Durability and Variability in Racial Inequalities: Mapping the Dynamics of Racial Relations in the U.S. States 1990-2012

Sarah K. Bruch, University of Iowa
Joe Soss, University of Minnesota

In this paper, we develop a more relational approach to understanding racial inequalities and specifying how racial group positions matters for understanding politics and policies. We draw on constructivist, relational, and positional theories of race to conceptualize two dimensions of racial relations – exclusion and subordination. We present unique measures of these two dimensions of relative racial group positions for Blacks, Latinos, and whites using aggregate state-level data from a variety of sources including the U.S. Census and the Annual Social and Economic Supplement to the Current Population Survey. Using these measures of relative group position, we provide a descriptive analysis examining the patterning of relative racial positions for Blacks, Latinos, and whites across the American states from 1990 to 2012.