Rethinking Today’s Minorities

The characteristics of minorities in the United States have changed significantly over the past 20 years. Today’s better-educated, more highly skilled immigrants must merge with more acculturated minority groups to achieve assimilation while still preserving the rich diversity of their ethnic heritages. This concept is one focus of Rethinking Today’s Minorities , a collection of articles by experts in the field of intergroup relations. It offers new conceptual overviews by which to compare and evaluate acculturation. The essays also focus on rethinking the nature of minorities long present in the United States, including African, Native and Asian Americans. Suggestions for policy changes and minority groups are also included. Following an introductory overview of the changing demographics of today’s minorities, the contributors then discuss major developments in minority communities such as the disappearance of formerly distinctive European-American ethnic groups, the continuation of affirmative action and the molding of policies to benefit Native American middle class. The study concludes with a challenge to the media for its role on perpetuating ethnic stereotypes.
Rethinking Today’s minorities is designed as an supplemental text for graduate or undergraduate courses in race and ethnic relations, sociology of minorities, American studies and immigration history. It should also be an important reference book for school and public libraries.