Race, Ethnicity, and Place in a Changing America

Part V. Diversity, Culture, and Place

P Pa ar rt t V V D Di iv ve er rs si it ty y, , C Cu ul lt tu ur re e, , a an nd d P Pl la ac ce e Previous chapters provided examples of increasing ethnic diversity among U.S. minority populations, expressions of culture and the issues they create, and the creation and re-creation of geographic spaces and places. This final section pursues the interrelationships between these topics. Chapter 24 examines the relationship of land to American-Indian identity. It reports efforts by tribes to reclaim ancestral lands as a symbol of group identity but also considers the interrelation between land and sovereignty , and between economic development and cultural sustainability. The next two chapters remind us of the continued importance of Europeans to American ethnic diversity . Chapter 25 explores “whiteness” in a unique way, by examining its spatial and socioeconomic basis in Portland, Oregon. It illustrates how white identities have been re-created among Russian and Ukranian immigrant refugees for a unique purpose, to share in the resources provided needy minority populations. In the process , the chapter explores relationships between social institutions, shifting ethnic identities, and the geographic patterns of these recent immigrants. Greek-Americans came to the U.S. in substantial numbers during different immigration waves and settled in “Greek Towns” of some large inner cities. These visible ethnic enclaves were evidence of a GreekAmerican presence that centered on the cultural triad of language, family and church. American suburbanization contributed to the decline of Greek Towns, as the younger, educated, and affluent Greek-Americans became part of white flight. Chapter 26 examines challenges to Greek-American ethnic traditions posed by suburbanization. In doing so, it reveals the persistence of particular cultural traits that continue to define Greek-American ethnicity for multiple-age cohorts at the beginning of the 21st century. As the number of foreign-born increased after the 1965 Hart-Celler Act, particular gateway states and their cities gained a disproportionate number of immigrants. New Jersey is one example, and Chapter 27 explains the disparities of economic status among native-born and foreign-born in a case study of Paterson. It illustrates that factors other than educational attainment explain economic disparities in this increasingly ethnically diverse city. Ethnic diversity also has reached the American Heartland, both in rural and urban areas. Chapter 28 uses Louisville, Kentucky to illustrate this process. It focuses on the characteristics of that city’s highly diverse foreign -born population, including the diversity within major groups, such as Asian Americans. It also stresses landscape changes and immigrant trajectories toward middle-class status. This text closes by examining one of America’s greatest dilemmas, racial and ethnic disparities in U.S. health and health care. Chapter 29 describes health inequalities within a geographic framework for the major U.S. ethnic groups and illustrates the unique health problems of each group. It also briefly examines health intervention strategies. ...