Implications of the Racial Position Model for Intraminority Relations

Whether people of color compete or coalesce has significant social and political ramifications. The Racial Position Model, which reveals that people of color in the United States are subordinated along the dimensions of perceived status and cultural foreignness, provides a theoretical framework through which to study intraminority relations. Asian, Black, and Latino Americans are divided from each other along both dimensions of the Racial Position Model, contributing to the perception of distinct group interests and goals that can impede coalition building across racial and ethnic lines. At the same time, by strategically emphasizing groups’ experiences with discrimination along shared or “matched” dimensions of subordination, group positions in the Racial Position Model can be leveraged to promote greater solidarity.