One Out of Three: Immigrant New York in the Twenty-First Century

by Nancy Foner

Overview

This absorbing anthology features in-depth portraits of diverse ethnic populations, revealing the surprising new realities of immigrant life in twenty-first-century New York City. Contributors show how nearly fifty years of massive inflows have transformed New York City's economic and cultural life and how the city has changed the lives of immigrant newcomers.

Nancy Foner's introduction describes New York's role as a special gateway to America. Subsequent essays focus on the Chinese, Dominicans, Jamaicans, Koreans, Liberians, Mexicans, and Jews from the former Soviet Union now present in the city and fueling its population growth. They discuss both the large numbers of undocumented Mexicans living in legal limbo and the new, flourishing community organizations offering them opportunities for advancement. They recount the experiences of Liberians fleeing a war torn country and their creation of a vibrant neighborhood on Staten Island's North Shore. Through engaging, empathetic portraits, contributors consider changing Korean-owned businesses and Chinese Americans' increased representation in New York City politics, among other achievements and social and cultural challenges. A concluding chapter follows the prospects of the U.S.-born children of immigrants as they make their way in New York City.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780231159371
Publisher:	Columbia University Press
Publication date:	06/18/2013
Pages:	312
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Nancy Foner is Distinguished Professor of Sociology at Hunter College and at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. She is the author of numerous books, including From Ellis Island to JFK: New York's Two Great Waves of Immigration.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vii

1 Introduction: Immigrants in New York City in the New Millennium Nancy Foner 1

2 A Portrait of New York's Immigrant Mélange Arun Peter Lobo Joseph J. Salvo 35

3 Immigration and Economic Growth in New York City David Dyssegaard Kallick 64

4 Soviet Jews: The Continuing Russification of Jewish New York Annelise Orleck 90

5 Chinese: Diverse Origins and Destinies Min Zhou 120

6 Koreans: Changes in New York in the Twenty-First Century Pyong Gap Min 148

7 Jamaicans: Balancing Race and Ethnicity Milton Vickerman 176

8 Liberians: Struggles for Refugee Families Bernadette Ludwig 200

9 Dominicans: Community, Culture, and Collective Identity Silvio Torres-Saillant Ramona Hernández 223

10 Mexicans: Civic Engagement, Education, and Progress Achieved and Inhibited Robert Courtney Smith 246

11 The Next Generation Emerges Philip Kasinitz John H. Mollenkopf Mary C. Waters 267

Contributors 283

Index 287

What People are Saying About This

Kenneth J. Guest

One Out of Three presents a concise historical framework and brings the data and debates about contemporary immigration into the 21st century while also being a strong contribution to making scholarly literature on immigration in New York City accessible to a broad audience.

Editorial Reviews

The book effectively enhances and broadens perspectives perhaps not yet fully captured and crystallized within the contemporary US. immigration debate.... Recommended.

Choice

Nancy Foner, a leading scholar of immigration, has edited an excellent collection of essays. Because of the importance of New York in the story of immigration and the quality of the essays, her book should be read by persons interested in the ongoing immigration to the United States.

David Reimers

Foner, a widely and justly admired scholar of immigration, brings together essays by top experts on New York's immigrant groups. Without exception, the chapters are well written and informative. The result is an essential reference for anyone interested in contemporary immigration in general and in New York's immigrant populations in particular.

Carl L. Bankstonn Journal of Sociology

One Out of Three is the indispensable guide to the ethnic kaleidoscope that is twenty-first century New York. Filled with well-written and fascinating essays from a variety of disciplines, this is a volume to be valued by scholars and students alike.

Roger Waldinger

This is a valuable collection of essays and essential reading for specialists and non-specialists interested in immigration in New York.

NY History

Most New Yorkers today are immigrants or children of immigrants, and more diverse than ever before. The nation's largest city is endlessly a dynamo of re-invention. This indispensable collection or original essays tells the tangled tale of New York's latest transformation — and of the metamorphosis of its newcomers into the newest New Yorkers — with verve and telling detail.

Rubén G. Rumbaut

One Out of Three is a marvelous achievement: it is a thematically coherent, conceptually clear, and methodically rigorous state-of-the-art work on what makes New York the world's beacon for immigration. If you are interested in how immigrants are re-making our country and how our country remakes immigrants into Americans this book is a must read.

Marcelo M. Suárez-Orozco

In One Out of Three, Nancy Foner deftly deploys both ethnographic accounts of lived experience as well as nuanced reflections of macro-level processes to capture the ways that recent and not-so-recent arrivals have altered America's largest city and transformed their own lives while doing so. Written with abundant sensitivity to the human experience, the book portrays immigrants' energy, hope and perseverance as well as their frustrations, conflicts and anguish. It informs readers of both the momentary concerns and longstanding goals which epitomize the rhythms of these new New Yorkers' lives—from food and politics, to religion and music, to establishing new identities and retaining connections to home. At the same time, the book also delivers important conclusions about the long-term and wide-ranging impact of New York's enduring encounter with immigrants. Such lessons are emphasized in the editor's introduction and in comparative chapters on demographic change, immigrants in the economy, and the fate of the second generation. Fascinating and accessible, yet also informed by cutting-edge research and theory, One Out of Three is a must-read for students and scholars of international migration and for anyone seeking to comprehend the ongoing transformation of American society.

Steven J. Gold

Impressive

New York Times

Foner, a widely and justly admired scholar of immigration, brings together essays by top experts on New York's immigrant groups. Without exception, the chapters are well written and informative. The result is an essential reference for anyone interested in contemporary immigration in general and in New York's immigrant populations in particular.

American Journal of Sociology - Carl L. Bankston

Most New Yorkers today are immigrants or children of immigrants, and more diverse than ever before. The nation's largest city is endlessly a dynamo of re-invention. This indispensable collection or original essays tells the tangled tale of New York's latest transformation — and of the metamorphosis of its newcomers into the newest New Yorkers — with verve and telling detail.

Rubén G. Rumbaut

One Out of Three is a marvelous achievement: it is a thematically coherent, conceptually clear, and methodically rigorous state-of-the-art work on what makes New York the world's beacon for immigration. If you are interested in how immigrants are re-making our country and how our country remakes immigrants into Americans this book is a must read.

Marcelo M. Suárez-Orozco