Race, Representation, and Mundane Anti-Black Discrimination in the United States

• In Event: Enhancing Pluralism by Understanding Systemic Biases

Abstract

Authors: Ray Block, Charles Crabtree, John Holbein, and Quin Monson
Abstract: In this article, we present the results from a novel large-scale field experiment designed to measure racial bias among the American public. We conducted the first audit study on the public---sending correspondence to 250,000 citizens randomly-drawn from voter registration lists. Our within-subjects experimental design tested the public's responsiveness to simple requests for help with completing a simple task from either an ostensibly Black or an ostensibly White sender. We show clearly that in everyday interactions, on average, the public systematically discriminates against Black people. Our results give us a snapshot into a subtle, but pernicious, form of racial bias that is systemic in the United State. This form of what we term everyday or ``papercut'' discrimination occurs among all racial/ethnic subgroups, outside of Black people themselves. We benchmark this type of discrimination among the public to that shown among their elected officials and show that politicians are just as discriminatory as the constituents they serve. Our results provide a window into the discrimination that Black people in this country face in day-to-day interactions with their fellow citizens by providing clear and concrete evidence from a nationally-representative study that Black people face substantial levels of papercut discrimination. Our results also show that in our contemporary society, elected officials have strong incentives to mirror the patterns of discrimination that their constituents themselves demonstrate.

Authors

• Ray Block, Penn State University

• Charles David Crabtree, Dartmouth College

• John Holbein, University of Virginia

• Quin Monson, Brigham Young University