In her article, “How Exceptional is New York?”, Nancy Foner discusses diversity in New York City, as well as its respective positive and negative features. As the two most prominent cultural hubs in the nation, Foner focuses particularly on immigration in New York City and Los Angeles, with substantial more emphasis on the former. She states that immigration promotes diversity and cooperation within different races. According to her, “New York’s remarkable ethnic and racial diversity, its immigration history, and its institutions have combined to make it a receiving city, in many ways, like no other in the United States” (Foner 1000). She emphasizes the diversity of New York City in countless ways, by highlighting its extensive ethnic diversity due to the immigrant population, as well as the many features that come with varying cultural diversity. Among such include, “the heterogeneity of skills” (1002), as well as how “officials and social service agencies actively promote events to foster ethnic pride and glorify the city’s multi-ethnic character and multi-ethnic history” (1004).
Despite the many wonderful attributes that racial diversity brings to further enrich New York City, there are still unavoidable tensions and downsides. The multitude of ethnicities and races make way for stereotypes as well as racial constructions, as “perceptions of race and ethnicity in New York [are] shaped by national trends and developments” (1004). In addition to this, there is an issue of self-identity as one may begin to question what race one really belongs to, as well as persisting tensions among various races.
Essentially, Foner explains that while cultural diversity in New York City is something that is remarkable and an inherent feature of the city, it also brings a plethora of issues that can’t be ignored or circumvented. Despite this, diversity is still something beautiful. Although the city heralds more diversity and thus more open views on various cultures than many areas in the country, we can hope that one day, the vision of the city will spread throughout the entire nation.
– Nadera Rahman
