Last year, Peter Kwong (the author of today's readings) answered reader questions in the New York Times online. I'm posting this link because it helps us understand how the processes he described have shifted since he published his book (1987). For example, he notes that competition from China has almost killed the garment industry in Chinatown. He also discusses the continued gentrification of the area and his belief that Chinatown will eventually cease to exist.

  This week’s readings were particularly interesting because they focused on the immigrant groups that were not Black but were also not American enough either. The Italians, Irish, Jews, and Puerto Ricans—just like all immigrants to this country—strove to be accepted by Americans. This term American is also intriguing because from this week’s readings as well as past readings, it seems as if “American” is often considered to be synonymous with “whiteness”.