Abstract
The racial and ethnic makeup of the United States is in flux. Large numbers of new immigrants both legal and illegal have added a large measure of cultural and phenotypic diversity to the American population especially in the past three decades. The boundaries between racial and ethnic groups are becoming blurred by high rates of intermarriage and the increasing number of persons with mixed ancestry (Perez AQ: Kindly confirm the reference included in Abstract is appropriate as citations are not allowed in Abstract. and Hirschman, Popul Dev Rev 35(1):1–51, 2009).
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Notes
- 1.
- 2.
See Hoefer, Rytina, and Baker (2009).
- 3.
Of course many people insist that they are “just Americans,” even when they obviously speak a foreign language. Most Americans deny that their national origin makes them unique, claim “no special comfort around their ethnic fellows,” deny any ethnic pride, and apparently prefer that ethnicity “remain on a ‘team sport’ level of identification.” It is something to root for, but not at a level where it affects important decisions. See Barthel (1978).
- 4.
There is some debate about the concept of “enclave.” Portes and Jensen state “enclaves do not emerge merely by residential concentration – a pattern common to all immigrant groups – but by the exceptional rise of a number of integrated ethnic firms without a metropolitan area that provide employment for a sizable proportion of workers from the same minority. The phenomenon must be examined on the basis of information on firms and labor markets, not housing.” See Portes and Jensen (1989).
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The decline of political participation in the United States is most serious in the central cities where the lowest levels of political engagement can be found among new immigrants, poor African Americans, Latinos, and Asian Americans. In recent years citizenship applications have increased although citizenship among new immigrants remains low, and those immigrants who become citizens are generally less likely to vote than native-born Americans. Latinos and Asian Americans, even those born in the United States, have shown a pattern of low voter turnout. Voter turnout in the African American community has also been low relative to voter turnout for white ethnics, especially in the absence of black candidates on the ballot. See Fuchs, Shapiro, and Minnite (2001).
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See Driedger (1995). He found, in survey samples in the United States and Canada that Mennonites are becoming more urban, professional, and mobile. Half of North American Mennonites now live in the city and many are adjusting by maintaining theological beliefs, morality, religious practices, and in-group identity of traditional rural communities. At the same time they are opening up to the larger political society, including its social concerns and greater church outreach. Rural and urban Mennonite communities are in continual communication with relatives, communities, and conferences where rural–urban concerns are debated, and where they work together in numerous projects of outreach. Thus, rural Mennonite values continue to influence individual and community decisions, while Mennonites bring their more open outreach expertise and experiences to these same contacts and settings. In contrast, the Shakers, which during the 1840s numbered about 6,000 in the Northeastern United States, have not made attempts to adapt to larger American society. Primarily due to their practice of celibacy there are only eight members remaining in Sabbathday, Maine (Chura, 1995).
- 7.
According to Lin (1995), preservationist activists and ethnic “place entrepreneurs” have used the symbolism and sentiment of ethnic culture to stimulate neighborhood revitalization and urban tourism in Houston.
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There is evidence that the psychological health of sojourners is poorer than other types of immigrants. See Zheng and Berry (1991).
- 9.
Okie (2007).
- 10.
McDonald and Kennedy (2004).
- 11.
Farley, Galves, Dickinson, and de Jesus Diaz Perez (2005).
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For example, the “Talking Circle” in Alaska Native culture offers a context for sharing with the rest of the village. The belief is that only by coming together as a circle can cultural consciousness emerge and threats to the culture be overcome. A Talking Circle was formed in the Native Village of Eyak in Prince William Sound, Alaska to reduce community social disruption and promote local cultural mobilization following the Exxon Valdez oil spill. See Picou (2000). Similarly, the American Indian “powwow” has long been viewed as an index of community solidarity. As the American Indian population has become more urbanized and acculturated the powwow has become a popular national circuit involving Indians and non-Indians. Powwows are expressions of Indian identity and ways of forging and displaying group solidarity. See Eschbeah and Applbaum (2000).
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Bruhn, J.G. (2011). Common Ties: Immigrant, Refugee, and Ethnic Communities. In: The Sociology of Community Connections. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1633-9_3
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