Borders and Boundaries: A New Survey of Racial and Ethnic Measurement and Inequality

• In Event: 064 - Regular Session. Race/Ethnicity: Marking Boundaries, Making Statistics

Abstract

We will present results from a new 2015 representative survey of Texas residents, never before presented to a national audience. In the contemporary context of rapidly changing racial and ethnic demographics in the United States and especially in the states that border Mexico, understanding the implications of these demographic changes for racial attitudes and perceptions of inequality is central to many research and policy goals. Our new evidence shows how residents of a state at the leading edge of these changes perceive those demographic shifts. With a sample of N=1,322 White, African American and Latino/a respondents, we use the 2015 Borders and Boundaries survey of Texas residents to test how racial attitudes, perceived discrimination and ways of describing racial and ethnic identities vary across contexts and ethnic groups. Using a range of measures such as self-identification, skin tone, and how the respondent believes they are racially perceived by others, we test how racial attitudes and experiences of discrimination vary between and within racial and ethnic groups. We will conclude our presentation with a description of how researchers from around the country can become involved in future waves of the data collection, with opportunities to partner with the Race and Ethnicity Studies Institute at Texas A&M University to add topical modules.

Authors

• Mary Elizabeth Campbell, Texas A&M University

• Verna M. Keith, Texas A&M University