Arts and Humanities Commons^™

The Battle For City Hall: What Do We Fight Over?, Louise Simmons

New England Journal of Public Policy

An important dimension of contemporary American urban politics involves the redistributive role of local government. Activism at the local level has produced electoral movements that have succeeded in electing progressive local candidates and coalitions, yet on assuming office those officials face tremendous obstacles in meeting the expectations of those who put them in office. From 1991 to 1993 in Hartford, Connecticut, an attempt at progressive governance by a multiracial coalition was fraught with difficulties. Tensions among progressives and among leadership from impoverished communities of color, responses of downtown interests and the media, fiscal crises and the unrelenting needs of the …

Introduction, James Jennings

Trotter Review

The Black community in the United States is undergoing major demographic changes that point to greater ethnic diversity. There are many ethnic groups that compose the Black community today, including people from Africa, the Caribbean, South America, and other parts of the world. This community can no longer be approached as socially or demographically monolithic. Individuals in these groups may define themselves as "Black" but not necessarily, "African American." This issue of the Trotter Review explores facets of on-going ethnic transformation within the Black community. It begins with several essays that introduce broad themes related to this social and demographic …

Black Immigrant Community Of Washington, D.C.: A Public History Approach, Portia James

Trotter Review

In the Washington, D.C. area contemporary Black community life has been shaped in large part by a pattern of migration and settlement of African Americans from southern states. But international immigration has also made its mark on the local Black community. Today, Washington and its suburbs in Virginia and Maryland are home to significant populations of Black people from Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. This international movement of people has resulted in the broadening of Black community life and the development of a multicultural and multi-ethnic Black population in the area.

Haitian Immigrants And African-American Relations: Ethnic Dilemmas In A Racially-Stratified Society, Gemima M. Remy

Trotter Review

This article focuses on Haitian immigrants and how they have attempted to interpret their migration experience and ascribed racial and ethnic status in the U.S. It is argued that the legal and economic positions of Haitian immigrants have not only impacted their perceptions and understanding of their living conditions in this country, but they have also compelled them to reassess their self-definition as a distinct group of individuals with their own history, culture, nationality, and racial identity. Like many other Caribbean immigrants, Haitians "suffer double invisibility... as immigrants and black immigrants or double visibility as blacks in the eyes of …

Cape Verdean-Americans: A Historical Perspective Of Ethnicity And Race, Jean E. Barker

Trotter Review

Cape Verdean immigrants in the United States worked to establish their own unique ethnic identity in an effort not to be grouped with Afro-Americans. On the Cape Verde Islands they were Portuguese citizens and identified as Portuguese. In the United States they persisted in stressing their identification as Portuguese, claiming the right to self-designation rather than accepting one imposed by an exceedingly race-conscious society. As one immigrant stated: "We are not black, we are Portuguese. We know we have black in our blood, and white." In the turn-of-the-century United States any amount of African ancestry guaranteed an identification by society …

The Linkage Between African Americans And The South African Black Immigrant Community, Chris Nteta

Trotter Review

An understanding of the South African immigrant experience in the United States requires placing it within a context of linkages and alliances between transported South African blacks and the African American community. Like many other nationalities, South African black immigration to this country resulted from people fleeing the murderous apartheid regime whose national constitution and laws enshrined a racist ideology buttressed by a myriad of draconian practices. In this respect, South African immigrants were predominantly refugees and exiles on a quest for asylum. On the other hand, this group exhibits distinctive political tendencies which sets it apart from other such …

Explanations For African Immigration, Kwaku Danso

Trotter Review

Africa is a continent in crisis. Sub-Saharan Africa today poses the greatest development challenge facing the world today. Many of Africa's development programs have failed miserably. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have attributed this failure to inefficient internal economic policies pursued by African governments. These governments, on the other hand, blame failure on uncontrollable external factors in the world economy, such as international financial markets, worldwide recessions, declining commodity prices, protectionist trade policies against African exports, and the oil price shocks of the 1970s. While there is merit to each of these schools of thought, there is …

Leadership In The African Immigrant Community: Conflict And Coalition, Mfon Ufot

Trotter Review

Whenever African immigrants gather, most assuredly the conversation of their plight to the United States, will be a heated topic. Most of the discussion laments the apparent apathy in the African community and the lack of collective leadership to mobilize it. According to the 1990 census, there are over 350,000 African in the United States and that number is increasing every year. The State Department's Information on Immigration reports about 20,000 Africans won the "immigration lottery" to emigrate to the United States last year. This year, about 20,000 slots are allotted to the African continent. This program is a part …

The Political Issues For African Immigrants In The United States, Paul E. Udofia

Trotter Review

Since the 1970s the African-born population in the United States has grown steadily in numbers. This increase of African immigrants offers an historic opportunity for sustained reconstruction of ancestral relationships with Black America. At this point, however, Africans who are mostly English-speaking and highly educated, remain largely isolated and even ostracized. So, what must be done for these groups, Blacks and African immigrants, to begin working together effectively? This essay begins with one basic query necessary for understanding this potential development: What is the current status of African immigrants in the United States? After providing a brief overview in response …

Caribbean Migrant Experiences In Church And Society, J A George Irish

Trotter Review

One of the greatest ironies of the Caribbean community in New York is, that it is at one and the same time, both "power-full" and powerless. Its power lies essentially in a relatively untapped and latent potential, whereas its powerlessness rests in its virtual immobilization as an ethnic group. By dint of sheer numbers the Caribbean presence, whether solely anglophone/West Indian, or more broadly representative of the wider Caribbean Basin, is a formidable force to reckon with, since over 30 percent of the immigrant population of New York is Caribbean. In fact, they are among the fastest growing immigrant groups. …

West Indian Immigrant Adaptation: The Role Of Cross-Pressures, Milton Vickerman

Trotter Review

The purpose of this essay is to discuss ideas of race and achievement as they emanate from West Indian immigrants. I argue that these immigrants, part of the post-1965 upsurge in non-white immigrants, are helping to cement the significance of race in American life but making the racial picture more complex at the same time. This is occurring because their numbers are growing, their economic performance questions the traditional link that has been made between race and achievement, and their experiences in this country validate the complaints emanating from African-Americans about racial discrimination. In short, West Indians embody the contradictions …

The Health Status And Lost Earnings Of Hispanic And Non-Hispanic Women, Janis Barry Figueroa

New England Journal of Public Policy

Based on data from the 1990 early release file of the Latino sample of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), this article examines the loss of earnings suffered by disabled or health-limited Hispanic women workers. For comparative purposes, the author created an identical analysis based on a sample of black and white non-Hispanic women from the 1989 original-sample PSID. The research also considers the prevalence of poor health among Latinas to ascertain whether their lower labor-force participation, earnings, and number of hours worked can be associated with episodes of poor health. The empirical results show that Hispanic women are …

Beyond Affirmative Action: An Inquiry Into The Experiences Of Latinas In Academia, Martha Montero-Sieburth

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article presents a Latina professional's observations of the world of meanings and circumstances that Latina academicians and researchers face in higher education. While they are not represented as a definitive study, because research on underrepresented faculty is sparse and inconclusive owing to the small numbers, they are nonetheless exploratory and critical, rooted in the author's and other Latinas' exposure to academic contexts, forums, and institutes, the scant literature on Latina academicians, and the experiences and reflections of fifteen professional Latinas in higher education. The academic structural obstacles that have constrained the advancement of these women in their professionalization are …

A Tale Of Two Hannas: Observations On Israeli And Palestinian Women's Resistance To Occupation (1991-1995), Christina Pratt

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

An observer reviews the successes and failures of grassroots strategies of non-violent resistance to military occupation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Particular attention is paid to the role of women's groups and peace organizations in Israel as well as in Israeli Occupied Arab Territories.

Annotated Bibliography Of Resources For Researching Danish-American Folklife, Gregory Hansen

The Bridge

Danish-American folklife consists of the expressions of

traditional culture that identify Americans of Danish heritage

as belonging to this small ethnic group.

Encompassing a full range of expressive behavior, ranging

from building and decorating immigrant homes to crafting

intricate patterns with knitting needles, scissors, hammer

and anvil, Danish-American folklife includes any form of

knowledge or skill that is learned by observation or imitation

within a community context (Hansen 1988:23)

Front Cover

The Bridge

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Table Of Contents

The Bridge

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The Impact Of Nfs Grundtvig On American Immigrants, Axel C. Kildegaard

The Bridge

They came singly and in small groups in the 1850' s. A

few settled in the cities, others moved on to the lumber

forests of Michigan and Wisconsin while more made their

destination the fertile farmlands of the midwest. A few of

the even more adventurous crossed the country or made

the long sail around the Straits of Magellan to California.

Contributors

The Bridge

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From Junction City To Denmark, Visti Favrholt

The Bridge

Standing on the deck in the cold of the night, I could

distinguish lights some distance away on both sides of the

ship. It was clear we were in a kind of channel. Another

passenger said it was a Norwegian fjord. How he could

tell, I didn't know, because it was pretty dark out there.

But one thing, was very clear. The captain of our ship, for

all his golden buttons and stripes, must have got lost

because he was supposed to find Denmark. Columbus

could have done better. I stood there in the dark and

thought about the matter …

Front Cover

The Bridge

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Memories From A Danish American Parsonage, Bodil S. Sorensen

The Bridge

Those of us who grew up in the Danish-American

colonies of the 30' s and 40' s experienced a life that has

now disappeared. It was a rich and unique life. It was a

time of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd generation immigrants adjusting

to the American culture and at the same time cherishing

their particular brand of Danish heritage.

Paradise In Poverty, Visti Favrholt

The Bridge

Junction City, in the early thirties, was a sleepy, small

town located in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. With a

population of only a few hundred, it could hardly be

called a city. But the forefathers had visions of a major rail way

and highway junction at this location, providing prosperity

and a great future for all. As it was, the railway went

straight through town and trains seldom stopped there.

Book Review, Thorvald Hansen

The Bridge

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Full Issue

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Book Review, Gerald Rasmussen

The Bridge

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End Matter

The Bridge

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Front Matter

The Bridge

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