The characteristics of minorities in the United States have changed significantly over the past twenty 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 some of the nation's foremost experts in the field of intergroup relations. This volume 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 programs for social action designed to address the needs of 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 Americans and refugees. The book then includes essays on the growth of the Puerto Rican community in the U.S. and the emerging Iranian American middle class. The study concludes with a challenge to the media for its role in perpetuating ethnic stereotypes. Rethinking Today's Minorities will be an excellent supplemental text for graduate or undergraduate courses in race and ethnic relations, sociology of minorities, American studies, and immigration history. It will also be an important reference book for school and public libraries.
