This proposed research program focuses on the relationship between race, class, and public opinion. It addresses the issues of black intragroup cohesiveness and black/white differences in general attitudes and values. The first phase examines the general attitudes, values, and opinions expressed by black Americans and the extent to which class cleavages can account for any existing intraracial differences. The second phase will explore interracial differences (black/white) focusing on class- based explanations. Data come from the NSF-supported General Social Surveys from 1982 and 1987. The PI will contrast Myrdal's thesis that blacks lack intragroup diversity with Wilson's contention that emerging class cleavages among blacks and the increasing social isolation of lower class blacks have spawned measurable intraracial differences on a variety of attitudes and opinions.
