Citation

Thornton MC, Taylor RJ, Brown TN. Race Soc. 2000; 2(2): 149-164.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2000, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/S1090-9524(00)00012-7

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This article investigates the influence of sociodemographic factors on the choice of racial labels among adult Black Americans. Through three surveys we analyzed the preference for Colored, Negro, Black, Afro-American, or African American: the 1971 and 1992 Detroit Area Studies and the 1979-1980 National Survey of Black Americans. No label was universally accepted nor was any determinant consistently significant. Age was the best predictor of label preference, and though less so, so too were social class, region, and gender.