Latinos bring negative stereotypes about black Americans to the U.S. when they immigrate and identify more with whites than blacks

Kelly Gilmer:

The research also found that living in the same neighborhoods with black Americans seems to reinforce, rather than reduce, the negative stereotypes Latino immigrants have of blacks, said Paula D. McClain, a Duke University political science professor who is the study’s lead author.

McClain said the findings are significant because the South has the largest population of blacks in the U.S. and has been defined more than other regions along a black-white divide. How Latino immigrants relate to blacks and whites -- and how those groups relate to Latinos -- has implications for the social and political dynamic of the region, she said.

“Given the increasing number of Latino immigrants in the South and the possibility that over time their numbers might rival or even surpass black Americans in the region, if large portions of Latino immigrants maintain negative attitudes of black Americans, where will this leave blacks?” the researchers wrote. “Will blacks find that they must not only make demands on whites for continued progress, but also mount a fight on another front against Latinos?”

In an interview, McClain added: “We’re actually pretty depressed about a lot of our findings.”

Racial Distancing in a Southern City: Latino Immigrants’ Views of Black Americans