The Urban World, 9th Ed. J. John Palen

Chapter 10: Diversity: Hispanics, Asians, and Native Americans Introduction Latino Population Mexican Americans Puerto Ricans Asian Americans Native Americans Summary

Introduction Fourth-Wave Immigrants Four of five legal immigrants now come from Asia and Latin America The era of mass European migration to North America ended roughly 90 years ago Recent Immigration Impact on Cities Immigrant populations are replacing central cities’ population losses and adding to the tax base Immigrants will account for almost one-quarter of all new households in the U.S.

Figure 10.1 U.S. Population by Race and Ethnic Group, 2010, 2025, and 2050

Melting Pot or Cultural Pluralism The melting pot assumed that as second- and later-generation populations moved toward the urban periphery, they would lose much of their ethnic identification During the 1970s the melting-pot metaphor was largely replaced by that of cultural pluralism Cultural pluralism suggests the metaphor of a salad bowl rather than a melting pot For predicting a person’s behavior and future, knowing their social class is far more useful than knowing their ethnicity

Latino Population Legal Status Growth Undocumented immigrants make up slightly more than 4 percent of the population, but their babies represent twice that number, or percent of all births Growth The Latino population is growing by an extraordinary 1.4 million a year Two-thirds of the Latino population is under age 35 Latino birthrates are about 50 percent higher than the U.S. average Over half the Hispanic population of the U.S. is clustered in two states: California and Texas Some 84 percent of Latinos live in metro areas

Figure 10.2 U.S. Population of Blacks and Hispanics, 1990-2005 (in millions)

Diversity Latinos are not an ethnic group at all; rather Latino is an umbrella term that covers everyone speaking a common language although they come from two dozen different countries and cultures The label Hispanic or Latino obscures the diversity of people sharing the label The Spanish-speaking population as a whole is better off economically than blacks Some 4 of 10 Hispanic adults have less than a high school education

Mexican Americans Mexican Diversity California-born, second- and third-generation, poor, barrio-living Latinos call themselves Chicanos California Mexican Americans (Californios)—often more recent arrivals to the U.S.—differ radically from Texas Mexican Americans (Tejanos), who have often been in the U.S. for generations “Spanish” ancestry has traditionally been considered more prestigious that “Mexican” ancestry, and “Indian” ancestry is at the bottom

Education Urbanization Mexican Americans have lower median levels of education than African Americans Cubans have the highest educational levels Only 44 percent of foreign-born Hispanic adults are high school graduates, compared to 70 percent of U.S.-born Hispanic adults Urbanization Rapid urbanization Life in U.S. is superior to the destitute barrios of the Mexican manicipios

Housing and Other Patterns The crowded barrios of California and Texas are where new arrivals are most likely to settle Poverty is common in the urban barrios or “hoods” Gang-related drug use and crime are common in the hoods Segregation levels are high in large cities having large Latino populations Political Involvement Mexican Americans are still underrepresented in the halls of political power, but signs point to increased political activity Only 35 percent of all legal Mexican-born immigrants are citizens and thus able to vote

Puerto Ricans About 10 percent of Hispanics Second-largest Hispanic minority in the U.S. Puerto Ricans have been American citizens since 1917 Some 96 percent reside in metropolitan areas A high proportion of female-headed families Puerto Rican political involvement tends to be low compared with that of other immigrant groups

Asian Americans A “Model Minority”? Asian Americans have for decades had the highest average family income levels of any census group 78 percent of Asian households are family households as compared to 70 percent for combined white and African American households The open hostility that earlier generations of Asian immigrants encountered sometimes is now replaced by more subtle types of prejudice

Figure 10.3 Ethnic Origins of Asian Americans

Asia Residential Segregation The first Asian immigrants were Chinese laborers The 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act forbade further immigration Those of Chinese background were restricted to living in Chinatowns Following World War II, Chinatowns declined as populations aged and upwardly mobile younger populations moved out Today, well-educated Asian immigrants bypass the city entirely and move to the economically developing suburban edge cities

The Case of Japanese Americans Japanese Americans, who during World War II were a hated minority, are now among the nation’s most successful, and prosperous, citizens They have been notably successful in adapting to the values, behaviors, and expectations of the American system The Internment Camps President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which authorized the construction of inland “relocation centers” More than 110,000 of the 126,000 Japanese in this country were put in these camps The estimated financial loss was $400 million

Japanese Americans Today Have had a record of upward mobility The group is almost entirely metropolitan in residence The generations born since World War II have become all but totally acculturated An out-marriage rate of more than 50 percent Soon after arrival, Japanese Americans stopped teaching their children the Japanese language

Native Americans Nonurban Orientation North American Indians have traditionally been rural based and oriented Today, the “vanishing red man” is vanishing no more Native Americans remain one of the nation’s poorest populations Nationally, gambling is now the major reservation employer Two-thirds of adults are now high school graduates

Movement to Cities Native Americans today remain the nation’s most rural ethnic group with only half living in cities and one-third still residing on reservations Between 1930 and 2010, the native born-minority group that experienced the greatest degree of urbanization was the Native Americans Tribal differences and lack of stable urban Indian populations have worked against the creation of tight ethnic social communities Urban Native Americans often live in poorer central-city neighborhoods Urban ways can produce a cultural bind for some Native Americans