Is there a chill in Austin that emanates from cool relations among the city's different ethnic groups?
Yes, says an LBJ School report that uses interviews and survey data to conclude that race relations remain a serious problem in Austin.
No, says Austin City Manager Jesus Garza (LBJ Class of 1977), who provided part of the funding for the project.
Based on interviews with 58 community leaders and the results of a scientific random sample of 631 Austin residents, the report explores public perceptions of ethnic relations and assesses services provided by the City of Austin.
According to Garza, the number of people included in the study was too small to make such broad conclusions about race relations in Austin. In an Austin American-Statesman article that appeared on September 6, he described the information as "valid," but said that more work was needed before major conclusions could be drawn.
Meanwhile, Professor Richard Schott, who directed the policy research project during the 1999-2000 academic year, stood by the report's conclusions, saying that sampling was the accepted method for exploring characteristics of large populations.
"Our survey was conducted using rigorous sampling techniques and administered by the Survey Research Center at the University of Texas," he said. "It has a margin of error of plus or minus four percent."
In the report, survey data show that while most Austin residents appear to be tolerant, most respondents also believe the state of ethnic relations in the city to be only fair or poor. This view is shared by 60 percent of the Black, Hispanic, and White respondents.
The research team, composed of Schott and 15 LBJ School students, also found that minority leaders in general felt a sense of "mistrust, frustration, and suspicion of what is perceived as the White-dominated power structure of Austin." This group expressed frustration that most Austinites seem to care little about the city's minority groups and feared that "progressive Whites have abandoned the civil and human rights struggle in favor of environmental protection issues."
Other findings contained in the report include the following:
- Two-thirds of the respondents perceive substantial tension between Whites and Blacks, and a majority see tension both between Whites and Hispanics and between Blacks and Hispanics.
- Discrimination persists: 46 percent of African Americans, 35 percent of Hispanics, 21 percent of Asians, and 12 percent of Whites reported at least one incident of discrimination in the previous year.
- A majority (82 percent) of survey participants indicated satisfaction with City of Austin services, with relatively little difference among various ethnic groups. Relationships with the Austin Police Department (APD) are problematic, though. Although a majority of respondents rated the APD's performance as satisfactory, more than two-thirds believe that the APD does not treat various ethnic groups equally.
- Fifty-five percent of respondents agreed with the statement that the City of Austin provides equal treatment to various ethnic groups, with the notable exception of Blacks, of whom 62 percent disagreed.
Recommendations made in the report include the establishment of a citizens' review board over the APD; publicizing the work of the Austin Human Rights Commission and the city's antidiscrimination ordinances; and increasing involvement of the public and private sectors, educational institutions, and community groups in efforts directed toward racial reconciliation.
Besides the City of Austin grant, the project received additional funding from the LBJ Foundation, the UT Policy Research Institute, and the LBJ School.
Copies of the report, titled Ethnic and Race Relations in Austin, Texas, are on sale through the LBJ School Office of Communications. For more information call 512/471-4218 or visit the Communications Office online.
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May 14, 2001
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