Race, Ethnicity, and Place in a Changing America

Part I. Perspectives on American Race and Ethnicity

P Pa ar rt t I I P Pe er rs sp pe ec ct ti iv ve es s o on n A Am me er ri ic ca an n R Ra ac ce e a an nd d E Et th hn ni ic ci it ty y Section one contains five chapters that provide varied approaches to the study of American race and ethnicity in a place context. Chapter one lays the foundation for the book by providing definitions and context for the basic concepts it presents. The next two chapters examine aspects of race but from very different perspectives . Chapter two provides a stark contrast to Martin Luther King, Jr.’s perception of future American racial landscapes by exploring the racial landscape images of Malcolm X. In doing so, we see how the human condition and state of mind are expressed on the landscape but also how our surroundings shape our consciousness and our possibilities. Chapter 3 illustrates the effects of policies (usually considered abstract) in practice (praxis). School desegregation policies (usually recalled as an across-the-board-positive landmark) are examined for pros and cons and how people were actually affected by institutional decisions. The final two chapters in this section deal with important perspectives on immigration. Chapter 4 explains “gateway cities,” where they emerged and the roles they played in immigrant choices and settlements. It also provides a typology of gateway cities and provides a discussion of the nation’s capital as a relatively new gateway, explaining its influence on immigrants and the impact of immigrants on this particular region. Chapter 5 explores the roles of race and place in contemporary immigration. It uses history and compares models of assimilation with the author’s own experiences and observations of the U.S. In doing so, the argument is made that “racialized assimilation” occurs among many contemporary first-generation American immigrants and influences their settlement patterns. In summary, Section One provides the conceptual introduction to the text and illustrates the variety of approaches taken by social scientists to examine aspects of race, ethnicity and place in a changing America. ...