The declining significance of ethnicity: The impact of race amongst Hispanics

The impact of race on educational attainment has long been a topic of interest to sociologists. However, there have been few studies to examine racial differences among and between various Hispanic groups, relative to educational attainment. This is particularly an important issue given that Hispanics are now the largest disadvantaged minority in the United States. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to address the effects of race on the likelihood of becoming college educated for various Hispanic groups. Specifically, this study racially disaggregates the educational attainment rates of U.S. Hispanics to demonstrate: 1) Hispanic intra-group racial differences; 2) the structural similarity of Hispanic and non-Hispanic intra-group racial differences; and 3) the impact of gender on these racial differences in intra-group educational attainment. Using feminist theory, logistic regression analysis, and the Integrated Public Use Micro-data Series (IPUMS), this study underscores how the ethnic categorization of Hispanics deracializes important racial information on this group. This de-racialization possibly contributes to color-blind racisms where White-Hispanics' structural privileges become averaged away, alongside Black-Hispanics' structural disadvantages.