UTNE READER #4

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The article, "The Multicultural Myth" by Brad Edmundson questions whether or not immigration has changed the complexion of the United States. For as long as we can remember the United States has been known as a national melting pot, however demographic data shows that diversity depends on where you live. The article points out that only 21 of the nation's metropolitan areas are truly multicultural - "which means, compared to the national average, there are fewer non Hispanic whites and more members of at least two major racial and ethnic groups."

What makes a city multicultural? Immigrants tend to settle near their ports of entry, where it is easiest to find a wide variety of jobs. or where the white population is leaving. However the dividing lines of the future may have less to do with race than with class and age. "And as older Americans keep their distance from immigrants, younger Americans seem to be drawing closer to them." Indeed, there appears to be a new wave of immigration: one that seems to be young, urban, and multicultural, and another that is middle-aged to elderly, suburban to rural, and almost all white.

Edmundson, Brad. "The Multicultural Myth." UTNE READER Jan-Feb. 1999: 18.

-- Anonymous, June 02, 1999

Answers

Hi Jennifer: I think you really got to the heart of the article in your response. There does appear to be a whole series of cultural shifts happening that are a part of the mechanism of change. I see in my own classroom an increasing "color-blind diversity", but, I am still concerned by signs of intense unease in students who have come from backgrounds of limited experience. Have you any thoughts? Keep up the good work! John

-- Anonymous, June 07, 1999

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