Race

For more than a half-century, social scientists have been exploring and debating the idea of “racial threat,” in which white citizens adopt more racist attitudes, and support more racially biased policies, as their perceived dominance becomes “threatened” by the growth of African-American or other minority populations in or near white communities.

A new study suggests high school graduates are less likely to be sent to prison and receive slightly shorter prison sentences than similar criminal offenders who did not finish high school.

Bilingual employment policies might hurt African Americans and white people. A new study suggests the proportion of government employees who were black or white and spoke only English fell after a major California city adopted such a policy.

The announcement in late 2014 that the United States and Cuba would resume relations has brought renewed focus to the complex and politically fraught history of the two countries. Cuban-Americans have long held intense feelings about their ancestral country, and deep issues of identity will continue to evolve as the political situation shifts.

From the Scholars Strategy Network, written by Daniel T. Lichter, Cornell University, and Scott R. Sanders, Brigham Young University