Anti-Black Prejudice in Asian American Public Opinion

• In Event: Attitudes Toward Social Groups

Abstract

Despite the growing size and political relevance of the Asian American population, existing research provides limited insight into how anti-black prejudice shapes Asian American public opinion. Using the 2004 National Politics Survey and the 2012 and 2014 Cooperative Congressional Election Study (CCES) – three surveys that include large samples of Asian Americans, measures of anti-black prejudice, and questions about implicitly and explicitly racial policy attitudes – I find that Asian Americans are more racially sympathetic and more liberal on racial policies than whites. However, associations between racial prejudice and political attitudes remain significant for Asian Americans, though they are generally weaker than comparable associations for whites. The results suggest that racial resentment will continue to shape the American public opinion even as demographic forecasts show the United States becoming a majority-minority nation by the 2040s.

Author

• Matthew Tokeshi, Williams College