The Changing Face of Racial Discrimination: Hispanics as the Dominant Minority in the USA - a New Application of Power-Threat Theory

Abstract

According to Hubert Blalock’s 1967 power-threat theory, the larger the minority group’s size the greater the threat to the majority group. Most of Blalock’s examples, and much of the subsequent empirical investigation into the power-threat thesis, focus on Anglo and African American relations. Changing demographics will likely alter existing majority-minority relations as Hispanics displace African Americans as the largest minority. This will change the face of racial discrimination in the country. Indeed, this paper suggests that the animosity toward Latinos by both the majority white and minority black populations may be more intense than those shaping contemporary white-black relations. Two key lifestyle features that have not contaminated black-white relations may exacerbate hostility toward Hispanics: their perceived illegal status in the country, and the perception that Hispanics resist learning English. The role of the media in perpetuating these stereotypes and inflaming hostility toward Latinos is also discussed.