Judging from today’s wave of immigration, it seems as if the entire United States is gradually shifting towards a “majority minority” population. Gone with the last great wave is the large influx of white immigrants of European-ancestry. Now more than ever, individuals from all over migrate to the United States in hopes of greener pastures and better opportunities. Asians, West Indians, Hispanics ranging from Mexican to Caribbean islands, and Eastern Europeans have replaced the Jews and Italians who flooded the docks at the turn of the 20th century just like the Jews and Italians replaced the German and Irish migrants before them. Another consistency in this pattern is that each new group is generally greeted in an unwelcome manner by the native borns, almost the firm realization that they are not one of them; they are not American.
What is interesting about this pattern is that Italians and Jews who migrated to the United States at the turn of the century were generally perceived to be ‘the other’ and not associated with the white ethnicity. Yet through time and assimilation from both the immigrant and native born ends, these two groups have become recognized with the white ethnicity. It is hard to say whether the immigrants that comprise today’s great wave will follow in the footsteps in this regard because of the evident differences in physical characteristics. As Foner notes though, Asians, through continued increase in intermarriage and intermingling, might be able to be included in an expansion of the white ethnicity. Other new groups including the West Indians and darker-skinned Hispanics might become more and more associated with the African-American race (West Indians are already experiencing this trend) as the main divide regarding race remains between black and white.
Keeping these patterns in mind, instead of being met with hostility, different races and ethnicities should be more accepted for American society to continue to prosper as it shifts towards become a “majority minority” population. Moreover, people of different races should look to learn about new cultures and behaviors from their new neighbors to further blossom as a society. Obviously easier said than done. Roger Sanjek’s case study of the Elmhurst-Corona community in Queens, New York sheds some light on the benefits people receive from embracing new races rather than turning their shoulders towards their new neighbors.
Elmhurst-Corona, a predominantly white neighborhood in the 1960s, has transitioned to arguably “the most ethnically mixed community in the world,” by the 1990s. Various ethnic groups live amongst each other, not completely in unison, but in a way that allows the community to function properly for all residents. Things were not always this way of course. The initial influx of African-Americans to the Lefrak City section of the community was perceived as an influx of ‘welfare cases’ to the white residents living there despite their median income being higher than that of the white residents. Furthermore, the misconception of the new immigration groups being “illegal aliens” who were taking up spots in schools, residence, and many jobs without legal right to the land. Quality of life in the area was threatened throughout the period of transition as well, highlighted by the 1975 fiscal crisis that increased tensions between races.
However, through active membership in a community board to ensure peace and order in Elmhurst-Corona ranging from making sure a police station remained on a block to the continued use of a library guard, race tensions began to subside. With the commonality of their self-interests, residents of the area shifted more towards embracing ‘the other’ than rejecting them. Working bonds and even friendships have been formed as white women have offered tutoring sessions to young immigrant kids in exchange for a well-cooked ethnic meal from their family. With ties like these in place, Elmhust-Corona is likely headed towards a brighter future as a ‘majority minority’ neighborhood. Hopefully, America as a whole follows on the path.
After all, we’re in this same boat together.
