In “The Nature of Assimilation”, Milton Gordon argues against the myth of Americanization and the societal demand for Anglo-conformity. He notes that the xenophobic, post-WW1 crusade for assimilation was ultimately misguided “in its demand for a rapid personal transformation and a draconic and abrupt detachment from the cultural patterns and memories of the homeland”. Essentially, American society, out of indifference or outright hate, exploits immigrants for their economic output and capitalistic gains. In such a situation, where society marginalizes them into enclaves or ghettos and only pays attention to them for their labor, immigrants have no choice but to take on the roles of the laborer, the sweatshop worker, the exploited. In fact, immigrant communities serve as “a kind of decompression chamber”; a place of solace wherein newcomers are able to adjust to a different society at their own pace. Take note that Gordon wrote this in 1964. As I read this today, I don’t believe that these sentiments have changed.
Gordon also discusses the positive aspects of communal life in immigrant communities. Ethnic groups are able to interact with their own native faiths, organizations, and overall culture with people of the same background and language as them. As someone who was raised by immigrants and grew up in an area populated entirely by first and second-generation immigrants of various ethnicities, I can attest to that. There is a unique sense of community found in every barber shop, bodega, restaurant and grocery store, where people can intermingle under the commonality of “where they came from” or “what brought them here”. For my non-English speaking uncles, aunts, and grandmother, interacting with people of their own ethnicity is a necessity, since it provided the means of finding employment and accessibility to information.
Unfortunately, this situation leads to erasure of communities in the large scale. Since isolated communities are often ignored on the larger scale, resources, accommodations and opportunities are harder to attain. This circumstance forces many people into labor or blue-collar work that mainstream society tends to look down upon (construction, housekeeping, etc.) – which reinforces the stereotype that immigrants are poor, uncivilized and otherwise unfitting in American society. This sentiment was reflected more than a century ago by the journalistic coverage on Jewish enclaves in New York City. Jacob Riis was applauded for uncovering the lives of marginalized communities, and the many struggles that they went through. But at the same time, he mainly uncovered the negative and the scandalous. By describing female Jewish workers as dirty laborers who toil in “sweatshops” (as opposed to the delicate American/Anglo-Saxon women spinning thread), he indirectly paints a highly gendered and racialized image of the community to the entire nation. It’s this process which further marginalizes ethnic groups and contributes to racist ideologies, such as the belief that the West is the superior civilization and that outsiders must either assimilate or be excluded.
