1.1 Strategies and processes of adaptation in immigration  (Page 7/11)

In those new theorizations, the interethnic competition and the processes of development of the ethnic identity See: BANTON, M. Racial and ethnic Competition , New York, Cambridge University Press., 1983 LAMBERT, W. E.&TAYLOR, D. M., Coping with Cultural and Racial Diversity in Urban America , New York, Praeger, 1990. occupy an outstanding place. New immigrants, highly motivated and set out to succeed in America, represent a certain threat for solidly established groups, in the work area as much as in schools. They are competitors to be taken seriously. On the other hand, they maintain their ethnic identity and develop strong bonds and networks of solidarity.

A new historical context creates the necessity to study the process of ethnic identification and assimilation to the receiving society. It affirms, on one hand, the dynamic, fluid, and adaptable character of ethnic identity; this can change or even undergo a process of conversion for practical reasons. See: NAGEL, J.&OLZAK, S., “Ethnic mobilization in new and old States: An extension of the competition model”, Social Problems 30 (1982) 127-143. PORTES, A., “The rise of ethnicity: Determinants of ethnic perceptions among Cuban exiles in Miami”, American Sociological Review 49 (1984) 383-397. On the other hand, it refuses to consider ethnic conscience as a by-product of discrimination and/or economic and social marginalization in such a way that it would tend to disappear or, at least, to lose relevance when immigrants assimilate themselves. What seems to happen with new immigrants is the opposite: as they “begin to leave outside their internal neighborhoods, districts, or enclaves and to compete directly with other groups, the conscience of their racial and cultural differences awakes” (Portes, 1984, p. 395). So, the ethnic conscience is reactivated as immigrants succeed in the struggle to achieve social standing.

This hypothesis depends upon the support of some empirical studies; the case of the Cubans, as analyzed by Portes, illustrates the example. He suggests that conscious displays of ethnicity are more characteristic of those that have left “ethnic neighborhoods.” By conscientiously marking their ethnicity, they nullify the classic dilemma of “ethnic assimilation.” This observation was at the new center of attention of investigations, historical and sociological, on immigration in the last decades. See: MORAWSKA, E., “The Sociology and Historiography of Immigration”, en YANS-McLAUGHLYN, V. (ed), Immigration reconsidered. History, Sociology and Politics, New York, Oxford University Press, 1990 pp. 187-238. The conclusions I reached in my investigation on the Dominicans in New York, centered on a series of families’ life stories, which were all similar and affirmative of Portes’ hypothesis (Bajo Santos, 2000, pp. 833-856).

Another illustrative case is the one of a Sikh community established in a rural area in California, studied by Margaret A. Gibson (1988). Sikhs developed a strategy of “accommodation and acculturation without assimilation.” They want to preserve their identity and culture. They teach their children to love their roots, distinctive symbols, memorable events, historical personages, and songs, but at the same time they encourage them to follow schools’ official norms and to adopt the "good ways" of the "Americans."