U.S. Multiculturalism or Cultural Assimilation? | A. B. Wilkinson

Good commentary by A.B. Wilkinson of University of Nevada on US Republican primary candidate Jeb Bush’s comment on multiculturalism:

Last week a woman in Iowa asked Jeb Bush how he thought immigrants and refugees could best “become Americans.” Without hesitation he responded:

“We should not have a multicultural society. America is so much better than every other country because of the values that people share — it defines our national identity. Not race or ethnicity, not where you come from. When you create pockets of isolation — and in some cases the assimilation process is retarded because it’s slowed down — it’s wrong. It limits peoples’ aspirations.”

 First, the U.S. has always been and will always be a multicultural society — one where people from many distinct ethnic backgrounds have come together and form a society as a whole. Many people (not just immigrants) do not believe they should have to fully assimilate, or give up their traditional culture or heritage from where their ancestors originated, just in order to become “American.”

Next, what are the values that Bush and others assume that immigrants lack? Most immigrants are familiar with extreme struggle in their home countries and commit themselves to hard work in this country. These immigrants also have extremely strong family values, especially those from various parts of Latin America.

In other words, how are U.S. values essentially any different or better than those found south of its border?

While Jeb Bush may mean well, he missteps when he opts for colorblind rhetoric and ignores discussing the importance of race and ethnicity. When Bush suggests that immigrants “create pockets of isolation” on their own, he also misses how social systems founded on race and class have essentially created internal colonies within U.S. borders.

Low-income people of color do not ghettoize themselves. Both historically and presently, certain institutions have funneled African Americans, Latina/os, and Native Americans into ghettos, barrios, and reservations.

Still, politicians and mass media often connect impoverished people in communities of color with an unwillingness to adopt some ideal type of respectable Anglo-American culture. They stereotype those who refuse to assimilate as culturally backward, inept, and void of the attributes needed to attain the middle-class “American Dream.”

In reality, inadequate schools, poor housing opportunities, lack of career options, and few viable paths to citizenship (for immigrants) all play a much larger role in limiting people’s opportunities and aspirations. In the past, many of these factors defined colonial structures.

Source: U.S. Multiculturalism or Cultural Assimilation? | A. B. Wilkinson