Social capital encompasses investment, use, and reciprocation of resources gained from social relations and networks for expected returns. Social capital accessed through membership in voluntary social associations, groups, and organizations has been vital to Black Americans’ struggle for equality and human rights. This study addresses whether racial capital (i.e., belief in the significance of systemic racism) associates with social capital among Black adults. It also asks whether the association between racial capital and social capital depends on educational attainment or exposure to institutional inequality. Analyses of a nationally representative sample of Black adults from the Outlook on Life Surveys, 2012, indicate racial capital predicts social capital directly but only among Black people with high levels of educational attainment. In addition, exposure to institutional inequality negatively moderated the association between racial capital and social capital. When racial capital and exposure to institutional inequality were high, respondents reported lower levels of social capital. Conversely, when racial capital was low and exposure to institutional inequality was high, respondents reported higher levels of social capital.
Alex-AssensohYvette M.1998. Neighborhood, Family, and Political Behavior in Urban America. New York: Garland Press.
2.
AllardScott W.SmallMario L.2013. “Reconsidering the Urban Disadvantaged: The Role of Systems, Institutions, and Organizations.” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science647(1):6–20.
3.
AndersonElijah. 1999. Code of the Street: Decency, Violence, and the Moral Life of the Inner City. New York: W.W. Norton.
4.
BarbourJoshua B.RolisonShelby L.JensenJared T.2020. “The Politics of Inclusion and Exclusion Among Professions and Professionals.” Pp. 135–55 in Organizing Inclusion, edited by DoerfelMarya L.GibbsJennifer L.New York: Routledge.
5.
BenjaminLois. 2005. The Black Elite: Still Facing the Color Line in the Twilight of the Twentieth Century. 2nd ed.Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
6.
BentoAsiaBrownTony N.2021. “Belief in Systemic Racism and Self-employment Among Working Blacks.” Ethnic and Racial Studies44(1):21–38.
7.
Bonilla-SilvaEduardo. 1997. “Rethinking Racism: Toward a Structural Interpretation.” American Sociological Review62(3):465–80.
8.
Bonilla-SilvaEduardoBaiocchiGianpaolo. 2008. “Anything but Racism: How Sociologists Limit the Significance of Racism.” Pp. 137–51 in White Logic, White Methods: Racism and Methodology, edited by ZuberiTukufuBonilla-SilvaEduardo. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
9.
BourdieuPierre. 1986. “The Forms of Capital.” Pp. 241–58 in Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education, edited by RichardsonJohn. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
10.
BradyHenry E.VerbaSidneySchlozmanKay Lehman. 1995. “Beyond SES: A Resource Model of Political Participation.” The American Political Science Review89(2):271–94.
11.
BrownR. KhariBrownRonald E.2003. “Faith and Works: Church-based Social Capital Resources and African American Political Activism.” Social Forces82(2):617–41.
12.
BrownTony N.JrQuintin GormanRaynorAutumnBentoAsiaCulverJulianFergusonJauhara. 2024. “Wakanda Forever! Consistency in Correlates of Black Nationalist Tendencies.” Social Science Quarterly105(4):1224–38.
13.
ColemanJames S.1988. “Social Capital in the Creation of Human Capital.” American Journal of Sociology94:S95–120.
14.
ColemanJames S.1990. Foundations of Social Theory. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
15.
DawsonMichael C.1994. Behind the Mule: Race and Class in American Politics. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
16.
DawsonMichael C.2001. Black Visions: The Roots of Contemporary African-American Political Ideologies. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
17.
Du BoisW. E. B. [1940] 2007. Dusk of Dawn. New York: Oxford University Press.
18.
FarrisEmily M.HolmanMirya R.2014. “Social Capital and Solving the Puzzle of Black Women’s Political Participation.” Politics, Groups, and Identities2(3):331–49.
19.
FeaginJoe R.2006. Systemic Racism: A Theory of Oppression. New York: Routledge.
20.
FeaginJoe R.2013. The White Racial Frame: Centuries of Racial Framing and Counter-framing. 2nd ed.New York: Routledge.
21.
FeaginJoe R.DuceyKimberly. 2018. Racist America: Roots, Current Realities, and Future Reparations. 4th ed.New York: Routledge.
22.
FeaginJoe R.SikesMelvin P.1994. Living with Racism: The Black Middle-class Experience. Boston, MA: Beacon Press.
23.
FrancisMegan Ming. 2014. Civil Rights and the Making of the Modern American State. New York: Cambridge University Press.
24.
FrazierE. Franklin. 1957. Black Bourgeoisie. New York: Free Press.
25.
GainesRobert W.II.2010. “Looking Back, Moving Forward: How the Civil Rights Era Church Can Guide the Modern Black Church in Improving Black Student Achievement.” Journal of Negro Education79(3):366–79.
26.
García BedollaLisa. 2007. “Race, Social Relations, and the Study of Social Capital.” Pp. 7–20 in Race, Neighborhoods, and the Misuse of Social Capital, edited by JenningsJames. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
27.
GilbertKeon L.RansomeYusefDeanLorraine T.DeCailleJerellKawachiIchiro. 2022. “Social Capital, Black Social Mobility, and Health Disparities.” Annual Review of Public Health43:173–91.
28.
GormanQuintinJr. 2025. “Fight the Power? How Black Adults’ Racial Capital Associates with Their Political Activities.” Social Currents12(1):80–97.
29.
GormanQuintinJr. 2026. “Belief in Systemic Racism and Exposure to Institutional Inequality among Black Adults: Investigating the Complexities of Black Leadership and Racial Equality.” Sociological Focus. https://doi.org/10.1080/00380237.2026.2637538.
30.
GrahamLawrence Otis. 1999. Our Kind of People: Inside America’s Black Upper Class. New York: Harper Collins Publishers.
31.
GranovetterMark. 1973. “The Strength of Weak Ties.” American Journal of Sociology78(6):1360–80.
32.
HainesHerbert H.1984. “Black Radicalization and the Funding of Civil Rights: 1957-1970.” Social Problems32(1):31–43.
33.
HareNathan. 1965. The Black Anglo-Saxons. Chicago, IL: Third World Press.
34.
HenryPatrick J.SearsDavid O.2002. “The Symbolic Racism 2000 Scale.” Political Psychology23(2):253–83.
35.
HineDarlene Clark. 2003. “Black Professionals and Race Consciousness: Origins of the Civil Rights Movement, 1890-1950.” Journal of American History89(4):1279–94.
36.
HintonElizabethCookDeAnza. 2021. “The Mass Criminalization of Black Americans: A Historical Overview.” Annual Review of Criminology4:261–86.
37.
JenningsJames. 2007. “Social Capital, Race, and the Future of Inner-City Neighborhoods.” Pp. 87–108 in Race, Neighborhoods, and the Misuse of Social Capital, edited by JenningsJames. New York: Palgrave MacMillan.
38.
KingDesmond S.SmithRogers M.2005. “Racial Orders in American Political Development.” American Political Science Review99(1):75–92.
39.
Korver-GlennElizabeth. 2018. “Compounding Inequalities: How Racial Stereotypes and Discrimination Accumulate Across the Stages of Housing Exchange.” American Sociological Review83(4):627–56.
40.
LacyKaryn R.2007. Blue Chip Black: Race, Class, and Status in the New Black Middle Class. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
41.
LandryBartMarshKris. 2011. “The Evolution of the New Black Middle Class.” Annual Review of Sociology37:373–94.
42.
LinNan. 1999. “Social Networks and Status Attainment.” Annual Review of Sociology25:467–87.
43.
LinNan. 2000. “Inequality in Social Capital.” Contemporary Sociology29(6):785–95.
44.
LongSean. 2023. “White Identity, Donald Trump, and the Mobilization of Extremism.” Politics, Groups, and Identities11(3):638–66.
45.
MarwellNicole P.2007. Bargaining for Brooklyn: Community Organizations in the Entrepreneurial City. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
46.
McClureStephanie. 2006. “Voluntary Association Membership: Black Greek Men on a Predominantly White Campus.” The Journal of Higher Education77(6):1036–57.
47.
McConahayJohn B.HoughJoseph C.Jr.1976. “Symbolic Racism.” Journal of Social Issues32(2):23–45.
48.
McDonaldSteveHammLindsayElliottJames R.KnepperPete. 2016. “Race, Place, and Unsolicited Job Leads: How the Ethnoracial Structure of Local Labor Markets Shapes Employment Opportunities.” Social Currents3(2):118–37.
49.
McPhersonMillerSmith-LovinLynnCookJames M.2001. “Birds of a Feather: Homophily in Social Networks.” Annual Review of Sociology27:415–44.
50.
MillsCharles W.1997. The Racial Contract. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
51.
MorrisAldon. 1984. The Origins of the Civil Rights Movement. New York: Free Press.
52.
MunchAllisonMcPhersonJ. MillerSmith-LovinLynn. 1997. “Gender, Children, and Social Contact: The Effects of Childrearing on Men and Women.” American Sociological Review62(4):509–20.
53.
NewtonKenneth. 1997. “Social Capital and Democracy.” American Behavioral Scientist40(5):575–86.
54.
OliverMelvinShapiroThomas. 2006. Black Wealth / White Wealth: A New Perspective on Racial Inequality. New York: Routledge.
55.
OrrMarion. 1999. Black Social Capital: The Politics of School Reform in Baltimore, 1986-1998. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas.
56.
PagerDevahShepherdHanah. 2008. “The Sociology of Discrimination: Racial Discrimination in Employment, Housing, Credit, and Consumer Markets.” Annual Review of Sociology34(1):181–209.
57.
PaxtonPamela. 1999. “Is Social Capital Declining in the United States? A Multiple Indicator Assessment.” American Journal of Sociology105(1):88–127.
58.
PedullaDavid S.PagerDevah. 2019. “Race and Networks in the Job Search Process.” American Sociological Review84(6):983–1012.
59.
PortesAlejandro. 1998. “Social Capital: Its Origins and Applications in Modern Sociology.” Annual Review of Sociology24:1–24.
60.
PutnamRobert D.1995. “Tuning In, Tuning Out: The Strange Disappearance of Social Capital in America.” PS28(4):664–83.
61.
PutnamRobert D.2000. Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. New York: Simon and Schuster.
62.
RayVictor. 2019. “A Theory of Racialized Organizations.” American Sociological Review84(1):26–53.
63.
RobinsonCedric J.1983. Black Marxism: The Making of the Black Radical Tradition. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press.
64.
RobnettBelindaTateKatherine. 2012. Outlook on Life Surveys, 2012. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2015-01-16.
65.
RoysterDeirdre A.2003. Race and the Invisible Hand: How White Networks Exclude Black Men from Blue-collar Jobs. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
66.
SchumanHowardSteehCharlotteBoboLawrence. 1985. Racial Attitudes in America: Trends and Interpretations. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
67.
SearsDavid O.HenryPatrick J.2003. “The Origins of Symbolic Racism.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology85(2):259–75.
68.
SkocpolThedaLiazosArianeGanzMarshall. 2006. What a Mighty Power We Can Be: African American Fraternal Groups and the Struggle for Racial Equality. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
69.
SmallMario L.BrantKristinaFeketeMaleah. 2024. “The Avoidance of Strong Ties.” American Sociological Review80(4):615–49.
70.
SmithSandra Susan. 2005. “‘Don’t Put My Name On It:’ Social Capital Activation and Job-finding Assistance Among the Black Urban Poor.” American Journal of Sociology111(1):1–57.
71.
SmithSandra Susan. 2007. Lone Pursuit: Distrust and Defensive Individualism among the Black Poor. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
72.
SonJoonmo. 2020. Social Capital. Medford, MA: Polity Press.
73.
SossJoeWeaverVesla. 2017. “Police Are Our Government: Politics, Political Science, and the Policing of Race-class Subjugated Communities.” Annual Review of Political Science20:565–91.
74.
StevensonJonathan. 2019. “Right-wing Extremism and the Terrorist Threat.” Survival61(1):233–44.
75.
TateGayle T.RandolphLewis A.2002. Dimensions of Black Conservatism in the United States: Made in America. New York: Palgrave.
76.
TeslerMichaelSearsDavid O.2010. Obama’s Race: The 2008 Election and the Dream of a Post-racial America. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.
77.
WacquantLoïc J. D.WilsonWilliam Julius. 1989. “The Cost of Racial and Class Exclusion in the Inner City.” The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science501(1):8–25.
WilsonWilliam J.1980. The Declining Significance of Race. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
80.
WilsonWilliam J.1987. The Truly Disadvantaged: The Inner City, the Underclass, and Public Policy. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
81.
WollebaekDagSellePer. 2002. “Does Participation in Voluntary Associations Contribute to Social Capital? The Impact of Intensity, Scope, and Type.” Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly31(1):32–61.
