DEPRIVATION AND RACE RIOTS - AN EXTENSION OF SPILERMANS ANALYSIS

Many scholars currently link the growth of a black underclass to the p ersistence of racial tensions and riots in American cities. However, n early all previous systematic studies of race riots refute these claim s. We propose an alternative explanation that rests on competition pro cesses. In this article we extend Spilerman's 1971 analysis of communi ty characteristics and race riots to include 1954-93. Our results para llel earlier ones that found little evidence that black poverty or rac ial disparities in income, education, and occupation caused race riots . Furthermore, we find that the effects of black poverty are generally opposite from what most deprivation theories would lead us to expect. Both low income for blacks and dilapidated housing significantly depr ess the rate of racial unrest Finally, we find that competition that i s expressed as the contraction of job opportunities for minorities cre ated by demographic pressures and unemployment significantly increases the rate of race riots.