Chapter 4

David Komorowski
Chapter 4

Summary: Within this chapter the family is no longer spoken of as just one unit but is explained in the terms of race and ethnicity and how it impacts the stresses amongst a family within the United States. It talks about how families from outside the U.S. must not only struggle for resources but must also have the task of adopting some customs from the U.S. (assimilation) without losing the sense of where they come from(cultural pluralism) . For example, in this chapter, Latino, Asian American, American Indian, and African American family dynamics are spoken about as well as their journey—immigration whether legal or illegal—to the United States and how it has affected them. For example Asian American parents are much stricter with their children than that of African American families. Another example is how the process is explained for an illegal immigrant to come into America to become a U.S. citizen as well as help their family members get here as well once they are here—more specifically in the case with Latinos and the action of “chain migration.”

What I learned: What I have learned in this chapter is that there are many more intricacies amongst immigrants and minorities within their community than I would think. For example I did not know that there was discrimination between those of the Central Americas and those of Spanish or Mexican decent. Many of us live within a bubble of the U.S. and although we may not be aware or ignore it on purpose, many of us are ignorant to the adversities that minorities face when they get to the U.S.—which is a hard task within itself.

What could’ve been explained better: When reading the section on the American Indian family and culture I read a sentence on the gender roles in which said, “ Research on contemporary American Indian families …is virtually non-existent.” This confused me because after this was said, many other aspects of the family are introduced such as health and economic well-being, elders and grandparents, etc. I would just like to point out that if researchers can look into many other aspects of American Indian families, they should be able to explain, or at least have a little knowledge, on gender roles and how they affect it.