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Cultural diversity in the USA, essay
Essay on cultural diversity in the usa
Cultural diversity in the USA, essay
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Each country in the world is characterized by various communities from different countries. This is the result of immigration practices. People migrate from their country to other countries for various reasons. These may include war or search for greener pastures, among others. The Asian-American community comprises of people who are of the Asian descent but live in America. Also, it refers to groups of people living in America who have their ancestral roots in Asia. After the year 2000, the Asian community became the most popular race in America. Also, their earnings began to exceed that of the American people. They engaged in numerous economic activities while living in America. The Asian population has continued to increase over the years …show more content…
as more Asians migrated to America. At the same time, the Asian-American community continued to reproduce thereby growing in numbers. History of Asian-Americans The Asian community has been growing over the years to take a dominant position in the American population. The Asian-American community existed post-1945. History states that the Asian community first entered America in the year 1850. They arrived in huge numbers on the West Coast of America. The Asian community first arrived in America to work in the gold mines and the railroads. The first people to arrive were the Chinese. They were later followed by the Japanese who also came in large numbers in the year 1890. A majority of them went to Hawaii, while the rest went to the West Coast. The Asian community has continued to exist post the year 1945. Their impact in the American community has been felt through the years to the current years. The first people to come to America were comprised of a mixture of Chinese, Japanese, and Filipinos.
However, the idea of Asian-American community was first introduced in the year 1950. This is when all these communities were categorized to come from the same continent of Asia. These people continued to exist over the years as more of them continued to migrate to America. The community has continued to remain together over the years as they continued to increase in numbers. After the year 2000, the Asian-American community started to increase their revenue earnings. Their earnings became higher than those of the American community. Reports of successful lives by the Asians who migrated to America triggered a second wave of immigrants from the Asian continent. In the year 2010, over 40% of all immigrants to America, came from Asia. This indicated the close relationship that the Asian community had with one …show more content…
another. Also, the Asian-Americans were engaged in successful economic activities which they used to generate more income for themselves. These people were hard working and brought this culture with them to America. The relationship between the Asian communities is one of the greatest elements that has to help it together for several years. There are some experiences that facilitated the formation of a panethnic Asian-American identity. These were the European Americans’ Orientalism and the propinquity of the Asian-American people. Orientalism is something that has been persistent within the western culture. It had a lot to do with the manner in which the Asian-American community was being treated in American history. Their treatment was more enduring than what any other cultural descendant had to go through. This was brought about by the differences that the Eastern world had with the Western world. Identity Through constant interaction and relationship development, the Asian immigrants fused together to form one people in the American continent.
The Asian community did not view themselves as people who belonged to different communities back in their home country. Instead, they became one people and ensured that they were in a position to do great things together. For example, when they were mistreated, they were able to speak with one voice against these mistreatments. This has given them an identity within the American continent. They became associated with economic activities because they engaged in numerous business activities. These business activities saw them grow their wealth to more than that earned by the Native Americans who were found there during immigration. This has had a huge impact on the country’s economy by facilitating continued
growth. Their physical appearance was also different from that of the Americans. This was used to distinguish them from the Americans. For this reason, they developed an identity as the Asian community that migrated to America. America had put in place and Immigration Act that was meant to regulate the manner in which Asian immigrants came to the country. However, after World War II, America began making drastic changes to its immigration Act. This ended the long-standing discrimination was experienced by the Chinese community. For example, the Magnuson Act that was changed in the year 1943 ended the Chinese exclusion in the country. Their economic contribution began to be clear to everyone. Also, this was a time when the world was beginning to fight against discrimination of immigrants. This resulted in the provision of a quota of 105 persons per year. Also, the Chinese immigrants were now allowed to become American citizens by naturalization. However, this Act prohibited the Chinese community from engaging g in economic or business activities. The Act continued to undergo several changes that they were later allowed to conduct business activities in the country. These various acts of discrimination, promote unity within the Asian immigration community. This is because they faced this all at the same time. The Asian community was against homosexuality. For this reason, they found it difficult to say that someone was gay or a lesbian. These acts were introduced to them by the western community. Parents of the Asian community did not even want to utter that statement. Instead, they termed it as a white disease. Their children were being converted to this behavior through their interaction with the American community. The Asian-American community was highly reluctant to come out as gay or as a lesbian. If one felt this way, then they would rather not come out to the public about this issue. It was considered a curse and it's not normal. However, during an interview conducted by some of the Asian parents in America, they admitted to having knowledge of the practice of homosexuality while they were growing up. Despite this, they did not condone the practice in any way whatsoever. For those who had homosexual children, blamed the American culture for the outcome of their children. Some interviewees argued that the environment and culture of the United States allowed their children to express their true nature. The interview sessions revealed that the Vietnam country was so strict about the relationship people had with the opposite sex. This caused young girls to stick close to each other and spent a lot of time together. Over time, they developed feelings for each other. However, they were afraid of showing their true interests in public. For this reason, they continued with their normal lives and did what the society expected of them. Upon migration to the American continent, the American culture encouraged them to come out and be what they wanted to be. While in their home country, the Asians often experienced sexual oppression because homosexuality was considered to be a strange thing. While in the American continent, the Asian-Americans were easily distinguished from the rest of the Americans from their physical appearance to their behavior and beliefs. This gave them their identity and distinction from the Native Americans. Over time, the Asian-Americans began embracing the new culture. Even as more immigrants continued to flock the country, the new beliefs were now their way of life. Conclusion The Asian-American community has been in existence for a long period. They first landed on the West Coast of America in the year 1850. The Chinese community first entered America followed by the Japanese community. The Americans develop laws and regulations that governed the immigration movement in the country. The Chinese community was highly discriminated against. As development continued to take place, the acts of discrimination were slowly eliminated as the laws were changed gradually over time. The Vietnam society was very strict on the manner in which people of opposite sexes could interact with one another. This caused people to oppress their sexuality. However, the American culture provided an opportunity to express them in a natural manner.
For 20 years, Asian Americans have been portrayed by the press and the media as a successful minority. Asian Americans are believed to benefit from astounding achievements in education, rising occupational statuses, increasing income, and are problem-fee in mental health and crime. The idea of Asian Americans as a model minority has become the central theme in media portrayal of Asian Americans since the middle 1960s. The term model minority is given to a minority group that exhibits middle class characteristics, and attains some measure of success on its own without special programs or welfare. Asian Americans are seen as a model minority because even though they have faced prejudice and discrimination by other racial groups, they have succeeded socially, economically, and educationally without resorting to political or violent disagreements with the majority race. The “success” of the minority is offered as proof that the American dream of equal opportunity is capable to those who conform and who are willing to work hard. Therefore, the term ...
In this article, Eric Liu presents his life as a native immigrant to an Asian American individual. He shares his experience through his reflection of ideas and emotions. Along with his story, it relates to the ideas of people’s journey from adolescence to adulthood. Eric’s inspirational experience is directed towards minority groups who try to adapt to the American culture and lifestyle. His parents emigrated from China to America, before he was born which he later became exposed to the freedom and diverse society. This results in beneficial effects for his individuality, career opportunities, and lifestyle. Although his parents have lived in a different culture than him, his life in America has made him assimilated into the American society
Immigration has existed around the world for centuries, decades, and included hundreds of cultures. Tired of poverty, a lack of opportunities, unequal treatment, political corruption, and lacking any choice, many decided to emigrate from their country of birth to seek new opportunities and a new and better life in another country, to settle a future for their families, to work hard and earn a place in life. As the nation of the opportunities, land of the dreams, and because of its foundation of a better, more equal world for all, the United States of America has been a point of hope for many of those people. A lot of nationals around the world have ended their research for a place to call home in the United States of America. By analyzing primary sources and the secondary sources to back up the information, one could find out about what Chinese, Italians, Swedish, and Vietnamese immigrants have experienced in the United States in different time periods from 1865 to 1990.
We’ve all heard it said that Asian Americans are good at math; anything involving science, technology, and medicine. They study all the time, work really hard, and live a version of the American dream many of us never thought to dream of. And of course, we know these stereotypes are dangerous and often untrue, but perhaps we still find ourselves buying into them. Ronald Takaki”, the ethnic studies expert, writes about the idea that Asian Americans are more successful than any other American minority group in his article “The Harmful Myth of Asian Superiority. Takaki refutes this idea by strategically, and somewhat effectively, using reason, statistics, and word choice to show that Asian Americans still face some of the same hardships and barriers
- Asian American history is the history of ethnic and “racial groups in the United States who are of Asian descent. Spickard (2007) shows that the ‘Asian American’ was an idea invented in the 1960s to bring together the Chinese, Japanese, and the Filipino Americans for strategic political purposes”. Soon other Asian-origin groups, such as Koreans, Vietnamese, Hmongs, and South Asian Americans, were added."For example,
Chinks, bad drivers, math and science nerds, F.O.Bs and ect. There are so many stereotypes and misconception for one specific ethnic group: Asian. But perhaps the most popular image of Asian Americans presented in society is being the “model minority.” If you were to ask any random person to pick a specific minority group that was more academically, economically and socially successful compared to the others, chances are 90% of them would answer: Asians. “Asians makes more money than any other race.” “Asians have the highest grades compared to other races, especially in math and science subjects.” But contrary to these popular stereotypes, the misrepresentation of Asian Americans as the model minority are false and simply just a myth. Furthermore, this misleading comparison may actually lead to harmful consequences in Asian American students.
Most of the Asian population in the US is concentrated in the Western states of California and Hawaii.
The United States of America is the place of opportunity and fortune. “Many immigrants hoped to achieve this in the United States and similar to other immigrants many people from the Asian Pacific region hoped to make their fortune. They planned to either return to their homelands or build a home in their new country (Spring, 2013).” For this reason, life became very complicated for these people. They faced many challenges in this new country, such as: classifying them in terms of race and ethnicity, denying them the right to become naturalized citizens, and rejecting them the right of equal educational opportunities within the school systems. “This combination of racism and economic exploitation resulted in the educational policies to deny Asians schooling or provide them with segregated schooling (Spring, 2013).”This was not the country of opportunity and fortune as many believed. It was the country of struggle and hardship. Similarly, like many other immigrants, Asian Americans had the determination to overcome these obstacles that they faced to prove that the United States was indeed their home too.
In this paper I will be sharing information I had gathered involving two students that were interviewed regarding education and their racial status of being an Asian-American. I will examine these subjects’ experiences as an Asian-American through the education they had experienced throughout their entire lives. I will also be relating and analyzing their experiences through the various concepts we had learned and discussed in class so far. Both of these individuals have experiences regarding their education that have similarities and differences.
The United States has often been referred to as a global “melting pot” due to its assimilation of diverse cultures, nationalities, and ethnicities. In today’s society, this metaphor may be an understatement. Between 1990 and 2010, the number of foreign born United States residents nearly doubled from 20 million to 40 million, increasing the U.S. population from almost 250 million to 350 million people. With U.S. born children and grandchildren of immigrants, immigration contributed to half of this population growth. These immigrants, consisting of mostly Asian and Hispanic backgrounds, have drastically changed the composition of the U.S. population. In 2010, Asians and Hispanics made up 20 percent of the U.S. population, in contrast to a 6 percent share of Asians and Hispanics in 1970. It is predicted that by 2050, the share of immigrants in the United States will increase to one half of the entire population. With this rapid increase in diversity, many citizens have opposing views on its impact on the United States. In my opinion, an increase in immigration does contain both positive and negatives effects, but in general it provides an overriding positive influence on America’s society (“Population”).
In chapter thirty five, author Shelley Sang-Hee Lee explains that “Immigration is an important part of our understanding of U.S. social experience” (Hee 128). Asian immigrants bring their diverse culture, language and custom from various Asian countries. They help improve American economic development. Also, they play an important role in American society. The first Asian immigration flow is the Chinese Immigration in the mid-19th century to work in the gold mines and railroads. The Asian immigrant population grew rapidly between 1890 and 1910 (Hee 130). The increasing of population of Asian immigrants have brought a lot of problems. Many of them were facing the issue of ethnicity, discrimination, and the process of assimilation. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 which banned the immigration of Chinese laborers and proscribed foreign-born Chinese from naturalized citizenship and the Asian Exclusion Act League in 1907 which limited the entry of Asian immigrants have reshaped the demographic of Asian immigrants in the U.S (Hing 45). With the rise of anti-Asian movements, many Asian immigrants were rejected from entering America or deported to their homeland. In the early history of immigration in America, the issue of deportation is an important part of the Asian American experience in the
Within the United States, the attitude towards Asian American immigrants have changed from being seen as a menace to society to becoming praised as the model minority. Under the Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965, the United States was looking to accept model immigrants by prioritizing those with higher education and desirable skills for the workforce. This immigration policy caused an influx of middle to upper class Asian immigrants to come to the United States, which is the root for the model minority stereotype that is attached to the Asian American community. Yet, the idea of being the model minority does not extend to all Asian immigrants especially those who came to the United States seeking refuge from various conflicts such as the Vietnam War. Thus, the model minority myth is damaging for the Asian American community because it ignores those who do not fits this stereotype which is reflected in Erika Lee’s book, The Making of Asia America, and the film Children of Invention.
Asian Americans have been more active and involved in politics over the past decade. Furthermore, Asian Americans increasingly became more visible in politics extending beyond the city limits. While in many major cities such as Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York City remain packed and serve as a gateway for Asian Americans immigrants. A majority of the United States Asian American population has now moved into the Suburbs. This serves as a part of reaching the American “Dream”. The dream is to own a house in the suburbs with a pool and picket fence. Once a person obtains this status, they are seen as making it in America. Between 2000 and 2010, Asian American population growth in the suburbs reached 1.7 million, which was nearly four times the growth during the same period for those Asian Americans living in central cities. Approximately 62 percent of the U.S. Asian American population is situated in the suburbs. In California, The San Francisco and Los Angeles metro area contain the most diverse Asians in the whole America. The city and state is known for their diversity in many ethnic groups. The variation of Asian Americans is broking down into large numbers of Filipinos (27%), Chinese (26%), Asian Indians (11%), Japanese (9%), and Koreans (8%) . For Asian Asians, this sets up a perfect situation for political power or might. With population numbers being so high, incorporation efforts in these cities and suburbs in only feasible.
Immigration is a movement about settlement of people into another country to which they are not natives. As of the current time, the United States has made itself a new home for immigrants in search of a better life, religious freedom and opportunities. It embraces those who come to the USA often with nothing more than their work ethic in search of the promises and opportunities of the American Dream. Over the last decade, the Indian immigration population had been skyrocketing and approximately 3.6 million in the USA. Asian Indians are the second largest community in the USA after Chinese Americans. Asian Indians started to form their own communities and expanded their religions which make them distinguish among the others immigrants. Asian Indians immigrants come to the USA because they want a better life and better education, but not for the religious freedom. Asian Indians immigrated to the USA for business purposes in the 19th century; they were allowed to stay here as a result of changes in immigration laws. With increase in Indian immigrants, Hinduism and Sikhism were expanded in the USA even after an increase in discrimination after 9/11. Asian Indians have found immigration to the America desirable for a long time, but after 1965, new immigration laws made the process easier, resulting in a more diverse religious presence.
Since the first influx of Asian immigrants to the United States, Asian Americans were never treated as an integral part of the American population. Accounting for five percent of the US demographic, often times, they are still portrayed by provincial people as outsiders who do not belong in society. Over the years, this negative mentality has transformed into the way Asian Americans are viewed in media. Though there are many attempts of reversing the trend such as diversifying the cast members, stereotypical personalities such as “the human calculator” or “undesirable partner” are still utilized for writers to infuse racial slurs into comedy skits. However, in reality especially now that many Asian Americans are second generation, none of these stereotypes pertains to all them. As a result, directors and script writers have an ethical responsibility to best portray Asian Americans as human beings who can function normally without putting negative stereotypes as the primary focus of Asian characters’ personas.