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Race and Credibility in Persuasive Communications

The American socialization process that, among other teachings, prescribes that African-Americans limit their aspirations to roles associated with consumption rather than production, with being employed rather than employing, with maintenance rather than creation-or, in general, with dependence rather than independence-would perhaps not be successful were it not for the application of certain principles of persuasion. These principles of persuasion are applied by the various agencies of socialization, particularly parents, peers, schools, churches, and the mass media. While their application is not always done consciously, this fact does not mitigate their communication effectiveness nor should it excuse the social scientist from examining them. Such examination might provide valuable information regarding the lack of sociopolitical-economic progress experienced by AfricanAmericans and might also, in addition, sensitize African-American scholars to their own responsibilities as participating agents of socialization within educational systems. The present article attempts to provide information concerning these issues by empirically examining one specific principle of persuasion, namely, "credibility"-a principle that is generally acknowledged by communication scholars to have a powerful