AbstractThis article explores the extent to which black policemen are victims of “double marginality” (Alex. 1969). From secondary data on 576 black male policemen in a large metropolitan area, it was found that the concept of double marginality has little explanatory power in accounting for variation in either black officers' perception of public involvement in police affairs or black officers' perception of police authority. These findings raise serious questions about the general applicability of the marginality concept in explaining black officer' perceptions to