permanent, irreparable, and debilitating effects on the racial esteem and ethnic identity development of Amerasian individuals and families. The Afro-Amerasian's multiple marginalized social status has been assumed to problematize further their already "troubled" identities. However, new research has indicated that Afro-Amerasians, despite their multiple minority status in the United States and the sociopolitical conditions in Asia, have responded to their social circumstances with resilience and have constructed a variety of personal and social identities in which race and ethnicity play a critical part. It is precisely their multiple marginalized social status that makes them an important Amerasian subpopulation. The personal identity struggles and resolutions that Afro-Amerasian individuals undergo within themselves, within their families, and within their social groups can be seen as analogous to what socially defined racial and ethnic groups face on a structural inter-group level. There is much sociological insight to be gained from studying and understanding the Afro-Amerasian.

Sociodemographic correlates of the use of emergency rooms for nonemergency health conditions were examined among black adults, using data from the National Medical Care Utilization and Expenditure Survey. Multivariate analysis revealed that marital status, the emergency room as a usual source of care, and health condition were determinants of choosing the emergency room as a source of medical care. The use of multivariate analysis extends previous work in this area. Implications for future research on determinants of emergency room use are discussed.

African American and Black Caribbean relations are described as strained. Standard portrayals of Black Caribbeans as a "model minority" that has effectively assimilated into the American landscape often make explicit their distinctiveness from and enmity toward African Americans. Analysis using National Survey of American Life data ( N = 6,082), exploring the nature and correlates of intergroup perceptions, reveals that both groups characterize their mutual relationships as being close. Gender and region of residence influence African American feelings of closeness toward Black Caribbeans, while for Black Caribbeans, perceived discrimination was significantly associated with feelings of closeness to African Americans. Black Caribbean immigrants from Spanish-speaking countries and Haiti felt closer to African Americans than did Jamaicans. In addition, foreign-born Black Caribbeans (first generation) felt closer to Black people from the Caribbean than second-generation Black Caribbeans. These and other findings are discussed in relation to research on intergroup closeness among African Americans and Black Caribbeans.

This study examines African Americans', Black Caribbeans', and non-Hispanic Whites' perceptions of closeness to other racial and ethnic groups. The study uses data from a national probability sample, the National Survey of American Life ( N = 6,082), and provides the first investigation of this topic among Black Caribbeans. Study findings reveal both similarities and significant differences between African Americans and Black Caribbeans in their levels of closeness to other groups. African Americans and Black Caribbeans were similar in their levels of closeness to Whites, American Indians, and Asian Americans. African Americans felt significantly closer to Black people in the United States than did Black Caribbeans. Conversely, Black Caribbeans felt significantly closer than African Americans to Black people from the Caribbean, Spanish-speaking people, and Black people in Africa. Non-Hispanic Whites felt significantly closer to Asian Americans than did either African Americans or Black Caribbeans. These and other findings are discussed in detail and reaffirm the continued importance of race in American life and intergroup relations.