Attitudes toward Arab Americans in Detroit in 1992

Sapna Swaroop, University of Michigan
Colleen Heflin, University of Kentucky

In this paper, we explore the extent to which Detroit-area Black and White Americans endorsed or rejected stereotypes of Arab Americans in 1992. Using the modern stereotype questions developed by Smith and Bobo, we compare White and Black attitudes toward Arabs on four dimensions: intelligence, work ethic, social compatibility, and English ability. We assess respondents' rankings of Arabs vis-à-vis other racial groups (e.g. how Whites rank Arabs, compared to how they rank Blacks, compared to how they rank themselves) on a seven-point scale for each of these dimensions. As such, we are able to assess how respondents view Arabs within a racial/ethnic hierarchy, if at all. In addition, we analyze open-ended interview questions regarding the desirability of living in a well known suburb of Detroit, Dearborn, where 30 percent of its 98,000 residents claimed Arab as their first of second ancestry in the 2000 US Census. The data for this analysis are drawn from the 1992 Detroit Area Study, designed to investigate racial attitudes, especially as they influence opportunities for minorities in the housing and labor markets. Metropolitan Detroit is an ideal location in which to study stereotypes about Arabs because of its relatively large Arabic population. In the 2000 US Census, approximately .4% of the total US population claimed Arab as their first or second ancestry, but in metropolitan Detroit, 2.1% claimed an Arab ancestry. This descriptive study provides an initial look at attitudes toward the Arab American population. Although the DAS data were collected in 1992, our work offers a somewhat historical perspective on attitudes toward Arab Americans and a basis for comparison with future research. Initial analysis shows the following. First, evaluating Arab Americans' tendency to be intelligent, Whites found both Blacks and Arabs to be less intelligent than themselves, but Arabs to be more intelligent than Blacks. Blacks, on the other hand, rejected the idea that there are racial differences in intelligence and gave the three groups similar scores. Second, when assessing the work ethic of Arab Americans, Blacks found Arabs and Whites much more likely to prefer to be self-supporting than Blacks. Whites, however, saw Arabs as much more likely than Whites to prefer to live off welfare, but Blacks as even more likely to prefer to do so. Third, with respect to social compatibility, Whites viewed Whites as easiest to get along with, and Blacks and Arabs as equally difficult to get along with. Conversely, Blacks viewed Blacks as easiest to get along with, and Whites and Arabs as equally difficult to get along with. Fourth, both Whites and Blacks appraised Arabs as speaking English poorly. Although Whites viewed Arabs and Blacks as speaking English equally poorly, Blacks saw Arabs as speaking English much more poorly than themselves. Finally, in respondents' rating of Dearborn as a desirable residential location, Blacks overwhelmingly ranked Dearborn as an undesirable location and stressed that it was the suburbs' traditional hostility towards Blacks that led to this low ranking. However, about one-third of Whites also rated Dearborn as an undesirable place to live. The most prevalent rationale for this low ranking was the presence of Arabs--more than one-quarter of those who ranked Dearborn as an undesirable residential location mentioned Arabs as part of the reason. Research on attitudes towards Arabs and Arab Americans is sorely needed in the social sciences. Although a large body of work examines stereotypes of African Americans, much less research addresses stereotypes of other racial and ethnic groups. Contemporary investigations should reflect the fact that the American population is increasingly diverse and accordingly expand research on non-Black racial and ethnic minority groups. Understanding attitudes toward Arabs is especially important given the current political and social climate, prompted in part by the occurrence of high-profile events such as the Persian Gulf War in 1990 and the September 11, 2001 attacks. Stereotypes may also play a role in public support for policy decisions, such as Attorney General Dan Ashcroft's ruling to require the fingerprinting of persons entering the US from nations with large Arabic or Islamic populations. Although our data are from 1992 and may not be reflective of current attitudes towards Arabs, we are able to provide some insight into the context that shaped Arab opportunity in the pre-September 11 world. As such, this work may be considered a baseline of racial differences in attitudes towards Arabs.