Heterogeneous Racial Group Model and the African American Past

Summary

Keywords: African American, Health, RaceWhen looking at racial health disparities in historic populations, we often focus on differences of race, socio-economic status, and class. While these studies have lead to provocative insights and continue to remain relevant, less attention has been given to disparities within historic African American populations. Applying Celious and Oyserman (2001) Heterogeneous Racial Group Model to a sample population derived from those interred at the Mt. Pleasant Plains Cemetery ‘ Washington, D.C.’s largest African American cemetery following the end of the Civil War ‘ this study demonstrates how factors such as place of birth mediate locations and causes of death. Juxtaposing deaths in Washington, D.C.’s inhabited alleys with other locations reveals unique disparities associated with social stigma, poverty, and migration within the African American community. This study complicates notion of race and class in health disparities by looking at more nuanced differences in a perceived homogeneous population, causing us to effectively reconsider the scale and scope of our study samples.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2014   •
• Theorizing African Diaspora Archaeology

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): SYM-52,01