The Political Implications of Black Voters' Beliefs about White People

• In Event: Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination

Abstract

Extensive research has been dedicated to the study of how Whites’ stereotypes inform their perspective on Black people, their preferences about policy’s that affect Black communities, and their beliefs about Black politicians. However, given the nature of segregation, Black voters engage with White individuals at a much higher rate, have, at the state and national levels voted almost exclusively for White politicians, yet little is known about how Black individuals’ beliefs of White people inform their political attitudes and behavior. This paper begins the exploration into this dynamic using an original survey of 1,200 Black individuals finding that those who maintain that Whites hold negative beliefs about Black people have experienced high levels of discrimination from White people. Moreover, they are less likely to make distinctions between White people broadly and White Republicans, and are more likely to believe that a high percentage of White people are Republicans and conservative. This work shines an important light on the need to understand Black voters’ perspectives on White people with whom they interact regularly and for whom they vote more often than not.

Author

• Julian Wamble, George Washington University