Race and Ethnicity Commons^™

Shelter Poverty: Housing Affordability Among Asian Americans, Michael E. Stone

Institute for Asian American Studies Publications

Relatively little research has been conducted that focuses on the housing situation of Asian and Pacific Islander Americans (hereafter generally referred to as Asian Americans), especially on the national level. From a review of about 30 articles and reports over the past decade that examine racial/ethnic housing situations nationally, only one specifically addressed housing problems of Asian Americans (Hansen, 1986) while two others included Asian Americans along with other populations of color. Of the remaining articles, most used the terms race, racial discrimination, or segregation in their titles, yet did not include Asian Americans in the studies. Of particular note, …

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 …

Understanding Latino Ethnic Identity Development: A Review Of Relevant Issues, Azara Rivera-Santiago

New England Journal of Public Policy

One of the most promising areas in cross-cultural psychology is the development of identity among various ethnic groups in the United States. This article has a twofold purpose. First, it offers the concept of ethnic identity as defined and studied within the social sciences — sociology, anthropology, and psychology — including a review of some of the recent work on ethnic identity development proposed by leading investigators in the field of psychology. The author discusses their generalizability across ethnic groups. Second, it presents a number of dimensions considered important in conceptualizing and studying Hispanic ethnic identity development. These include acculturation, …

The Influence Of Family Background On The Educational Attainment Of Latinos, Yolanda C. Padilla

New England Journal of Public Policy

This study examines the family background and late childhood factors that influence the educational attainment of young Latino men. Using rich data available from the National Longitudinal Survey of Labor Market Experience-Youth Cohort, the author approached this study through a series of incremental regression models. The sample consists of 419 Latino male youth, ages 14 to 17, who were living at home in 1979. The analysis covers the years 1978 to 1988. The study, using data gathered during the respondents' childhood and early adolescence, surveys their educational outcomes approximately ten years later, when they are young adults. To account for …

The Educational Achievement Of U.S. Puerto Ricans, Katharine M. Donato, Roger A. Wojtkiewicz

New England Journal of Public Policy

With longitudinal data, this article extends to the 1990s research on minority educational achievement and emphasizes the experiences of Puerto Ricans. The authors' results suggest that compared with whites, blacks, and Mexicans, Puerto Ricans exhibit the lowest high school graduation rates and that their educational disadvantage is unique. Even if Puerto Ricans assumed the attributes of whites, they would graduate at lower rates than the latter. This finding, which has serious implications, deserves priority in the agendas of scholars and policy specialists alike.

Family Development In Cultural Context: Implications For Prevention And Early Intervention With Latino Families, Ester R. Shapiro

New England Journal of Public Policy

An integrative model of family development in cultural context is presented as an organizing conceptual framework for supporting the optimal development of Latino children and families. This social developmental approach locates individual developmental outcomes within nested structures of family, community, and culture, each offering resources as well as potentially presenting stresses. This model also considers social attitudes such as racism or as potential risks or burdens for Latino families and suggests ways to address these social risks at individual, familial, and social levels. The article describes two exemplary prevention and early intervention programs for Latino parents and children; focusing on …

Premature Mortality Among U.S. Puerto Ricans, 1989, Annette B. Ramirez De Arellano

New England Journal of Public Policy

The indicator "years of potential life lost" (YPLL) points out the extent to which premature death among Puerto Ricans residing in the United States is a function of behaviors and social conditions. The computation of YPLL for various causes of death highlights the devastating effect of HIV infection, which emerges as the leading cause of premature death for both genders. Indeed, a 50 percent reduction in the HIV/AIDS death toll would save more years of potential life than the complete eradication of both cancer and diabetes. Accidents and homicides follow HTV as leading causes of YPLL.

This indicator also underscores …

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 …

Foreword, Martha Montero-Sieburth, Ralph Rivera

New England Journal of Public Policy

These articles echo the issues of today that will have an impact on the future and help us understand how current thinking about ethnicity, education, and health within Latino populations presents opportunities for the coming century. The Latino presence in the United States will certainly make itself known. As Richard Rodriguez poignantly reminds us, "We will change America, even as we will be changed."

Latino Students' Academic Literacy In Science Education: Contextualizing Policies, Raimundo Mora

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article reviews various interpretations of academic literacy that are being applied to science education, their limitations in terms of Latino students, and the case study experiences of three Latino students majoring in science. The author examines the ways in which factors he has identified in his experiences and research as crucial can be integrated to improve academic literacy programs. He recommends to planners of science programs methods to effect advancement in Latinos' academic performance.

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 …

Puerto Ricans' Access To Health Care, Ralph Rivera

New England Journal of Public Policy

The shift toward cost containment in health policy over the past decade has had negative consequences for the most vulnerable populations in the country, namely, ethnic minorities, the poor, and the uninsured. The Puerto Rican population is significantly affected by this shift, yet little is known of their health care usage. This study investigates the extent to which Puerto Ricans' health care use is determined by the relationship between predisposing variables, enabling variables, need, and other contextual variables and probes the implications of the findings for health policy. The adult Puerto Rican subsample (n = 1598) of the Hispanic Health …