Race, Ethnicity, and Place in a Changing America, Third Edition

John W. Frazier, Eugene L. Tettey-Fio, Norah F. Henry, John W. Frazier, Eugene L. Tettey-Fio, Norah F. Henry

• Publisher: Distribution Partners
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9781438463315
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Minority Studies
• Index: Social Sciences

This book examines major Hispanic, African, and Asian diasporas in the continental United States and Puerto Rico from the nineteenth century to the present, with particular attention on the diverse ways in which these immigrant groups have shaped and reshaped American places and landscapes. Through both historical and contemporary case studies, the contributors examine how race and ethnicity affect the places we live, work, and visit, illustrating along the way the behaviors and concepts that comprise the modern ethnic and racial geography of immigrant and minority groups. While primarily addressed to students and scholars in the fields of racial and ethnic geography, these case studies will be accessible to anyone interested in race-place connections, race-ethnicity boundaries, the development of racialization, and the complexity of human settlement patterns and landscapes that make up the United States and Puerto Rico. Taken together, they show how individuals and culture groups, through their ideologies, social organization, and social institutions, reflect both local and regional processes of place-making and place-remaking that occur within and beyond the continental United States.

Part I

PERSPECTIVES ON ETHNICITY AND RACE IN THE U.S.

The three chapters in Part 1 provide the foundation for important social science concepts and geographic themes employed throughout this book. Chapters 1 and 2 provide definitions that are building blocks for understanding cultural and ethnic geography in the United States. Chapter 1 establishes the underpinnings for examinations of cultural-ethnic geography, providing a context for geographic themes, such as movement, human-environmental relationships, and place. It also provides a context for the special role of institutions in shaping life experiences and geographic patterns. Finally, Chapter 1 also discusses immigration trends and relates changing origins of the U.S.-foreign born to changes in immigration laws. The evolving human geography, including ethnic patterns, can be understood best by such institutional actions, as well as by global processes and local decisions.

Chapter 2 presents a number of key themes that shape geographic research and teaching, including human-environmental interrelationships that create cultural landscapes, mass movements that reshape human geography at all scales, the definition of place and place remaking that involves human sentiments that may create tensions between groups, and the spatial theme that stresses the importance of location, including its linkages to regions. Chapter 2 also offers definitions, as well as examples of concepts related to these themes.

Race, like ethnicity and place, is a social construction. However, the processes influencing race and ethnicity differ dramatically. Chapter 3 differentiates the concepts ethnic geography and racial geography and the processes that produce each. It illustrates how the process of racialization has influenced the treatments of the four major Diasporas in the United States during the 19th and 20th Centuries. Finally, brief examples of racial geography at various scales provide the link between race, place, ethnicity, and racial geography.

Chapter 1

Culture, Ethnicity, and Place in a Changing America

A Perspective

JOHN W. FRAZIER, NORAH F. HENRY, AND EUGENE L. TETTEY-FIO

PERSISTENCE AND CHANGE IN AMERICAN HUMAN GEOGRAPHY

Culture, and the human geography it produces, persist over a long time period. However, culture changes slowly, as do the visible landscape it produces, and the ethnic meanings imbued by the group that shapes it. That many examples of persistent and new cultural landscapes exist in the U.S. is not surprising, given the major technological, demographic, and economic changes in American society since World War II (WWII). America emerged from WWII as one of two superpowers, developed and embraced technology that took Americans to the moon, created an electronics revolution that greatly modified the ways that Americans work and live, and built a globally unique interstate highway system, new housing stock, millions of additional automobiles, and otherwise increased its production to meet the challenge of nearly doubling its population between 1950 and 2000. The Post-WWII baby boom and massive immigration fueled population growth and modified American society in important ways, creating different needs and growing aspirations. A larger African-American middle class also emerged during this Post-war period. Leadership in a growing global economy enabled unprecedented economic growth that supported these changes.

This book tells the story of the changing faces of the U.S. since WWII and the roles that various groups have played in altering the cultural landscapes and racial geographies of America. Aimed at the broadly-inclusive cadre of students of American culture and culture change, this work examines some of the more important cultural, racial, and ethnic changes of the 1940s through the first decades of the 21st Century. Both events and concepts illuminate the changes in America resulting from international migration-pattern changes, U.S. internal migration and mobility patterns, social, racial and ethnic implications of the changes, and the role that technology plays in our ability to comprehend the depths of the cultural changes. Our goal is not to reveal all depths and dimensions of U.S. culture, for that would be impossible. However, by presenting and illustrating contemporary, cogent examples of race, ethnicity, and culture in 21st Century America, we provide a unique foray into multiple ethnicities, cultures, and landscapes from varied perspectives to illustrate the growth, ethnic and racial mix, and changes that have occurred over the past 75+ years. We begin with an overview of trends to provide background and perspective, and follow with conceptual dimensions and technological advances that provide both an intriguing, and occasionally disturbing, view of “progress” and how it has affected different groups.

We begin by explaining the components of race, ethnicity, and culture that express the issues contained in the chapters of this book. We then look at the influence of both international and domestic groups who shifted locations to create the fabric of American society as we know it today. The groups, the shifts, and the resulting events and patterns provide the altered social and cultural landscapes that describe contemporary America.

CULTURE AND ETHNICITY

Culture refers to an entire way of life of a group of people. A culture maintains values, beliefs, practices, and behaviors that help define and differentiate one group from others. These traits are learned, or exchanged within and between groups, and are passed from one generation to the next. Many traits are common among cultural groups, but cultural identification entails a unique set of individual elements and processes that together create a unique cultural identity. Biological and ideological characteristics, social institutions, and technology are typically used to identify a specific cultural group. Wilbur Zelinsky, in discussing the American culture and its landscapes, observes that certain characteristics, while not uniquely American, are uniquely American in their combination. He also suggests that American culture is linked to northern Europe, especially Great Britain. This implies the importance of the English language, representative government, a focus on the individual, and the preponderance of the Judeo-Christian outlook among its members. However, it involves much more (Zelinsky, 2001).

Cultural groups may also have an affinity for a particular environment, which can influence cultural identity. Because the host environment provides a variety of opportunities for indigenous resources and physical features, it may contribute to cultural identity. An example of the attachment of environmental features to culture identification is the term “mountain people,” which implies more than living at high elevation. Such descriptions are meant to help identify cultural groups by location and the influence of environment on the group. Mountain people, for example, live in rough and isolated terrain that keeps them at relatively low levels of economic development and separated from other societal groups, which leads to distinctive qualities. The Hmong people are an example of a culture defined, in part, as a “mountain people” of South Asia. They supported the U.S. during the Vietnam War, suffered genocide afterwards, and were admitted later into the U.S. as refugees. Perhaps one of the best known perspectives on environmental influence on cultural development is the “Turner hypothesis,” which credited the environmental conditions of the North American frontier as a significant force that shaped the “rugged individualism” trait of the American culture (Hofstadter and Lipset, 1968).

Beyond environmental influences, a culture may have a sense of synergy with environment, feeling inextricably linked with nature. This also can be a defining element of that particular cultural group. In such cases, the culture self-identifies using aspects of nature and place. For example, indigenous populations often have a very different association with their environments than those cultures in advanced industrial societies. Examples within the U.S. include American Indian, Eskimo, and native Hawaiian cultures. Their historic relationships with their environments contribute to their cultural identifications and, therefore, help distinguish their cultural traits

Culture, then, can be understood to be a set of values, beliefs, technology, and institutions that bring meaning to and preserves a group’s existence. Cultural continuity is provided by a common language and cultural history. Both function as powerful sources for strengthening individual ties to the group. Particular social institutions, such as schools and social organizations, reinforce and maintain culture. The cultural system contains individual elements that combine to form a unique set of interrelationships, dynamic in nature, always open and adaptive to new information, ideas, and technology. It also seeks stability and sometimes power relationships through continuity.

Ideology refers to the comprehensive beliefs of a culture. Cultures encompass strong beliefs, often involving deities or a particular political ideology, or both. This is why a shared sense of the divine is often a component of cultural identity. Cultural ideology and associated emotions sometimes result in malicious actions toward other groups, including open conflict directed at the destruction of the enemy culture and/or its cultural symbols. Ideology also results in expressions within the culture, such as memorializing a special place or sacred space associated with some event or person important to the host culture. When two cultures value the same land or place, cultural conflict typically ensues due to competition over the depth of beliefs and sentiment toward the place.

Technology refers to the tools available to a society to make its living, to communicate and to exchange with others, to create and to maintain its advantages, and to transform its surroundings. As with other traits, technological devices, and expertise vary by culture, as does the vision of technology’s role in the future of the society and the globe. In America, a constant increase in technology has created a historical framework for discussing progress and development of the nation. By the mid-1850s, canals and railroad systems were both established in the U.S. Their creation attracted numerous ethnic immigrants to work in their development. These technologies allowed for the rapid development of the American Midwest, the stunning transformation of Chicago from trading outpost to the rail center of the nation and one of the leading industrial cities in America. By the 1860s the Transcontinental Railroad connected the east and west coasts and stimulated even greater growth by century’s end. The creation of the automobile industry with its assembly line revolutionized American industry and transportation systems. Air travel followed on the heels of the auto and by WWII America was an air power. Post-WWII saw a rapid development of commercial aviation and the space race that placed a human on the moon in 1969. A person born in the late 1890s literally observed the transformation of American travel. In the early 1900s some workers operated with horse-drawn wagons, such as in the delivery of ice to homes and businesses. In that same lifespan, a human traveled to the moon and safely returned. The electronics revolution during the same lifetime changed the ways that Americans traveled, worked, and played. It also provided global military advantage. It is little wonder, then, that American culture is perceived as different from others on the basis of technology in combination with other distinctive traits.

It should be clear by the discussion thus far that culture also has transforming powers. The group imposes boundaries between its areas and that of others, gives meaning and sentiment to place and objects, and transforms the land by imprinting its cultural presence. While the dominant culture may control the geographic space of a nation, any culture group can, and typically does, leave its cultural imprint on the land it occupies. Culture groups create spaces and places of their own to celebrate and perpetuate their culture. The transformed visible, material culture pattern on the earth’s surface is called a cultural landscape. It, therefore, is the material expression of the occupying culture, an affirmation of what is valued by that culture. It represents a set of ideas about life — family, the social group and social relations, relations with nature, and the value given to objects that embody its beliefs — present in every culture. The landscape contains cultural markers symbolizing what is important, those deeply embedded values, and what is unique about the group. This is true of American culture. However, changes in human enterprise are constant and evolving cultural landscapes represent not only the inseparable elements of history and historical geography, as visibly apparent expressions of human occupation of various places, but also contemporary expressions that result from recent immigrant settlements. As we will see later in this text, cultural landscapes, one of geography’s central concepts, take on many forms, but one of the most dominant examples among American immigrant ethnic groups is the clustering of ethnic businesses that serve commercial and cultural functions.

Ethnicity involves a group-constructed identity using one or more of its cultural attributes. Ethnic identity connects group members through a shared sense of what is unique and, therefore, distinguishes “us” from “them.” Common attributes contribute to characteristics that may also make groups distinct from other groups, influencing how others within the larger society see them (“they-ness”) (Ringer and Lawless, 1989). Shared traits can involve, for example, language, cultural history, cultural traditions, and religion. There also is a shared sense of aspirations and sometimes vulnerability among those in an ethnic group. National origin may be important but is not synonymous with ethnicity. Ethnicity is a social construct that defines the “we-ness” of group membership and often involves connection to place. Immigrants, by definition residents of a new land, often find it necessary to reaffirm their ethnic identity, which involves preserving cultural value and distinctiveness and preserving ties to a homeland.

Ethnicity, however, is not the equivalent of race. However, racism certainly can cause a shared sense of vulnerability and, therefore, contribute to ethnic identity. This is particularly true when struggle is a part of the group’s cultural history, as in the cases of African Americans and the the Jewish faith. Religious customs and cultural celebrations are two ways that ethnic affinity is strengthened. For example, American Jews and American Jewish followers celebrate cultural and religious holidays, which strengthen their ethnicity. It is also important to note that “racial” differences within a community, within the context of different skin color, need not preclude a common ethnic identity. Puerto Ricans are a good example. Black and White Puerto Ricans are included in this ethnic group.

Ethnicity also has been defined within the context of ethnic polarization as a “strategic construction” of cultural boundaries, a process driven by economic and political differences and concerns (Ballard, 2002). As such, ethnicity can be a deliberate process of amplifying cultural distinctiveness and “moral solidarity” to protect community interests. This, of course, is not limited to minority ethnic groups. The majority, or host culture, closes ranks to sustain its power base, whereas the minority ethnic group seeks refuge because it feels threatened. Both tend to organize geographic space in ways meaningful to their group. Sometimes, when both groups seek the same spaces, this results in contested space. A simple example involves suburbanization in the 20th Century. African Americans sought a place in the suburbs but were rebuffed by the White majority. Despite this, African Americans created their own cultural landscapes and carved out living spaces in suburbia as “places of their own” (Wiese, 2004).

This notion of physically and economically defending one’s ethnic group from discriminatory actions of the host culture is but one dimension of ethnicity. Even among European groups, who have been permitted to assimilate into the broader American culture and economic system without experiencing long-term exclusion, there is a need for belonging, or for ethnic affinity. This is why “Irish-only” enclaves still exist in the Catskills, various ethnic celebrations (German, Italian, etc.) remain popular, and some ethnic groups, such as Greek Americans, retain a sense of ethnicity decades after assimilating into the American culture. Affinity takes on many forms and can even lead t...