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Scholars have long considered the effects of context and contact on racial attitudes and behavior, particularly as it relates to African Americans and Latinos. Most scholars have focused on the effects of context and contact on interracial stereotypes and attitudes toward immigration and Latinos (Gay, 2004; McClain, Carter, Soto, Lyle, Grynaviski, Nunnally, Scotto, Kendrick, Lackey, and Cotton, 2006; Rocha and Espino, 2008). However, only when understanding the relationship between context and interracial contact are we able to obtain a clear picture of the effect of context on racial attitudes. Welch, Sigelman, Bledsoe and Combs (2001) touch upon this in their work regarding black/white relations in the city of Detroit, yet the relationship between context and contact for blacks and Latinos has remained relatively unexplored. Using national survey data with a representative sample of Latinos and Blacks (2004 National Politics Survey) and county-level data from the U.S. Census, we explore the effect of racial context on African Americans' and Latinos' choice of social contacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contact theory has been studied extensively in the racial attitudes literature. However, little research has been conducted to test it when it comes to perceptions of commonality and competition among whites, African Americans and Hispanics. Moreover, exploring perceptions of commonality and competition have been regarded precursors of mass political coalitions as well as serving as lens to uncover race relations in the United States. Using the 2004 National Politics Survey and the 2005-2006 Latino National Survey, I develop models that explore contact (through friends, coworkers, neighbors) as determinants of perceptions of commonality and competition among Latinos, blacks and whites. Some of the questions that I address in this paper include: How well does contact theory explain racial attitudes for whites, African Americans and Latinos? Which type of contact best explains racial attitudes or does having a neighbor, coworker and friend affect one in the same way? Does contact affect blacks', whites' and Latinos' racial attitudes in the same way? What implications do these findings hold for understanding race relations in the 21st century? In considering these questions, I also consider the effects of context and demographic characteristics that may affect black, white and Latino attitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Louisiana has seen a significant increase in its Latino population, particular in the New Orleans area. In this paper, we consider how media coverage of immigration issues and public opinion toward immigration correlate with population estimates of the growing Latino population. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using focus group data, we examine African Americans' attitudes towards Hispanic immigration in the Greater New Orleans area. We develop a model measuring black attitudes as a function of group contact, competition and economic self interest. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From 1990 to 2000, the U.S. Latino population grew by 57.9% (2000 U.S. Census). A city that has been greatly impacted by large waves of Latino immigrants has been New Orleans, Louisiana. Days after hurricane Katrina struck the gulf coast, this city received a large influx of Latinos. A New Orleans newspaper article denotes that approximately one hundred thousand Latinos arrived within a couple of months after the hurricane. Before Katrina, New Orleans was not known as a Latino immigrant region since Latinos made up only 3.1% of the total city population. Consequently, Latinos are shaping the Greater New Orleans area not only demographically but also socially, politically, and economically. Needless to say, blacks in New Orleans have not and are not always responding to these changes happily. Several have criticized and openly protested the entrance of Latinos into the city's blue collar workforce, and many perceive the entrance of Latinos as an economic and cultural threat. Much of the literature on blacks' attitudes toward Latinos and the determinants of their attitudes has focused on nationwide data and tends to ignore explaining black/Latino relations in a region that have been recently and quickly impacted by immigrants. Thus, in this paper we examine blacks' attitudes toward Latinos and Latino immigration in the greater New Orleans area as well as the determinants of their attitudes. By using focus group data, we develop a model measuring black attitudes toward Latino legal immigration as a function of group contact, group competition and economic self-interest. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the growth of the Latino population in recent years, Hispanics are helping to redefine the way the policy debate about immigration is framed. But what are Latinos' attitudes toward immigration, and what are the determinants of such preferences? Using data from a 2004 national survey of Latinos, as well as data from the U.S. Census, we explore the determinants of Latinos' attitudes toward legal and illegal immigration. Our findings show that Latinos strongly support legal immigration and perceive substantial economic benefits of illegal immigration, and that this support extends toward support for a fairly broad and unrestrictive policy solution for the problem of undocumented workers. We develop and test a model of Latino policy preferences on immigration, suggesting that these preferences are explained by variables representing both general theories of mass preferences and specific theories of Latino attitudes. Our findings suggest that Latino support for immigration is primarily a function of ethnic identify and symbolic politics variables, with self interest, demographic attributes, and contextual variables playing a smaller role. The results of our study reveal the importance of studying the attitudes of specific minority groups and the impact these choices may have in shaping public policy. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some research indicates that due to their similar socioeconomic backgrounds and experiences of discrimination, Latinos and blacks have a lot in common and should form coalitions. On the other hand, some scholars assert that Latinos have better relations with whites than with blacks, since Latinos profess to have more affinity with whites and have more in common with whites than with blacks. Moreover, due to the history of slavery and discrimination against African Americans in the U.S., some may argue that whites are more likely to harbor negative attitudes toward blacks than Latinos in the U.S., influencing prospects for coalition formation. The literature on the precursors of coalition formation greatly focuses on the development of coalitions between blacks and Latinos. However, very little research has been conducted on the precursors of coalition formation between whites and Latinos. In this particular paper, I examine whites' perceptions of commonality, competition and stereotypes toward Latinos, particularly focusing on contact and context as determinants of these attitudes. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Immigration has become one of the most salient and contentious issues in recent years. With the growth of the Hispanic population in the U.S., and the immigration debate being framed mainly around Latino immigrants, African Americans have substantially been left out of the conversation. Arguably, blacks are more impacted by immigration than any other group in the country, but little is known about their feelings toward this issue. Using data from a 2006 national survey on immigration, we explore the determinants of American Americans' attitudes toward immigration. We find that attitudes toward immigration among blacks are largely a function of economic self-interest. We also find that black attitudes are strongly guided by how significant they view the problem of immigration to be. Further, we note that these attitudes are based in part on how African Americans view immigrant-dominated groups; specifically, Hispanics and Asians. The results of our study reveal the importance of understanding how African Americans feel about immigration and what guides these attitudes. This is especially true given the fact that blacks may compete with immigrants for scarce economic, social, and political resources. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to explain the determinants of Americans' attitudes towards the immigration of Asians and Latinos to the United States. It will specifically focus on examining the role that the economy, employment rate, symbolic politics, demographics, views towards border security and free trade, and affinity with and feelings towards Asians and Hispanics influence Americans' attitudes towards Latino and Asian immigration. Due to the vast number of Latinos and Asian immigrants arriving to the U.S. every day, the demographics of this country are changing. As a result, many Americans are noticing substantial changes in the demographics, language, and culture of the United States. The effect of Hispanic and Asian immigration can be viewed positively or negatively, depending on one's perspective. Examples of the conflict over increasing immigration are portrayed in the recent creation of strict immigration policies that reduce the number of services provided to undocumented immigrants (e.g., Proposition 187) and policies that limit the number of immigrants coming to this country through stronger patrols of the U.S.-Mexico border. Thus, it is no surprise that many Americans are noticing changes in the U.S. to increasing immigration and are responding to those changes. Consequently, it is significant to learn more specifically what determines Americans attitudes towards Latino and Asian immigration.Very little research has been conducted on Americans' attitudes towards Latino and Asian immigration. The research that has been conducted has focused on examining the role that education, income, age, economy, symbolic politics and levels of contact with Asians and Hispanics affect Anglos' attitudes towards immigration (Hood and Morris, 1997). Nevertheless, our research will use more current data and focus on these factors as well as more specific issues such as feelings towards Hispanics, Asians, free trade, border security, and aid to immigrants. Including these issues provides a more precise and comprehensive evaluation of the determinants of Americans' attitudes towards Latino and Asian immigration. Furthermore, we intend to merge data on the ethnic and linguistic attributes of county and state contexts to explain variance in Americans' attitudes towards Latino and Asian immigration based on the immigrant population of certain regions. In this paper, we use data provided by the 2004 American National Election Study. We hypothesize that the economy, employment rate, symbolic politics, demographics, views towards border security and free trade, affinity with and feelings towards Asians and Hispanics play a significant role in determining whether Americans think that Hispanics and Asian immigrants should increase, decrease or remain the same. We also hypothesize that Americans' attitudes towards Hispanic immigration differ from Asian immigration, especially based on the population of Latinos and Asians residing in Americans' immediate contexts. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]