Professor Charles Hirschman

1
Professor Charles Hirschman Department of
Sociology
The Persistence of Diversity in American Society
Immigrants African Americans
Sociology 496 Honors Senior Seminar November 27
2007
2
PERSONAL BACKGROUND

• Undergrad soc major, Miami U
• PCV PhD Wisconsin, Duke, Cornell
• UW 1987 to present
• Race/ethnicity in Malaysia, SEA
• Asian Americans, immigration
• Fertility in SEA
• Vietnam
• Education, ethnic identities

3
The point about the melting pot is that it did
not happen.

• Glazer and Moynihan. 1963 (2nd edition, 1970
  290)

4
The Melting Pot did happen for white ethnics

• socioeconomic attainment, residential
  integration, intermarriage
• Beverly Duncan and O. D. Duncan. 1968. American
  Sociological Review
• Stanley Lieberson. 1980. A Piece of the Pie
• Richard Alba and Victor Nee. 2003. Remaking the
  American Mainstream.

5
Persistence of Inequality for African Americans

• Some gains, but.
• Higher joblessness
• Higher rates of poverty
• Higher morbidity and morality
• Residential segregation

6
Examples of Anglo Conformity Stage Name
Original Name

• Doris Day
• Lawrence Harvey
• Tony Curtis
• Judy Garland
• Ethel Merman
• June Allyson
• Kirk Douglas
• Danny Kaye
• Dean Martin
• Jerry Lewis

• Doris Kapplehoff
• Larry Skikne
• Bernie Schwartz
• Frances Gumm
• Ethel Zimmerman
• Ella Geisman
• Issur Danielovitch
• Daniel Kaminsky
• Dino Crocetti
• Joseph Levitch

Source Baltzell. 1964 47
7
Trends in wages, household income, wealth, and
home ownership across time and generations point
to the gradual ascension of many U.S. born
Hispanics to the middle class. (Tienda and
Mitchell 2006 5).

• Multiple Origins, Uncertain Identities Hispanic
  Americans and the American Future

8
Undocumented Immigrants

• Passel (2006) estimates
• 11.5 -12.0 m undocumented migrants
• Over 6 million from Mexico
• 6.6 m families with undocumented head/spouse
  undocumented
• families include 5 m. children most (3.1m) are
  citizens

9
(No Transcript)
10
Source Logan, Stults, and Farley, 2004
11
Qian and Lichter. 2007 76
12
How Did White Ethnics Make It ?

• Good timingarrived when high demand for
  industrial labor
• Militant unions organized industrial workers
• Social insurance New Deal
• GI Bill
• Government subsidies for suburban development and
  schools
• Affirmative Action for whites, Katznelson (2005)

13
Positive Factors for Integration

• Highly skilled immigrants in high tech economy
• Meritocratic elite universities
• Increasing share of electorate

14
Clouds on the Horizon

• Continuing influx of new immigrants
• Undocumented are vulnerable and w/o protections
• Dysfunctional schools in major cities
• Polite ( impolite) racism
• Attractions of crime/drugs
• One parent families

15
(No Transcript)