Article Title

Stratification and Subordination: Change and Continuity in Race Relations

Authors

E. Yvonne Moss, University of Massachusetts Boston
Wornie L. Reed, University of Massachusetts Boston

Abstract

One of the measures used to gauge progress made by African-Americans in gaining equal opportunity has been to compare and contrast the status of black Americans to that of white Americans using various social indices. Historically, the status of blacks relative to whites has been one of subordination; race has been a primary factor in determining social stratification and political status. Relations between white and black Americans were established during slavery and the Jim Crow era of segregation. In the infamous Dred Scott (1856) decison, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Taney articulated the fundamental nature of this system of racial stratification: "Blacks have no rights which whites are bound to respect."

Scholars in this study have sought to evaluate developments in race relations, particularly since 1940, by examining racial stratification, subordination, and change in various aspects of American life. Our general conclusion is that despite improvements in various aspects of American life, racial stratification has not changed in any fundamental sense. In addition to the structural mechanisms that perpetuate differential status, researchers point to social factors — attitudes, values, ideology, and racial violence — that reinforce racial domination. Legal doctrines and the courts have always provided justification and legality for whatever structural form the system of racial stratification has taken. Historically, the U.S. Constitution has been one of the primary supports for white supremacy.

Recommended Citation

Moss, E. Yvonne and Reed, Wornie L. (1990) "Stratification and Subordination: Change and Continuity in Race Relations," Trotter Review: Vol. 4: Iss. 2, Article 2.
Available at: https://scholarworks.umb.edu/trotter_review/vol4/iss2/2