US Immigration and Diversity PDF

**Introduction** Afbeelding met kleding, gebouw, persoon, person Automatisch gegenereerde beschrijving **Figure 17** **Company drinks on a rooftop terrace in downtown Los Angeles.** Millions of people from all over the world have moved to the US. The diversity of the population is great. **Regi...

**Introduction** Afbeelding met kleding, gebouw, persoon, person Automatisch gegenereerde beschrijving **Figure 17** **Company drinks on a rooftop terrace in downtown Los Angeles.** Millions of people from all over the world have moved to the US. The diversity of the population is great. **Regions of origin** ► America is the country of **immigrants**. The external migration  can be divided into two parts. Up until 1965 the largest group of immigrants were Europeans. Almost two in three Americans have European roots. After 1965, new groups of immigrants came to the US, especially Hispanics and Asians. Most of the new immigrants entered the country through one of four major gateway states: New York, Florida, California and Texas.◾ Many Hispanics live in the southwestern part of the country. It sometimes feels like you are in Mexico. Spanish is spoken everywhere: on the streets, on the radio and TV, and in the food stalls selling Mexican food. The Hispanics have often lived in the US for several generations. Their parents crossed the Mexican border to work in the US as migrant workers. They did unskilled and low-paid work. Their children are now better educated and more likely to be successful.◾ Asians, including many Chinese and Indians, live mainly in the west and in large cities. They are usually well educated (**highly skilled migrants**) and have 'made it' in the US. That is why Asians are known as the 'model minority'. There is a population group that did not come to the US voluntarily. Most African Americans are descendants of Africans who were enslaved in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. They had to work on cotton and tobacco plantations in the south-east of the country. After slavery was abolished, they stayed there or moved to industrial cities in the north-east, such as Detroit and Chicago. There is still a great gap between African Americans and other population groups in the US. Some African Americans belong to an affluent middle class, but a larger proportion are low income. About 25% live below the poverty line. **Diversity and inclusion** ► Figure 18 shows that the diversity of the US population is rapidly increasing. In large states such as California and Texas, Anglo-Americans are already a minority (Figure 19). The US has become a giant-sized **multicultural society**. The term 'diversity explosion' is often heard in America. Diversity is about the differences between people. But it doesn't say anything about how these different people interact with each other. Inclusion  means that everyone is welcome to contribute to and participate in the diverse society. There is a 'we' feeling: people feel connected with each other despite differences in age, ethnicity, religion, skin colour or sexual orientation The opposite is exclusion , where groups are left out or not treated equally (discrimination). Diversity makes the US stronger as a society because, for example, people with a migration background are relatively young and therefore reduce **population ageing** and **dejuvenation**. They are the labour force of the future and they believe in the American Dream. According to this dream, everyone has the opportunity to attain a better, richer and fuller life. You are personally responsible for achieving success in sports, business, media, etc. If you do not make the most of your opportunities, you only have yourself to blame.  **Figure 18** **Population groups in the US.** Afbeelding met tekst, kaart, atlas, diagram Automatisch gegenereerde beschrijving **Figure 19** **Share of Anglo-Americans by state.** **Diversity and segregation** ► Residential areas in many places in America are becoming increasingly diverse, especially in the suburbs of large cities in the south and west of the US. Different groups of people live with and alongside each other. Yet this integration is not seen everywhere. Many Anglo- Americans still live in 'white' neighbourhoods and African Americans in 'black' neighbourhoods (Figure 20). This **spatial** **segregation** can be represented by a number: the segregation index. At 0 all groups live evenly distributed throughout the city, at 100 they live completely separated from each other (segregation). In a city like Chicago, almost 60% of the population would have to move to distribute the population groups evenly throughout the city! Residential segregation came about after the abolition of slavery. There were laws to keep African Americans out of white neighbourhoods. In addition, black people could not get a bank mortgage if they wanted to buy a house. Not until much later, around 1970, a law that prohibited discrimination when buying and renting homes was introduced. But by then it was too late; white and black people already lived separately, and you can't change that overnight.◾ The deprivation of African Americans can be seen in the inner cities of large cities. Many people are caught in a web of poverty: their income and education are low, and the neighbourhoods suffer from unemployment, an unsafe environment and rundown housing. The **quality of life** is poor, especially in the **ghettos** (the poorest neighbourhoods). Those who can, flee to the suburbs. This is called ethnic flight.  **Figure 20** **Composition of the residential area of average Anglo- Americans and African Americans.** **I can't breathe** **Figure 21** On 25 May 2020, police brutally killed a black American. An officer pressed his knee against George Floyd's neck for more than eight minutes. His death sparked protests against racism, not only in American cities, but all over the world. The protestors chanted slogans like "Black Lives Matter" and "I can't breathe", Floyd's last words. Racism involves ideas about the superiority of one's own ethnic group over others, often based on skin colour, ethnicity or culture. Afbeelding met kleding, buitenshuis, person, persoon Automatisch gegenereerde beschrijving **Figure 21** **Geo Guide** **G29 Evaluating**  **Figure 1.26** **Are new tourist shops allowed in Amsterdam?** ► First you describe something, then you explain it and finally you evaluate it. When you evaluate a geographical problem, you give your opinion about it (Figure 1.26). You can tackle such a problem using the *Step-by-step plan on how to form an opinion* (Figure 1.27). --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- STEP 1 What is the problem? More and more shops for tourists are opening up in Amsterdam city centre. The city council wants to stop any more tourist shops from opening. STEP 2 Who is involved? Shopkeepers, residents of Amsterdam, tourists and the city council STEP 3 What are their opinions of the problem? *Shopkeepers*\ There are lots and lots of tourists in Amsterdam. They all want to buy souvenirs. Tourist shops make a big profit. *Residents of Amsterdam*\ The shops for tourists only sell fast food, ice cream and cheese for inflated prices. If you live in the city centre, there is hardly anywhere left where you can buy your daily groceries. *Tourists*\ The shops with ice cream and cheese are fun. But they are also really expensive. And actually, I don't think this is real Dutch culture. *City council*\ Amsterdam is becoming boring with these fast food chains and cheese stores. We want to see shops for ordinary residents of Amsterdam, too. That's why no new tourist shops will be allowed to open. STEP 4 What is your opinion? Like a judge, you have to listen carefully to what each of the different groups wants and why they want it. Then give your own opinion. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- **Figure 1.27 Step-by-step plan on how to form an opinion.** -- -- **G159 Push factors and pull factors** ► We can divide people's reasons for moving to a different country into two categories. Reasons for leaving the place you live in are called **push factors**. Because they 'push' people away. Examples of push factors are poverty and unemployment. People also leave their home countries when they do not feel safe or if they are treated as second-class citizens. Treating people as inferior because they have a different religion, skin colour or different customs is called **discrimination**. Afbeelding met buitenshuis, hemel, zwembad, boom Automatisch gegenereerde beschrijving **Figure 6.13** **Retirees in the warm and sunny state of Arizona in the United States.** ** Pull factors** are reasons that make another country or region attractive for people to live in. Important pull factors are employment opportunities, higher income and better educa- tional opportunities. Natural factors sometimes also play a role, such as an attractive landscape or warmer climate. For example, when they retire, many seniors in the United States move from north-eastern states that are cold in winter to warmer southern states, such as Florida and Texas (Figure 6.13). **G160 Economic migration** ► Many people look for work in another country or region because they want to earn a higher income. They move for economic reasons. They are e**conomic migrants**. Economic migrants who leave their homes to work in a different country, usually in low-paying jobs or seasonal work, are called **migrant workers**. In the Netherlands, for example, we have people who come from Poland and Romania to work in the horticultural sectors (Figure 6.14). They do unskilled work, such as picking tomatoes and asparagus. They want to come to the Netherlands because they can earn more here than in their own countries. Businesses in agriculture and horticulture are eager to have east European workers: they work hard and are willing to work for low wages.  **Figure 6.14** **Migrant workers in the agricultural sector picking strawberries.** When migrant workers only stay for a few weeks or months,it is called **seasonal migration**: staying for a short time in another country or region to work there. Every year, thousands of migrant workers travel to the vineyards of southern Europe to pick grapes. A growing trend is that western countries invite highly educated and technically skilled people to come and work in their countries. Economic migrants who come to work in a country because of their professional knowledge are called **highly skilled migrants**. This results in a **brain drain**, which means that highly educated workers leave their home country. **G163 Dutch population with a migration background** ►Every country has people who came from another country. Here they are called migrants or foreigners. In the Netherlands you used to hear the term 'allochtoon', which literally means 'from another place'. The Dutch government prefers to use the term 'people with a migration background'. Those are residents of the Netherlands who have at least one parent who was born in another country (Figure 6.16). Afbeelding met tekst, schermopname, cirkel, Kleurrijkheid Automatisch gegenereerde beschrijving **Figure 6.16** **Composition of the population in the Netherlands, 2016** In population statistics, people with a migration background are sorted into two groups. Those born outside the country belong to the first generation of those with a migration background. An example is Queen Maxima who was born in Argentina. The second generation are those who were born in the country they currently live in, but their father or mother was not. The children of Queen Maxima are an example of second-generation immigrants. When both parents were born in the Netherlands, their children have a Dutch background. We can also categorize migrants according to their country of origin. **Western immigrants** come from countries in the cultural region we call the western world. In the Netherlands, about 10% of immigrants have a western migration background, while about 12% of immigrants have a non-western migration background. These **non-western immigrants** are people who come from a different cultural region, such as Latin America or the Islamic world. **G167 Multicultural society**  **Figure 6.21** **The multicultural society in the United States.** ► When people from many different cultures live together in one country, we call it a **multicultural society** (*multi* means many) (Figure 6.21). An immigrant group often preserves its own customs, language or religion. The community that shares the same culture belongs to a people. Because they are only a small group of that larger people, they are called an **ethnic group**. Nowadays, we find people from dozens of ethnic groups living together in the big cities of western Europe and the United States. There is usually one dominant culture; for example, in the countries of Europe this is the western culture. The smaller groups of different cultures are called **cultural minorities** or **ethnic minorities**. **Learning objectives - Things you should know** **Theory:** - the regions of origin of the four main population groups in the US - the causes of the huge increase in population diversity in the US - the differences between diversity and inclusion or integration and diversity and exclusion or segregation **Assignments:** - the contents of W17, W18, W19, and W20 - the answers to the Assignments **Geo Guide:** - G159 Push factors and pull factors - G160 Economic migration - G163 Dutch population with a migration background - G167 Multicultural society - Skills: - G29 Evaluating **Terms:Theory: **dejuvenation , discrimination , exclusion , external migration , ghetto , highly skilled migrant , immigrant , Inclusion , migrant worker , multicultural society , population ageing , quality of life , segregation index , spatial segregation **Geo Guide:** discrimination , economic migrant , migrant worker , multicultural society , non-western immigrant , pull factor , push factor , western immigrant