Race and social distance: intermarriage with non-Latino Whites

Abstract

Using 1990 census data, I examine variations in interracial marriage with non-Latino Whites among native- and foreign-born African Americans, Latinos, and Asian Americans. I further classify Latinos by race and national origin and Asian Americans by national origin. For each minority group, the native-born are much more likely to marry non-Latino Whites than the foreign-born. Interracial marriage with non-Latino Whites differ significantly by minority group: Latino Whites are most likely to marry non-Latino Whites, followed by Asian Americans, Latino non-Whites, and then African Americans. This suggests that race relations are no longer simply White and non-White. Skin tone of non-Whites plays a significant role in variations in intermarriage. Fair skinned minorities are more likely to marry Whites than darker skinned minorities. Skin tone, however, does not explain why persons of one Asian or Latino group have higher levels of intermarriage than those of another Asian or Latino group. To understand Latino and Asian American diversity, we need to take into account cultural differences in countries of origin as well as their divergent experiences in American society.