The first reading, by Rudolf J. Vecoli, provided a brief overview of various topics having to do with immigration in the United States. First and foremost, it gave a timeline of when various immigrant groups throughout history arrived, but more importantly, how they were received by the American public. For instance, it discusses how Irish Catholics were persecuted for not only their rowdy behavior, but also for their subscription to the Catholic religion and supposed allegiance to the Pope. The paper brings up, as that example clarifies, a glaring contradiction in the American mindset. This idea is the idea of equality for all, but in practice only certain people are afforded such equality. The paper also discussed the inaccuracy of calling the United States a “melting pot” because of how it implies that more assimilation occurs than what happens in reality.
It seems to me that calling the United States a melting pot is not really very accurate. I would argue that the U.S. is more of a cultural buffet where people can choose as much or as little of different cultures as they want, and altogether ignore and reject some. While it is true that there are certain areas, such as large cosmopolitan cities, where there is indeed more interaction between different cultures, these areas are still often quite segregated.
The second reading discusses, more specifically, immigration in New York City. The paper begins by discussing how different modern immigration to New York City is from the wave that came at the turn of the twentieth century. The reason for the difference is mostly because of the ethnic backgrounds of the immigrants. In the early 1900’s, most immigrants came from Europe, but now people from all over the globe come in large numbers. The reading then discussed immigrants’ connections with their home countries, and the economic outlooks of various immigrant groups. It mentioned that “Russian and European groups in New York City have among the highest levels of education” while “Latin American and Hispanic Caribbean groups” have the lowest. This causes the former groups to have a much easier time finding economic success than the latter ones. The reading also mentions some of the social challenges and prejudices that immigrants, especially dark skinned ones, face.
After living in Manhattan for a few months now, I have really been able to see what this article is talking about. As I have explored various parts of the city, I have noticed different neighborhoods with different ethnic groups, and I have also noticed that different parts of the city are like completely different worlds. Around campus, it is generally not a very wealthy area, and there usually isn’t very much going on in the community. If I go just one stop downtown on the A train, I’m in an affluent cultural hub with shining lights and plenty to do. The segregation here really is very apparent, and I think we, as a community, should aspire to lesson this phenomenon.
The final reading focuses more on second generation, young Americans who are living in New York City. The writers of this reading conducted a study on this population of people, second generation immigrants, and found that they “assimilating into American society very rapidly,” especially when it comes to language. The writers found that these second generation immigrants have little concern with the homeland of their parents, and many have not even visited. Like the previous reading, this one mentions how descendants of dark skinned immigrants report feeling discriminated against, even by the city’s police force. The reading also discusses the education of this group of people, as well as the jobs they seek. It brings up that many of the immigrant groups are struggling to succeed in the city’s system, while the higher educated Chinese and Russians are even more successful than native whites and blacks.
As someone who didn’t experience the New York City K-12 public school system, I am not looking at this issue from a place of familiarity. However, from what the reading said, it seems that something must be done to figure out why there is a difference in success between different groups of immigrants, and something should be done to address it.
