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Chapter 28. Changes in the Heartland: Emerging Ethnic Patterns in Louisville, KY
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C Ch ha ap pt te er r 2 28 8 Changes in the Heartland: Emerging Ethnic Patterns in Louisville, KY WILLIAM DAKAN INTRODUCTION — THE TRANSFORMATION OF LOUISVILLE One of the pervasive characteristics of contemporary American society is the remarkable increase in international migration to large metropolitan areas. In general, the focus of current research is on these Gateway Cities. The extremely large size of immigrant streams to these cities, along with a few others, justifies these numerous studies. We are able to see the dynamics of immigration written on a large scale: high levels of segregation, contrasting levels of assimilation, the suburbanization of new communities, secondary settlements, the rise of an immigrant entrepreneur class and increasing political influence (Alba et al., 1999). The emphasis on larger cities needs to be augmented by studies of smaller places including middle-sized and small-sized metropolitan areas, micropolitan areas, and selected rural sites where immigrants have had a significant impact. Louisville is one of those cities that is undergoing visible transformation, due to international migration. Migrants in Louisville are making their presence known in numerous ways. The impact of immigrants in Louisville has profoundly affected the social and commercial life of that city. Louisville recently merged with its county to form a consolidated metro government and is now 16th in size among American cities. With the merger, there has been an increase in public discourse as to what “big city” status means in the way the local government operates and the issues that need to be addressed. Within this context, there is a heightened interest in the role the city plays in international affairs and the international economy . Some of the interest has been symbolic. The airport name was changed from Standiford Field to Louisville International Airport to acknowledge the presence of United Parcel System’s major hub. The sense of a greater internationalization of the city was illustrated to me through an encounter at a local restaurant when I hosted a visitor from Montreal at a breakfast buffet. She piled a yellow substance on her plate and asked me what it was. I said that it was “grits” (a Southern dish consisting of boiled ground corn). The waitress, who overheard the exchange, replied “We’re international now, they ain’t grits, they’s polenta.” Polenta is an Italian dish consisting of boiled ground corn. On a more serious note, the number of Sister Cities has tripled, there is an active international Visitor’s Center and the metro mayor’s office has a department dedicated to immigrant and refugee affairs. In addition, there are several religious and non-profit organizations devoted to the well-being of refugees. The school district has directed considerable resources toward the education of immigrant students. TARC, the local bus system, prints schedules in English, Russian, Spanish, Serbo-Croatian, Chinese, and Vietnamese. This official welcome mat is of recent vintage. As a border-line Southern city, Louisville has had a mixed record in its attitude toward immigrant populations. In the 1800s, the Scot-Irish majority had established roots in the community. In the 1900 Census, Louisville had a higher percentage (approximately 4%) of foreign-born than all other Southern cities but that value was lower than all other Northern cities. In this context, the current immigrant community has had to create a presence without linkages to older, more established, communities of foreign- 368 William Dakan born. In larger cities, established second-generation immigrant communities provide new immigrants with a guide to residential choices, access to essential social services, and employment opportunities. Many of the first new migrants were refugees, ranging from Bosnians to Somalian. More recently, free migrants from Mexico, Cuba, and Vietnam have enriched the area. Both private social service agencies and local government have responded to the influx by providing a broad range of social and acculturation services to an increasingly diverse population. In some areas of the county, there has been a significant change in the cultural landscape with new restaurants, churches (and foreign-language services in traditional settings) and a diverse range of goods in groceries in immigrant-intensive areas. This chapter will focus on the characteristics of the increasing international diversity within the broader community, but also on the marked diversity within the immigrant community. In particular, the differences in migration history, education, occupation, and economic impact on the community across the major foreign born groups will be stressed. Of special importance are the different trajectories each of the major groups takes as...