SOCIAL INTERACTION

Making Contact? Black-White Social Interaction in an Urban Setting

Making Contact? Black-White Social Interaction in an Urban Setting

Although numerous studies have examined the consequences of social contact between black and white Americans, relatively little is known about the determinants of such contact. Drawing on a survey of residents of the Detroit area, this article probes to what extent and in what manner interracial contact (a) has changed over the past quarter century and (b) is shaped by propinquity and personal characteristics. Interracial contact is more common than it was during the late 1960s, specially for whites, but still consists primarily of brief, superficial encounters. For whites, the quantity and quality of contact with blacks are determined primarily by propinquity. For blacks, pace of residence matters less, and early childhood experiences matter more.

This study examines how white males think about and experience situations involving those of other races, specifically African Americans. Interviews with white males reveal that, what I call, white racial reasoning is employed to think about issues regarding race. Today, white racial reasoning is emblematic of the “new racism” which is more subtle than, but still shaped by traditional forms of racism. This allows those that employ the “new” or “colorblind” forms of racism to rationalize racist beliefs as just. These respondents are also able to employ contextual reasoning, using history and context to reason about race, while simultaneously using subtle, yet traditional racist beliefs in that reasoning. I discuss subjects' thinking about race as existing on a continuum comprised of three different constructs of white racial reasoning. Two polar constructs are given brief attention while a middle construct is given extensive focus due to its ambiguous nature. Such a continuum recognizes that subjects are able to organize their thinking about race into patterns that are both contextual and color ...