The relatively few African Americans in the Republican Party represent a range of political thinking, Stanford research shows

Stanford sociologist Corey D. Fields finds that some African-American Republicans see issues of race and racism as more of a problem in America than others.

Despite being a relatively rare breed, African-American Republicans are diverse in their political thinking and reasons for being part of the GOP, according to a Stanford sociologist.

Public opinion surveys generally find that about 7 to 10 percent of blacks identify themselves as Republicans. In addition, only 2 percent of Republicans identified themselves as black in a 2012 nationally representative survey done by the Pew Research Center. Identity is often thought to drive political behavior. For example, an LGBT activist is likely to vote for liberal policies and a National Rifle Association member will probably stand for more conservative ideas.

But research by Corey D. Fields, an assistant professor of sociology, suggests that political demands also shape the way individuals think about their identities. Fields, who is a faculty affiliate at the Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity at Stanford, interviewed about 50 black Republican activists for his recently published book, Black Elephants in the Room: The Unexpected Politics of African American Republicans.

Continue reading the Stanford News interview with Corey Fields's about his research.