Embassy of the United States

Social Affairs

Ethnic Groups & Race Relations Archive

A RISING SHARE: HISPANICS AND FEDERAL CRIME. Pew Hispanic Center. Mark Hugo Lopez et al. February 18, 2009.
Full Text [PDF format, 27 pages]
Sharp growth in illegal immigration and increased enforcement of immigration laws have altered the ethnic composition of offenders sentenced in federal courts. Latinos, who are 13% of the U.S. adult population, accounted for 40% of all sentenced federal offenders in 2007—up from 24% in 1991. Immigration offenses now represent about one-quarter of all federal convictions, compared with 7% in 1991. Most Latinos with federal sentences are not U.S. citizens. Hispanics are more likely to receive a prison term but it is generally shorter than prison terms for whites and blacks.
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AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY MONTH. Law Library of Congress. February 2, 2009.
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National African American History Month had its origins in 1915 when historian and author Dr. Carter G. Woodson founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History. This organization is now known as the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (“ASALH”).
Through this organization Dr. Woodson initiated the first Negro History Week in February 1926. Dr. Woodson selected the week in February that included the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, two key figures in the history of African Americans.

BLACK (AFRICAN-AMERICAN) HISTORY MONTH: FEBRUARY 2009. Facts for Features, U.S. Census Bureau. Web posted January 2009.
Full Text [PDF format, 6 pages]
The Census Bureau reports on African-Americans from population to education.

BLACK HISTORY MONTH HONORS LEGACY OF STRUGGLE AND TRIUMPH. U.S. Department of State. Louise Fenner. January 29, 2009.
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Each February, Black History Month honors the struggles and triumphs of millions of American citizens over the most devastating obstacles, slavery, prejudice, poverty, as well as their contributions to the nation’s cultural and political life.

THE END OF BLACK HISTORY MONTH. The Root. Michael E. Ross. February 3, 2009.
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The author points out that this year’s Black History Month will be different, taking place as it does against a backdrop of unprecedented change in the national leadership. As the events of the last month have convincingly shown, there’s no separating the current fortunes and histories of 37 million African Americans from the rest of the America.
So he asks, “When black American history intertwines so completely with American history in general, what’s the rationale for separating them?”
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A RELIGIOUS PORTRAIT OF AFRICAN-AMERICANS. Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. January 30, 2009.
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While the U.S. is generally considered a highly religious nation, African-Americans are markedly more religious on a variety of measures than the U.S. population as a whole, including level of affiliation with a religion, attendance at religious services, frequency of prayer and religion’s importance in life. Compared with other racial and ethnic groups, African-Americans are among the most likely to report a formal religious affiliation, with fully 87% of African-Americans describing themselves as belonging to one religious group or another, according to the report.
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AA09020
Murray, Nubia OUR FACES ON BROADWAY (Ebony, vol. 64, no. 1, November 2008, pp. 138-140, 144)
Available online New York’s famous Broadway theater district, known as “the Great White Way” on account of its bright lights, has too often lived up to its nickname when it comes to the race or ethicity of the actors onstage, says the author. But recently, African-American performers have begun turning up in a greater variety of roles. While productions that chronicle the black experience (such as “Ain’t Misbehavin’” or “The Color Purple”) still account for the vast majority of appearances by African-Americans on Broadway, a new trend is emerging: color-blind casting. A number of major theatrical shows in New York now feature African-American performers in roles that are not race-specific, creating wider opportunities for minority actors and redefining audience expectations. The stage version of “Chicago,” starring Broadway veteran Brenda Braxton as leading lady Velma Kelly, offers just one example of this trend. In the summer of 2008, the restaged Tennessee Williams classic “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” featured James Earl Jones and Phylicia Rashad, with Rashad’s sister Debbie Allen at the production’s helm. And Morgan Freeman, best known for his film roles, returned to Broadway after a 20-year absence to star in “The Country Girl.” One show that is seldom recognized as a multicultural production, however, actually leads the pack: the Broadway adaptation of Disney’s megahit “The Little Mermaid.” “I think we do a really good job of showing so many colors on the stage,” says actor Derrick Baskin, who plays the role of Jetsam. For their part, cast members add that they would like to see a more diverse audience at the theater, too.

POLL: CONCERNS ABOUT RACIAL TENSIONS DECLINE SHARPLY IN AMERICA. Anti-Defamation League. November 16, 2008.
Full Text [PDF format, 9 pages]
There has been a steep decline in concerns about racial tensions in America over the past 15 years, according to a poll from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). The poll also found a significant majority, 66%, views the growth of America’s minority populations as advantageous to the economy and society. The poll also found that 66% of Americans view the country’s population growth due to immigration as “an advantage for America.”
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MUSLIMS IN AMERICA. Contexts and American Sociological Association. Jen’nan Ghazal Read. Web posted November 12, 2008.
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Seven years after the terrorist attacks on U.S. soil catapulted Muslims into the American spotlight, concerns and fears over their presence and assimilation remain at an all-time high. Recent national polls find that four in 10 Americans have an unfavorable view of Islam, five in 10 believe Islam is more likely than other religions to encourage violence, and six in 10 believe Islam is very different from their own religion. All this despite the fact that seven in 10 admit they know very little about Islam. According to the author, many Americans are convinced Muslim Americans pose some kind of threat to American society.
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WHITE SUPREMACISTS VENT RAGE OVER OBAMA’S WIN. Anti-Defamation League. Web posted November 8, 2008.
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In the aftermath of the election victory of Barack Obama, white supremacists rushed to online discussion forums to vent anger and disbelief that voters had chosen an African-American candidate as the next president of the U.S. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) says that anger among white supremacists and other right-wing extremists in response. According to ADL, racists are incredulous that Obama was elected primarily by white voters and are seething with anger at the prospect of an America led by an African-American man.
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FINDING FAMILIES FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN CHILDREN: THE ROLE OF RACE & LAW IN ADOPTION.
Evans B. Donaldson Adoption Institute. May 2008.
Full Text [pdf format, 58 pages]

Many children adopted in this country come from social, economic, racial and cultural backgrounds that differ from those of their new parents. Trans-racial adoptions, those occurring when a child’s race/ethnicity is different from that of parents, can provide much-needed homes for boys and girls who may not otherwise have them. It is important to address the potential challenges in this growing practice in order to best serve everyone involved, especially the children.

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AA08107
Samuels, Adrienne WHAT DOES INDIAN BLOOD LOOK LIKE? (Ebony, April 2008, pp. 94-102)
Full Text available from your nearest American Library

Descendants of Cherokee Freedmen -- slaves owned by Cherokees in the early 1800s and freed in 1863 — are plaintiffs in two federal cases seeking to push the U.S. government to intervene and help determine who is part of the Cherokee tribe. Membership in the tribe can include benefits such as medical and housing assistance. In 2006 the Cherokee Nation Supreme Court ruled that the descendants of the Cherokee Freedmen are Cherokee; about 2,800 registered as members of the tribe. However, in 2007 the tribe voted to exclude the Freedmen descendents. The Congressional Black Caucus is supporting legislation that would deny the Cherokees federal funding for housing projects unless the tribe recognizes the Freedmen descendants as citizens. The tribe contends that Congress is trying to force Cherokees to give rights to non-Indians. The federal court cases and funding bills are still pending. (A number of prominent African-Americans have Cherokee ancestry, including Eartha Kitt, Jimi Hendrix, Diana Ross.)

RACE & ETHNICITY IN AMERICA: TURNING A BLIND EYE TO INJUSTICE.
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Web posted December 10, 2007.
Full Text [pdf format, 215 pages]

According to this report, racial and ethnic discrimination and inequality are ongoing and pervasive in the U.S. Policies at the federal, state, and local levels often burden “racial and ethnic minorities and non-citizens, immigrants, low-wage workers, women, children, and the accused.” This report offers a “Convention” to U.S. policymakers to rectify these discriminatory policies.

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A NATIONAL ANALYSIS OF MINORITIES IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING FACULTIES AT RESEARCH UNIVERSITIES.
Donna J. Nelson, Christopher N. Brammer and Heather Rhoads. Department of Chemistry, University of Oklahoma. October 31, 2007.
Full Text [pdf format, 53 pages]

This report presents the first comprehensive analysis of tenured and tenure-track faculty in the top 100 science and engineering departments in U.S. colleges and universities. The data show that minorities and women are significantly underrepresented in the physical sciences and engineering disciplines. This report contains graphs and tables.

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AA07419
Seligson, Joelle “A PLACE PREPARED”: THE ACOMA PUEBLO (Museum News, July/August 2007, pp. 48-55)
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The Acoma Pueblo, whose 2,000-year-old community is the oldest continually inhabited in North America, have opened a new state-of-the-art museum, The Sky City Cultural Center, to replace the old one that burned to the ground in 2000. The new Haak’u Museum cost $17 million and covers 40,000 square feet. It serves not only as a traditional museum but as the place the entire tribe congregates for sacred rites and as a cultural center for the Acoma’s youngsters, who come regularly to learn how to craft the moccasins, dresses, and thin-walled pottery for which the tribe is famous. The museum is located in Sky City, an hour’s drive from Albuquerque, New Mexico, in spectacular terrain of lofty mesas, piñon trees and tumbleweed. The museum is surrounded by traditional homes -- almost the entire tribe lives within four miles of the center -- still inhabited by Acoma families, often without electricity or running water. The site with its new center became the first living Native American community to be declared a National Trust Historic Site in January 2007.

RACE, ETHNICITY, AND THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM.
Katherine J. Rosich. Department of Research and Development, American Sociological Association. September 2007.
Full Text [pdf format, 32 pages]

This research highlights U.S. racial and ethnic disparities in crime and the criminal justice system with an emphasis on the differences explained by discrimination. This study focuses on race/ethnicity at the different stages of the criminal justice process. The last section identifies areas where research is incomplete.

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WALKING A MILE: A FIRST STEP TOWARD MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING: A QUALITATIVE STUDY EXPLORING HOW INDIANS AND NON-INDIANS THINK ABOUT EACH OTHER.
John Doble and Andrew L. Yarrow. Public Agenda. Web posted August 29, 2007.
Full Text [pdf format, 32 pages]

This study explores how American Indians and non-Indians think about Indians’ heritage, historical roles, relationships, and contributions. Race and ethnicity have always “been emotionally charged and confusing topics in American history,” but American Indians are unique as they are thought more in historical terms than in racial or ethnic terms.

The findings of this study are based on 12 focus groups--7 Indian groups (including 2 conducted in the Crow language) and 5 non-Indian groups. A number of clear patterns emerged from these groups illustrating the need for additional research.

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AFRO-LATINOS IN LATIN AMERICA AND CONSIDERATIONS FOR U.S. POLICY.
Clare M. Ribando. Congressional Research Service (CRS), Library of Congress. Updated July 13, 2007.
Full Text [pdf format, 28 pages]

The 110th Congress has maintained an interest in Afro-Latinos especially the plight of Afro-Colombians. Afro-Latinos are people of African descent in the Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries in Latin America. Afro-Latinos have pushed for increased rights and representation. They have formed groups, received help from international organizations, and sought political representation, human rights protection, land rights, and social and economic rights. Congress has introduced several bills and amendments offering U.S. support to assist and protect Afro-Latinos. This report provides an overview of these bills and will be updated as warranted.

AAI/ZOGBY POLL ON ARAB AMERICAN EXPERIENCES AND IDENTITY SHOWS INCREASE IN DISCRIMINATION AMONG YOUNG ARAB AMERICANS.
Arab American Institute (AAI), Zogby International. July 16, 2007.
Full Text [pdf format, 3 pages]

The results of this survey offer insights of discrimination experienced by Arab Americans. The survey is based on a nationwide telephone poll of 501 Arab Americans. The results show that 76% of young Arab Americans have experienced some form of discrimination, but they are less concerned about long-term effects of this discrimination. Additionally, Arab-Americans’ answers to the statement, “U.S. policy demonstrates respect toward the Islamic faith,” were split, but Muslim respondents between the ages of 18 and 29 were far more likely to disagree.

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HEALTH STATUS OF AFRICAN AMERICAN MEN IN THE UNITED STATES: FACT SHEET.
Race, Ethnicity & Health Care, The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Web posted April 26, 2007.
Full Text [pdf format, 2 pages]

There are 17.3 million African American men in the U.S. or 48% of all African Americans. These men tend to have the worst health indicators of all racial/ethnic groups, male or female. This fact sheet compares the health status of African American men to other groups.

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AA07168
Sharpton, Al; Swain, Carol IS AMERICA READY FOR A BLACK PRESIDENT? (Ebony, vol. 62, no. 3, January 2007, pp. 140-141)
Full Text (ProQuest: password required)

Two prominent individuals present differing, but not opposing, opinions on whether American voters would elect a black person to be president. The Rev. Al Sharpton, a long-time activist and a 2004 presidential candidate, says the same grass-roots energy that drove the civil rights struggle will be needed to elect the first black president. “It won’t happen from the top party structure downward,” he writes. Americans’ comfort with the dominant black television presence -– evident in the success of Bill Cosby and Oprah Winfrey -– and with blacks in politics and business, signals that the time is nigh for a black president. Swain, a professor of political science and law at Vanderbilt University, also says America could elect a black president, but argues it won’t be an activist from the civil rights movement, but rather a person like Barack Obama or Gen. Colin Powell, both of whom embody the hope of immigrants for the American Dream. Swain believes America will elect a black male president long before it elects a woman. “At play are our Judeo-Christian and now Muslim traditions that have limited the roles of women,” she writes.

LATINOS ONLINE: HISPANICS WITH LOWER LEVELS OF EDUCATION AND ENGLISH PROFICIENCY REMAIN LARGELY DISCONNECTED FROM THE INTERNET.
Susannah Fox and Gretchen Livingston. Pew Hispanic Center and Pew Internet Project. March 14, 2007.
Full Text [pdf format, 23 pages]

“Latinos comprise 14% of the U.S. adult population and about half of this growing group (56%) goes online. By comparison, 71% of non-Hispanic whites and 60% of non-Hispanic blacks use the internet.” Only one in three Latinos who speak Spanish only go online, and Latinos are less likely than whites to have internet connection at home. However, college-educated adults have equally high levels (about 90%) of internet use regardless of race or ethnicity.

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RECOVERY AND PRESERVATION OF NATIVE AMERICAN LANGUAGES: FIELD HEARINGS.
Committee on Education and the Workforce, U.S. House of Representatives. Web posted January 15, 2007.
Full Text [pdf format, 62 pages]

Congressional hearings were held on House Bill H.R. 4766--Native American Languages Preservation Act of 2006. The purpose of this legislation is to slow the rate of decline of Native American languages across the nation. It is estimated that only 20 Native American languages will be viable by 2050—down from 210 currently viable. [H.R. 4766 became law on December 14, 2006.]

THE FEDERAL WORKFORCE: ADDITIONAL INSIGHTS COULD ENHANCE AGENCY EFFORTS RELATED TO HISPANIC REPRESENTATION.
United States Government Accountability Office (GAO). August 17, 2006; Web-posted September 20, 2006.
Download the document [pdf format, 71 pages]

Hispanic representation in the federal workforce has historically been lower than in the Civilian Labor Force (CLF). Understanding factors affecting representation is important to developing and maintaining a high-quality and inclusive workforce. In this report, GAO identifies and analyzes factors affecting Hispanic representation in the federal workforce, examines oversight roles of EEOC and OPM, and provides illustrations of selected federal agencies' efforts with respect to Hispanic representation. GAO's analyses do not show the existence or absence of discrimination in the federal workforce.

GAO found that U.S. citizenship and educational attainment had the greatest effect on Hispanic representation in the federal workforce. When accounting for citizenship, which is required for most federal employment, Hispanics were nearly as likely as non-Hispanics to be employed in the federal workforce, relative to the nonfederal workforce (the portion of the CLF excluding federal employees).

In addition, the federal workforce has a greater proportion of occupations that require higher levels of education than the CLF. When GAO compared citizens with similar levels of education, Hispanics were more likely than non-Hispanics to be employed in the federal workforce relative to the nonfederal workforce. Other factors in our model, including age, gender, race, veteran's status, English proficiency, and geography (state where employed), had a more limited or almost no effect on the likelihood of Hispanics being in the federal workforce.

AA06406
Henderson, Shirley WHO’S WHO IN THE TECHNOLOGY BOOM (Ebony, October 2006, pp. 52-60)
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Not well known is that some of the industry players behind many of the technological innovations in recent decades have been African-Americans, notes the author. Among those profiled in the article are wireless LAN expert John Terry, inventor Thomas Mensah, physicist Shirley Ann Jackson, software engineer Kerrie Holley and scientist James West. The author notes that African-American scientists and engineers have a major role to play in encouraging more students from minority backgrounds to go into professions related to science and technology.

AA06318
Pulley, Brett et al. FROM THE FIELDS, TO THE FACTORY, TO THE CEO'S DESK, AFRICAN AMERICA PIONEERS IN CORPORATE AMERICA (American Legacy, special "Trailblazers" issue, Summer 2006, pp. 10-26)
Full Text available from your nearest IRC

This special supplement to American Legacy magazine, begins with the story of Richard D. Parsons, the head of Time Warner, Inc. and discusses the lives of the Afro-American trailblazers who went before him. William Perry, who helped Henry Ford get his start by helping Ford saw trees on Ford's wooded land and convert it into useful property. Later, when Perry developed a heart ailment, he asked Ford if he could find him a job that required little physical exertion. He became a machine inspector, and in 1914, was likely the first black person to fill a skilled job in corporate America. Also in 1914, Ford hired an Afro-American college graduate as a supervisor; word spread and many Afro-Americans migrated north to Detroit. In 1971 Otis Smith became General Motor's first African-American corporate officer and served as vice-president and general counsel. In 1953 the National Association of Market Developers, Inc. was formed to target ethnic markets. The year 1962 saw Harvey C. Russell become vice president of corporate planning at Pepsi. The series of articles in this supplement discusses the men and women who will take us into the twenty-first century, and is a "must read" for anyone interested in the Black contribution to the American corporate world.

AA06258
Terry-Azios, Diana A. SMALL BUSINESS, BIG RETURNS (Agenda, Summer 2006, pp. 22-26)
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With a growth rate of 82 percent since 1997, Hispanic-owned businesses are among the fastest-growing in the United States. Hispanic women actually lead that growth: approximately 35 percent of Hispanic firms are owned by women. And the momentum isn't slowing, according to a U.S. Internal Revenue Service report, which predicts that by 2007, Hispanics will own one of every 10 small businesses. If the prospect of owning a business is intimidating to some, nevertheless, others find that business ownership opens many doors for them. If the future of the Hispanic community's well-being depends on the future of its business development, it appears that the outlook is positive.

AA06201
Zeitz, Joshua THE FOUR: HOW CIRCUIT COURT JUSTICES FIRED AT JIM CROW FROM THE BENCH (American Legacy, vol. 12, no. 2, Summer 2006, pp. 61-70)
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Zeitz profiles the lives and work of four justices of the Deep South's Federal Circuit Court: Richard Rives, John R. Brown, John Wisdom, and Elbert P. Tuttle. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, these four justices, "both individually and in various combinations," struck down many of the "Jim Crow" laws that had established mandatory segregation dating back to the mid-1870s. Despite being subjected to ostracism, late night calls, and death threats, they integrated universities and school districts, enforced legal protection for black voters, and opened up access to public places for African-Americans. These rulings, the author asserts, were responsible for "vastly broadening the freedoms enjoyed by black and white Americans alike and forcibly dragging the Deep South into the twentieth century."

AA06159
Littell, Richard OUR BROTHER'S KEEPER (American Indian, vol. 7, no. 1, Spring 2006, pp. 22-27)
Full Text available from your nearest IRC

The state of Idaho eliminated its last wolf in the 1930s; by that point, wolves had virtually disappeared throughout the continental U.S. Their comeback resulted from the 1973 Endangered Species Act, under which the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service captured wolves in Canada and reintroduced them in Idaho. This met with virulent opposition among anti-wolf groups, who did not want any government agency managing the wolves. The Indian Nez Perce tribe, however, developed a first-rate plan for managing the wolves, which involved radio monitoring, removing rogue animals that attacked livestock, and conducting seminars to allay fears of nervous citizens. Under the Nez Perce tribe's care, the new gray wolves have thrived, growing to a population of over 500 by mid-2005, up from the original 35 reintroduced animals. The author notes the Nez Perce's affinity for the gray wolf, "whose struggle for survival parallels their own ... both were deprived of habitat necessary for their traditional means of support, and both were driven off their land at a great cost of life."

AA06049
Gibson, Christine A VERY LIVING PAST (American Legacy, vol. 11, no. 2, Summer 2005, pp. 34-42)
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Over the past several years, photographer Sarah Hoskins has been documenting African-American hamlets in the counties around Lexington, Kentucky, known as the Inner Bluegrass Region. Founded by newly-freed slaves after the Civil War, several dozen communities are believed to have once existed in this area; 29 of them remain, and many are threatened by suburban expansion around Lexington. Most are still populated with the fifth- and sixth-generation descendants of the original residents. The hamlets came about when former slaveowners gave, or sold at a low price, land to their former slaves; as recently as the early 1970s, many of them still worked on the same estates where their great-grandfathers had been slaves. Hoskins, who has taken about 11,000 pictures, notes that these villages had never before been the subject of a photographic survey, saying that "African-American history has been so neglected in this country ... and has been literally bulldozed over."

AA06015
Johnson, Jean HONORING OTHERS HONORS OURSELVES (American Indian, Winter 2005, pp. 16-22)
Full Text available from your nearest IRC

Various age-old traditions and rituals that celebrate life's passages and achievements serve to demonstrate to Native Americans who they are and their origins. The author offers an adage: "Tell me how you honor and are honored, and I will tell you who you are." She cites a number of these tangible tributes -- eagle feathers, star quilts, blankets -- as well as intangibles, such as the creation of songs and stories, naming ceremonies and other festivities that enable the younger generation of Native Americans to realize their honored place in the world. A sidebar describes the accomplishments of seven Native Americans whose figures in bronze are present in the National Statuary Hall, in the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, D.C.

AA05425
Chappell, Kevin REMEMBERING ROSA PARKS (Ebony, January 2006, pp. 126-128, 130, 132)
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It has taken time and reverence, death and tribute for history to fully record how the events on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, in December 1955 lifted America to a higher calling and Rosa Parks to iconic status. The author recounts details of that day and its aftermath, and its impact on numerous individuals who later became pivotal in civil rights history, and describes how Parks was commemorated across the nation in the days following her recent death at 92.

AA05302
Orlov, Rick MAYOR VILLARAIGOSA: THE FORMER UNION LEADER'S STUNNING RISE MAY HERALD A NATIONAL POLITICAL SHIFT (Hispanic, August 2005, pp. 26-28)
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Antonio Villaraigosa became one of the top elected Latino officials in the United States when in May of this year he was elected Mayor of Los Angeles, the US's second-largest city. Villaraigosa easily won the election by assembling, for the first time in the city's history, a coalition of Latino and Black voters, and capturing 50 percent of the Anglo vote. Remembering one of his political heroes, Tom Bradley, the first Black mayor in the majority-white city of Los Angeles, Villaraigosa said during his campaign, "I am here today because of the struggles of those who came before me. I am here because of the Voting Rights Act. I am here because of Affirmative Action. I might have gotten into college through the back door, but I came out through the front door." Villaraigosa, who had held elected office in the State Assembly and the City Council, pointed out to voters, "I am an American of Mexican descent. I am proud of my heritage, but I am an American."

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION REVISITED: A LEGAL HISTORY AND PROSPECTUS [RL30470]
Charles V. Dale. Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service. Updated December 15, 2004
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In recent years, federal courts have reviewed minority admissions programs to state universities in Texas, Georgia, Michigan, and Washington, questioning in general the constitutional status of racial and ethnic diversity policies in public education; invalidated minority preferences in public and private employment as a violation of constitutional and federal statutory rights; defeated a Federal Communications Commission policy requiring radio licensees to adopt affirmative minority recruitment and outreach measures; and nullified state and local efforts to increase minority group participation as contractors and subcontractors on publicly-financed construction projects.

AA05151
Winik, Lyric "DON'T ASK ME TO TAKE OFF THE UNIFORM" (Parade, April 17, 2005, pp. 4-7)
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The numbers of Arab-Americans serving in the U.S. military are tiny -- an estimated 3500 out of 2.6 million active-duty servicemen. Like soldiers of German or Japanese heritage who served in earlier wars, they are fighting in Iraq an adversary with whom they share a common culture and language. This article explores their mixed feelings about the conflict; many find more prejudice from their fellow Arab-Americans than in the military. Though many may disagree with parts of our Middle East policy, their primary emotion is loyalty and pride in serving in the U.S. armed forces. The author notes that most of them, or their families, came from countries with authoritarian governments and low standards of living, and express appreciation for the better life that the U.S. has afforded them. Many have taken on the challenging task of being "cultural ambassadors" in Iraq.

AA05104
Dubner, Stephen TOWARD A UNIFIED THEORY OF BLACK AMERICA (New York Times Magazine, March 20, 2005, pp. 54-59)
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Roland Fryer, a 27-year-old professor of economics at Harvard University and an African-American, is conducting ambitious research, using the tools of economics to figure out what is holding Black America back. His colleagues have been impressed by the breadth of his ideas; one recent paper argues that the high rates of hypertension and the six-year disparity in life expectancy of African-Americans versus whites, may be due to a single genetic factor: a higher rate of salt sensitivity among African-Americans. Fryer theorizes that the slaves who had the best chance of surviving the grueling voyage from Africa to America, in which as many as 15 percent died en route from illnesses that led to dehydration, were those who had a higher capacity for salt retention and would have retained more water. Other projects include studies of mixed-race children, to determine the influence of environment versus genes, and an experimental program of incentives to inspire minority students to improve grades.

WE THE PEOPLE OF ARAB ANCESTRY IN THE UNITED STATES. CENSUS 2000 SPECIAL REPORTS.
Angela Brittingham and G. Patricia de la Cruz. United States Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. March 2005.
Download the document [pdf format, 21 pages]

Census 2000 data showed that of the 281.4 million people in the United States, approximately 850,000 reported Arab ancestries and no others. This group represented 0.3 percent of the total population in 2000, compared with 0.2 percent in 1990. An additional 340,000 people reported an Arab and a non-Arab ancestry, meaning that a total of 1,190,000 people reported at least one Arab ancestry.

In 2000, over one-fourth of those reporting a specific Arab ancestry were Lebanese (245,000 or 29 percent). The next largest specific groups were Egyptian (123,000 or 14.5 percent) and Syrian (76,000 or 8.9 percent), followed by Palestinian (62,000 or 7.3 percent), Jordanian (36,000 or 4.2 percent), Moroccan (30,000 or 3.6 percent), and Iraqi (29,000 or 3.5 percent). An additional 82,000, or 9.6 percent of the Arab population, identified with "Other Arab" groups. An additional 167,000 people, or 20 percent identified their ancestry with the general term "Arab" or "Arabic."