LATINIZATION OF U.S. SUBURBS
BY STUDENT
The creation of the United States cannot be solely credited to one race. There were many hands responsible for making America the great country it has become. Several groups migrated from their homelands to this country in search for work and a better life. One of these groups largely responsible for this are Latinos. This group of individuals brought with them various characteristics and traditions relevant to Latino culture. This culture largely dominated urban areas due to the influx of Latinos into cities in search for jobs. However, as time went on jobs began to move out of cities and into suburbs; resulting in increased presence of minorities in these areas. The movement of Latinos into suburbs raises challenges which are still present today.
Suburbs have been thought of as consisting mainly of middle-class white households (Correa 183). This image has been changing over the last couple decades and is doing so at an increasing rate. The late 20thcentury brought with it considerable growth in the immigrant population causing an increase in multiethnic suburbs. Around this time, the immigrant population division between urban, suburban, and rural areas were 47%, 48%, and 5% respectively (Correa 184). His studies found that Latinos tend to settle in less concentrated groups compared to African Americans (190). Correa mentions that the politics of suburbia is based on the principle of exclusion with barriers intended to preserve class and racial homogeneity (187). As the suburbs become more multiethnic, these barriers are still present. The more dispersed settlement of Latinos in suburbs raises challenges for the community as a whole.
The District of Colombia is one area in the U.S. consisting of many suburbs and experiencing substantial growth in population with the majority of this population and largest employment sector jobs located in the inner suburbs (Correa 191). D.C. is considered to be one of the “melting pot” metros resulting from the influx of minority groups. One of the main challenges facing minority groups are the lack of access to resources compared to white residents (Correa 188). The biggest challenge facing the Latino community is political representation. While other groups have significant representation in political arenas, Latinos are given no other choice but to look for representation in other areas (Correa 200). Over the years, society has been more focused on the concept of inclusion then it has been in the past. Being aware of these struggles, is a start in the process of finding solutions for the geographically dispersed and underrepresented suburban Latino community. However, much more improvement is still needed.
Jones-Correa, Michael. 2006. “Reshaping the American Dream: Immigrants, Ethnic Minorities, and the Politics of the New Suburbs” In The New Suburban History.
Do you believe that the lack of concentrations of latinos in places they settle is the cause of there lack of political representation within america?
ReplyDeleteI agree with your statement in which the foundation of the United States cannot be credited solely to one race. I too believe that the United States possesses a melting-pot of identities, in which largely come from Latinx groups, who have migrated from their motherland. It still amazes me how Latinx individuals tend to settle in less concentrated groups, when compared to other minority groups. Overall, your post was very informative and specific. Great work!
ReplyDeleteThe US is a microcosm of different races, ethnicities and cultures. It would be disrespctful to our history to attribute the rise of this countries power to only 1 group of people. This article sheds light on that very topic and informs the reader about the facts. Great post.
ReplyDelete-Derrick
US has beome the country it is due to the different races and cultures. It is becoming more and more diverse as time goes on. This post is very imformative about the history of Latinos and current job issues. America for sure has a lot too aprove, but one day it should get there.
ReplyDelete-IW