Sara Torelli

Introduction

Race relations and racial inequality in the United States continue to be sensitive yet particularly important social concerns. Although many people feel that a great deal has been done to eliminate racial inequalities through policies such as affirmative action, it is clear that minorities face more obstacles than Caucasians as a result of their race. Amazingly, racial inequality is literally closer to home than most people would like to recognize, WS for it can be observed in one’s very own neighborhood. The phenomenon of racial concentration, in which one or more races is over represented in a given neighborhood or census tract compared to that racial group’s statewide racial proportion, is widespread throughout the United States. The state of Massachusetts is a prime example of racial concentration, and the association between concentration and negative social outcomes for many minorities can be evidenced through a study of data from Census 2000 on racial breakdowns by census tracts. More specifically, Census 2000 data reveals a relationship between tracts with high concentrations of blacks and negative social outcomes such as high poverty rates and lower levels of residents who graduated from undergraduate school. Fine introduction

Description of Data and Variables

The data that is presented throughout this paper is from Census 2000, which is an in-depth national level survey conducted every ten years by the United States government. The census obtains detailed information on total population, population broken down by race and ethnicity, family income, education levels, residential information such as homeownership, the number of people per residence, the number of children per residence, etc. The information that is collected is then analyzed at the tract level, which is a designated division of each neighborhood. Thus, the census analyzes a vast amount of information at a very precise, micro level. data from the extended 1 in 6 sample.

Unlike previous censuses, the 2000 Census revised its questions on race in order to better reflect the country’s growing diversity. For the first time, respondents were given the option of selecting one or more race categories to indicate their racial identities. As a result, the Census 2000 data on race are not directly comparable with data from earlier censuses, so one cannot compare changes over time among any of the variables with this data. Therefore, the relationships between variables and conclusions that are made in this paper are not based on a longitudinal analysis, but on data from Census 2000.Good discussion

The variables that will be analyzed are percent black (pblack), poverty level (povpc), and education level ( bachp). Census 2000 defines black or African American as “people having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa” (p.2, Grieco and Cassidy). Poverty levels are based on the 1999 income, and the number of people whose income is at or falls below the poverty level, as defined by the government. In order to analyze the data, each of the variables were recoded into low, medium, and high categories. Recoding makes the information more sensible, because it divides the data into categories, allowing for a meaningful comparison. [needed to do two-way table analyses, especiall good when variables are highly skewed.] Descriptively, recoding allows one to show the extent of variation or similarity among the categories. group variation within a smaller number of categories. I created ranges for percent black according to which categories I felt would accurately reflect the social reality.

Black people account for 5.3 percent (335,895) of the population of Massachusetts, and the distribution reveals a median proportion of a mere 2 percent of black’s living in census tracts. The histogram of the residential tracts containing black people reveals a positively skewed distribution, indicating that the majority of Massachusetts census tracts contain a small percentage of black people. Yet, if I had created categories based on the fact that black people account for 5.3 percent of the population of Massachusetts, anything above 5.3 percent would fall into the high category. Thus, a very high percentage of census tracts would fall into the category of high percent black, causing this category to be inaccurately overrepresented. To eliminate this problem, I made the category of low percentage of blacks 0-12 percent, medium as 12-25 percent, and high as 25 percent and above.

this figure seems out of order

Table 1. The Number of Massachusetts Census Tracts from Census 2000 that Contain Various Percentages of Residents Who Have Completed a Bachelor’s Degree

I based the categories for poverty rates on the advice of Professor Townsley, a sociologist, who is well informed about demographics. Accordingly, the category of low percent of people in poverty is 0-5 percent, medium is 5-10 percent, and high is 10 percent and above. The categories for education level were created according to the Massachusetts distribution of the percentage of residents who obtained a bachelor’s degree. I consulted the histogram which displays the percentages and the number of tracts. The histogram of the percentage of residents with bachelor’s degree’s indicates that there are few census tracts with a high percentage of residents who completed a bachelor’s degree. I based my categories for recoding on the median (18 percent), and the desire to have a fairly even number of tracts in each category. Thus, I set my low category from 0-8 percent, my medium category from 8-20 percent, and my high category from 20 percent or higher.

The methods of analysis conducted throughout the paper are descriptive statistics, histograms, crosstabs crosstabulations, and chi-squares. Qualitative and quantitative descriptions of the data allow for a more thorough analysis of the relationships between the variables. Histograms provide graphical representations of the data, so that one can view the numbers in picture formation. Crosstabs or contingency tables display the joint disdribution allow for a comparison between the independent variable and the dependent variable. In the tables jere, each of the variables is broken down into three categories, and the number of tracts and the percentage of people in those tracts are displayed in the cells. Most importantly, crosstabs are very useful because they allow for a meaningful comparison between the variables, and help one to locate significant relationships. Another a component of contingency table analysis with significance testing method of analysis is chi-squares, which is a test of statistical significance, and indicate whether or not an association exists between the independent and dependent variables. Thus, chi-squares allow one to empirically determine whether the hypothesized relationship between the variables is significantly different from chance.

Formal Statement of the Research and Null Hypothesis

Research hypothesis 1: As the percentage of black residents in all Massachusetts census tracts increases, the percentage of residents living in poverty will increase.

Null hypothesis 1: There is no association between the proportion of black residents and the rate of poverty in Massachusetts census tracts in 2000; any observed differences in poverty rate between high and low black tracts is due to chance. ws

Research hypothesis 2: As the percentage of black residents in all Massachusetts census tracts increases, the percentage of residents with low levels of education will also increase.

Null hypothesis 2: There is no association between the proportion of black residents and education levels in Massachusetts census tracts in 2000; any observed differenced in education levels between high and low black tracts is due to chance.

I created these hypotheses based on the logic that racial concentration leads to negative social outcomes. It seems highly probable based on the historical injustices that black Americans have suffered, that more black residents live in poverty and have lower levels of education than most residents of Massachusetts. Many black Americans have fewer opportunities than other Americans, which translates into more black people with low income levels and more black people with low education levels. massey and denton would be useful here.

Analysis

Table 2

Table 2 examines differences in poverty rates across census tracts in Massachusetts with different proportions of black residents. Upon inspection of table 2, poverty rates are clearly not spread evenly across racial concentration categories. The rates of poverty differ depending upon the racial composition of the residential tracts. High poverty has been defined as a 10 percent or higher poverty rate in a census tract, and a total of 33.8 percent (459 tracts) of all Massachusetts census tracts reported a high poverty rate. Yet, the percentage of residents who are highly impoverished is not evenly distributed among the three population categories. Of the 1199 tracts with a low percentage of black residents, defined as 12 percent black or fewer, only 27 percent (324 tracts) fall in the high poverty category, compared to 31 percent (376 tracts) who fall in the medium poverty category, and 42 percent (499 tracts) who fall in the low poverty category. ws These statistics indicate that in mostly non black residential tracts in Massachusetts, most tracts have low levels of poverty. In contrast, as the racial concentration of the tracts increases, the percentage of tracts that fall in the low poverty category diminishes. Only 5 of the 81 tracts with medium levels of black residents, or 6 percent of the tracts, have low poverty rates of 5 percent or less. Furthermore, a mere 3 percent (2 tracts) of the 76 tracts with a high percent of black residents have low poverty rates.

Consequently, residential tracts in which 12 to 25 percent of the residents are black are predominantly impoverished tracts. 64, or 79 percent of these tracts, are in the high poverty category, as opposed to 15 percent (12 tracts) in the medium poverty category, and 6 percent (5 tracts) in the low poverty category. Residential tracts in the high percent black category have the highest rate of poverty. 94 percent (71 tracts), of the 76 tracts where the population is 25 percent black or higher, reported residents living in poverty. It appears that a positive relationship exists between the proportion of black residents and the poverty rate. That is, as the number of black people in a residential tract increases, the poverty rate also increases.

In order to empirically determine whether a relationship between the variables exists, a chi-square test is performed. Chi-square tests statistically determine whether an association exists between two variables. It tests the probability of the relationship between the variables as existing due to chance. Simply put, the observed chi-square value, which is calculated from the data in the sample, is compared to the expected chi-square value, which is given by a theoretical chi-square distribution based on the degrees of freedom and the alpha level. Degrees of freedom are computed by multiplying one minus the number of rows and one minus the number of columns. Generally, an alpha level of 5 percent is used. More specifically, the probability of the relationship between the variables occurring by chance must be less than 5 percent to reject the null hypothesis. Once the observed value and the expected value have been calculated, if the observed value is greater than the expected value, one can reject the null hypothesis and conclude that the relationship is significantly different from chance.

Table 3.

The chi-square test seems to support the assertion that a positive relationship exists between racial concentration and poverty rates. The observed chi-square value of 221.994 is significantly greater than the expected chi-square value of 9.488, with 4 degrees of freedom at the .05 level. Accordingly, the significance level is .0001, indicating that the probability of attaining such a high chi-square statistic is less than one ten thousandth of one percent. Consequently, the null hypothesis of no association between the proportion of black residents and the poverty rate can be rejected. Thus, we can conclude that a statistically significant relationship between the racial composition and poverty rates of Massachusetts census tracts in 2000 exists. The greater the number of black residents in a tract, the higher the tendency for high poverty rates to be reported. nice finish

Table 4

Table 4 compares differences in education levels across Massachusetts census tracts composed of varying proportions of black residents. High college graduation rates are designated as 20 percent or higher, and 40 percent of Massachusetts tracts reported a high college completion rate. Ultimately, the data indicates that college completion is not spread evenly among all census tracts. Instead, the percent of residential tracts with high levels of education seem to be dependent upon the level of racial concentration. The percent of residential tracts with high levels of education decreases as the percent of black residents increases.

For example, 43 percent (513 tracts) of 1199 tracts with low percent black have high . . . .of low concentration black categories, or less than 12 percent black, have a high percentage of tracts with residents who completed college. On the other hand, 16 percent (13 tracts) of medium concentration black categories, and 15.8 percent (12 tracts) of high concentration black categories contain a high percentage of tracts with residents who completed college. Although high concentration and medium concentration black categories contain similar percentages of tracts with high college completion levels, the category of high black concentration has a higher percentage, 42 percent as opposed to 30 percent, of tracts that fall in the low category. Not surprisingly, tracts with a low concentration of black residents have the lowest percentage of tracts, 12 percent (141 tracts), in the low category of college completion. awk Conversely, tracts with a high concentration of black residents have the highest percentage of tracts, 42 percent (32 tracts), in the low category. Awk The data indicates a positive relationship between racial concentration and education levels. As the percentage of tracts with residents who are black increases, the percentage of tracts containing residents with low levels of education also increases. a clearer statement that follows.

Table 5

The chi-square test for the association between the concentration level of black residents in Massachusetts census tracts and the percentage of residents who completed college indicates a statistically significant relationship. The observed chi-square value of 85.614 is significantly greater than the expected chi-square value of 9.488, with 4 degrees of freedom at the .05 significance level. The significance level of .0001, or one in ten thousandth of one percent, is the probability of arriving at the observed value by chance. With such a low probability level of chance creating the association, I can reject the null hypothesis. The research hypothesis that the greater the concentration of black residents in a tract, the lower the level of education levels that exist, can be retained.

Summary and Conclusion

Generalizing from the Massachusetts census tract data from Census 2000, racial inequalities continue to plague the United States. The data indicates that my initial hypotheses regarding the positive relationship between racial concentration among black Americans and negative social outcomes is highly probable. ws provided that mass is representative, which is a complex question. why not just stick to the results for mass? Chi-square tests resulted in highly significant differences between the observed value and the expected value, providing a strong statistical basis of support for my hypotheses. Although the theory of racial concentration has historical roots and would be best supported through a comparison over time, it is not possible to compare the data on Massachusetts census tracts from 1990 to the data from 2000, since the 1990 data was not made available. Regardless of the limitations, the results suggest that racial concentration persists today, and leads to negative consequences for black Americans. Not only are the poverty rates of black census tracts significantly higher than the poverty rates of non black census tracts, the education level is also much lower. On this basis, it is possible to conclude that an association between poverty rate and education level may exist, although a chi-square test was not created, so statistics are not provided to support this hypothesis.

Due to the fact that black Americans have lived in the United States for centuries, and have been subjected to countless forms of racism, it seems fair to assume that the relationship between racial concentration and negative social outcomes is the result of inequalities stemming from racism. It is truly unfortunate, but the Massachusetts data seems to support the following assertion made by Douglas Massey and Nancy Denton in American Apartheid. good connection.

“As in South Africa, residential segregation in the United States provides a firm basis for a broader system of racial injustice. The geographic isolation of Africans within a narrowly circumscribed portion of the urban environment- whether African townships or American ghettos- forces blacks to live under extraordinarily harsh conditions and to endure a social world where poverty is endemic, infrastructure is inadequate, education is lacking, families are fragmented, and crime and violence are rampant “ (p.15).

Clearly, social inequalities with significant negative repercussions exist in the United States, and changes in attitudes toward race must take place before an improvement in black American’s quality of life will occur.

QR Fall 2002 Evaluation of Paper 3

Addresses and tests 2 hypotheses related to one of the following:

1.Residential concentration is higher among African-Americans than Hispanics in MA. Non-white Hispanics are the most concentrated group of all.

2.Minority members tend to move out of poorer and more segregated tracts if they can i.e., if they can afford to. This idea is supported by a large literature in immigrant communities in the United States where the pattern has been describes as “up and out”.

3.More recent social arrivals, e.g., immigrants are more likely to live in more racially/ethnically concentrated communities than community members of long-standing.

4. Social instability is an intervening factor between racial/ethnic concentration and negative social outcomes.

Introduction. · sets research context	Well done
· foreshadows argument or thesis	Nicely stated
Description of data and variables.	clearly explained; the reasons for recoding are incomplete: the main reason is to prepare the date for use in tables and for significance testing with chi-square. An association can be explored using other methods that would not require recoding.
Formal statement of the Research and Null Hypothesis. #1	good
Analysis #1 · discuss patterns in the table	Well stated, systematic, and painstaking.
· interpret the chi-square test.	clear and sound
Hypothesis #2	well framed
Analysis #2 · discuss patterns in the table	a bit confusing at times though the point is made
· interpret the chi-square test.	solid
Summary and Conclusion. · assess your hypotheses in light of the data analysis · conclusions or implications? · further possibilities for analysis?	The connection with Massey and Denton is fine way to link your conclusions with theirs and show the broader significance of your conclusions. It would be interesting to see you elaborate a bit on the advantages of using historical data.
Presentation /Writing · claims supported by evidence and reasoning	well supported; there are opportunities to draw further on Massey and Denton that are missed.
· Organization coherent; logical	yes
· Language specific	yes
· Focused paragraphs	yes
· Proofread for errors	few errors here
· Tables and graphs well labeled	yes

Key: GP: good point; GE: good evidence; WS: well stated; GQ: good qualification

CWE: claim with little no pertinent evidence; NQ: needs qualification; E?: evidence for this seems lacking; Elab: could be improved by elaborating; INAC: inaccurate; Highlight: something problematic

UC: unclear statement, difficult to follow/understand; V: vague, needs to be more specific or concrete; AWK: awkward style; P: punctuation error; G: grammar error; Underscore: typo or misspelling

A/A-