Voluntary Organizations, Social Capital, and the Social Incorporation of Asian Indian Immigrants in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex

This article addresses the organizational life of Asian-Indian immigrants in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. The analysis is framed in relation to the concept of social capital, and more specifically to differences between bonding and bridging social capital, and between ethnic social capital (embedded in ethnic associations) and cross-cultural social capital (embedded in mixed and more mainstream organizations). After a brief discussion of the growth of the Asian-Indian population in DFW, the article draws on examples of five different organizational forms—regional, religious, ethnic, pan-ethnic, and ethnic to mainstream—to explore how different forms of social capital are developed and deployed, as well as how nested hierarchies of identity are manifested and expressed. In the conclusion the article addresses the implications for our understanding of how dispersed immigrant populations in new suburban cities of immigration establish place through associations as well as what an analysis of these organizations contributes to ongoing debates about assimilation, incorporation, and the construction of community.