Abstract
Even though the opinion of white Americans regarding African Americans has changed since the post World War II era, common misperceptions about African Americans have not disappeared from American society. In Winston-Salem, many of the old misperceptions and racist opinions about African Americans that prevailed in the pre WW II era continue to thrive alongside new patterns of prejudice. Evidence from this research suggest that a minority of the white residents hold favorable or sympathetic opinions such as the call for equitable distribution of opportunities and burdens; by contrast a majority are either “prejudiced” or “ambivalent” regarding their opinions on certain issues about African Americans. The intolerance of those deemed “prejudiced” are fuelled by misperceptions and ethnocentrism while the prejudicial sentiments of the “ambivalent” stemmed from their own insecurities triggered by the fluid social, economic and political environment in Winston-Salem. In the final analysis, white prejudice against African Americans provided a basis for understanding racial inequalities in Winston-Salem.
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Notes
Historical information in this section comes from the Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce and documents obtained from the Winston-Salem Business Inc.
The first African American police officer in Winston-Salem—John Joyce—was hired in 1941; even so, he was not allowed to wear a uniform (City Archives).
This measures the opportunity of people to provide themselves with material goods, positive living conditions, and favorable life experiences.
This confirms findings in many US metropolitan areas where African Americans attend virtually all-African American schools while whites attend school in the affluent white suburb.
In this scenario, interviewees were asked for names of their friends, kin and co-workers who were then interviewed.
Out of the 22 questionnaires that were given out in this manner, only nine were mailed back to the researcher.
This is because Salem College where the researcher was teaching at the time of research was an all-female school.
In designing these questions the paper benefited from a similar study by Grayson (1995). “The Attitudes of White Torontonians to Visible Minorities,” Institute of Social Research, York University, Toronto.
Respondents were informed that “same amount of available benefits and burdens” implies that all people in Winston-Salem have about the same access to public resources and responsibilities regardless of economic status or race. Further, social equality implies that access to core institutional resources such as education, accommodation, healthcare and employment along with civil obligations such as tax and obedience to the law must be unconditioned by income or wealth.
African Americans in America have undergone a distinctive experience that has given rise to a culture that embodies previous African values, subordination under slavery, African American consciousness and Anglo-American values.
At the time of writing the unemployment rate in Forsyth County was averaging nearly 6% (Craver 2003). Between January and September 2003, nearly 1,200 manufacturing jobs were lost and hiring was slow for both white and blue-collar workers. To aggravate the already grim employment situation, in September 2003, the R.J Reynolds Tobacco Holdings, one of the largest employers in Winston-Salem, announced that it was cutting 1,700 jobs from its payroll.
Some respondents felt that the police treated African Americans worse than other groups such as Mexicans.
It was explained to respondents that better treatment referred to the array of public assistance available to all citizens—including Medicaid, public housing, financial assistance and food aid programs—along with civil rights and constitutional guarantees for all Americans.
It is possible that this stemmed from the overrepresentation of females in the sample.
Every year thousands of charges of discrimination against minorities by organizations are filed with the US Equal Opportunity Commission. The charges laid have centered on hiring policies, seniority rights, limited opportunities for advancement, and lower pay for equal work.
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Edward Opoku-Dapaah is an Associate Professor of Sociology at Winston-Salem State University.
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Opoku-Dapaah, E. Opinion of White Americans about African Americans: The Case of Winston-Salem, North Carolina. J Afr Am St 11, 24–41 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12111-007-9007-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12111-007-9007-4