The Socioeconomic Position of the Louisiana Creoles: An Examination of Racial and Ethnic Stratification

Abstract

This study suggests that the class-caste argument associated with the Wilson- Willie debate provides a fundamental line of division in theories of racial and ethnic stratification; it maintains that groups that combine minority statuses may be affected by both class and caste influences, a situation of "double jeopardy". and it describes French-speaking Louisiana blacks, or Creoles, as a group that combines minority statuses. Analysis of Census data shows that race and Louisiana French ethnicity are each related to life chances and that ethnic inequality is primarily a matter of class characteristics, while racial inequality is primarily a matter of caste characteristics. There is an interaction between ethnictty and race, however; minority ethnicity shows a weaker relationship to household income for blacks than for whites. We suggest that this may be a consequence of the relative pouier of minority identities.