2005 Poverty Research Small Grants
Funded research
The Incidence of Poverty across Three Generations of Black And White Immigrants in the Post -Civil Rights Era: Assessing the Impacts of Race, Ethnicity, and Community.
Amon Emeka, Assistant Professor of Sociology, University of Southern California.
Description
This project examines the likelihood of poverty among three generations of Black and White immigrant and natives to answer the question, to what extent have Black immigrants become Black American in terms of their socioeconomic profile? The achievements of Black immigrants are remarkable when compared to those of other Black people-mostly descendents of the American enslaved-but can Black immigrants pass these advantages along to their children and grandchildren?
The proposed study employs 2000 U.S. census data to identify and compare the prevalence of poverty across three generations of Black people in the U.S., in search of differences between those of involuntary and voluntary immigrant stock. There is reason to believe that the much noted Black immigrant advantages over Black descendents of the American enslaved may be confined to the first generation. Tracking poverty across three generations will allow for a definitive answer to this question.
Using logistic regression techniques, the study will also ascertain the net effects of linguistic, regional, national origins on the incidence of poverty as a first step in identifying the mechanisms facilitating any observe Black immigrant advantage. The effects of residence in Black areas and/or coethnic areas will also be measured in the analysis.
Most importantly, this study will compare the Black immigrants to White immigrants-a crucial referent that has been overlooked by nearly all previous studies of the Black immigrants. Doing so will provide for firm conclusions regarding the salience of race, ethnicity, linguistic heritage, regional and national origins, and segregation in shaping patterns of poverty among immigrant and native populations in the U.S.
Results yielded by this research may shed light on all manner of policy aimed at reducing poverty and/or aiding immigrant adaptation. By identifying particular racial, linguistic, regional or national origins groups who are doing poorly we are in a better position to address their particular problems. Findings of this study may be brought to bear on discussions of whether Blacks and immigrants need to change in order to better their station, or American institutions (i.e., the real estate industry, employers, and external oversight thereof) need to change, or both.
