DOCSLIB.ORG

Ethnic Studies Review

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

ETHNIC STUDIES REVIEW The Journal of the National Association for Ethnic Studies Volume 19, Number 1 February 1996 Special Issue: Ethnicity, Family, and Community Table of Contents Editor's Note Miguel A. Carranza ..........................................................................................i Articles The Importance of Families and Communities in Understanding Ethnicity Mary E. Kelly, Guest Editor................................ ....................................... 1-5 Hmong on the Move: Understanding Secondary Migration Jac D. Bulk ................................................................................................7-28 "Shared Ethnicity" in Transracial Adoption Cia Verschelden ......................................................................................29-42 Racial Safety and Cultural Maintenance: The Childcare Concerns of Employed Mothers of Color Lynet Uttal ..............................................................................................43-59 I'd Rather Play the Saxophone: Conflictsin Identity Between Vietnamese Students and Their Parents Joseph Stimpfl and Ngoc H. Bui ........... ............... ......... ..... ...... ..............61-80 Ethnic Conversions: Family, Community, Women, and Kinwork Mary E. Kelly.. .. ......... .... .............. ............ ................................. .........81-100 Selected Readings on Ethnicity, Family and Community Mary E. Kelly and Thomas W. Sanchez ...... .. ... ...... .............. ... ...... ... l0 1-113 Article Contributors ......................................................................, ..... 115-116 Review Essay Harold A. McDougall, Black Baltimore: A New Theory of Community, and W. Edward Orser, Blockbusting in Baltimore: The Edmondson Village Story, reviewed by James L. Conyers, J r. ............................................................................117 -120 Book Reviews Eve Harris (Director and Producer), Secret Jews of the Hispanic Southwest, reviewed by David Gradwohl.. ..................................120 David A. Hollinger, Postethnic America: Beyond Multiculturalism, reviewed by Jack Glazier ................................................121 Maria P. P. Root, The Multiracial Experience: Racial Borders as the New Frontier, reviewed by Yolanda Flores Niemann ............................................................................................123 Vernon Williams, Jr., Rethinking Race: Franz Boas and His Contemporaries, reviewed by Rhett Jones ............................................124 Editor's Note This special issue of the journal is on the theme "Ethnicity, Fam­ ily and Community," which was the topic of our 23rd annual conference held in March 1995 in Boulder, Colorado. Mary Kelly, our special issue editor, has selected an excellent set of quality articles focused on the theme. Nowhere more than in the field of ethnic studies do the topics of family and community play such important roles. One need only look at the dynamic changes occurring in U.S. society to see how these changes influence and are influenced by ethnic/racial families and the communi­ ties in which they reside. In her introduction, Mary Kelly demonstrates how immigration has played a significant role in establishing ethnicity and ethnic identity within a societal context. It is important to note that recent immigration continues to influence both immigrant and non-immigrant perspectives on ethnicity and ethnic identity. Several themes found in the articles revolve around topics such as the pressures of assimilation, the mainte­ nance and transmittal of ethnic identity, ethnic options related to class differences, and the emerging impact of ethnic identity for multiracial children. In this latter respect, the potential creation of a multiracial cat­ egory by the federal government for census purposes could have a tre­ mendous impact on ethnic/racial groups in our society. This issue also marks the first one with our new journal title - Ethnic Studies Review. We have restructured and combined the pub­ lication of our journal, formerly titled Explorations in Ethnic Studies, and our book review issue, previously called Explorations in Sights and Sounds, into this new format. In Ethnic Studies Review we will con­ tinue to publish our standard research articles, but will also include re­ search notes, as well as the major review essays and book reviews for­ merly found in our book review issue. Additionally, we will increase the number of issues per volume from 2 to 3. We will keep the current vol­ ume numbering sequence and issues 1-3 of each volume will be pub­ lished in February, June and October, respectively. Miguel A. Carranza University of Nebraska-Lincoln sociological P.O. Box 22206 San Diego, CA 92192-0206 abstracts 619/695-8803 Fax: 695-0416 Internet [email protected] User Assistance: 800/752-3945 The SAl family of services: Sociological Abstracts ISA) • Social Planning/Policy & Development Abstracts ISOPODA) • sociofile ISA and SOPODA on CD-ROM) • Products are available in print; online from Knight. Ridder, DIMDI, OClC, and Ovid; on CD·ROM from SilverPlatter, EBSCO and Ovid; on magnetic tape via SAl direct. Document delivery available via SOCIOLOGY *Express: BOO/313·9966; 415/259·5013; Fax 415/259·5058; email: [email protected] The Importance of Families and Communities in Understanding Ethnicity and Maintaining Ethnic Identity Mary E. Kelly Central Missouri State University Introduction Social science provides us with a variety of theories that at­ tempt to explain the dynamics of race and ethnicity. Many of these theo­ ries are concerned with the basic question of ethnic difference: its ori­ gins, persistence, and decline. In the contemporary literature on immi­ gration to the United States and on how immigrants adjust to that relo­ cation, assimilation and the persistence of ethnic identity have often been considered polar opposites.1 Researchers, however, are beginning to find that both processes often occur simultaneously, as when immigrants become acculturated into American society but also maintain or even construct distinct ethnic identities, often "symbolically. ,,2 Even though a generation of immigrants may give up their ethnic identities, adopt the host language, and intermarry, their children or grandchildren may chOose to renew ancestral ethnicities, and in so doing, may even con­ tribute to the re-ethnicization of their parents as adults. Ethnicity (and ethnic identity), therefore, is both a conservative force as well as an agent of change.3 The articles in this special issue of Ethnic Studies Review explore the dynamics of ethn icity in the United States and contextualize the experience of various groups within families and com­ munities. Since "Ethnicity: Family and Community" is such a broad topic, this special issue can only capture a portion of the very interesting ongo­ ing research in the area. While the articles included are diverse, they center around the general themes of understanding problems associ­ ated with ethnicity and ethnic identity. Social issues related to ethnicity include internal migration patterns and providing public assistance to immigrants. How can communities cope with the needs of diverse im­ migrant groups? Is assimilation into the dominant host society always Ethnic Studies Review Vol. 19, No. 1 (February 1996): 1-5. Ethnic Studies Review, Vol. 19, No. 1 the best solution for these groups? Another difficulty associated with families and ethnicity is when families want their ethnic or racial culture to be taken into consideration even when they and their children are in settings outside of the home. Tw o articles in this issue focus on dilem­ mas of transmitting ethnic culture and identity when children are of a different race or ethnicity than their caregivers (including within the home). Finally, the issue concludes with articles concerning the maintenance and transmission of ethnic identity. In the case of Vietnamese Ameri­ cans, the focus of concern is on the too rapid "Americanization" of the second generation. For Lithuanian Americans, however, the concerns are somewhat different. Instead, the task facing Lithuanian Americans (and other white ethnic groups) is how to retain ethnic identification after several generations of acculturation, assimilation, and intermarriage in the United States. Understanding Ethnicity Jenkins reminds us that although internal processes of group identification take place, the role of external categorization (which in­ cludes power and authority relations) is also important in that it estab­ lishes what identities are acceptable to various groups.4 It is this exter­ nal categorization which affects recent immigrant groups with few re­ sources, as is the case among the Hmong in the United States. Addi­ tionally, whites have different "ethnic options" compared to "colored" minorities in the United States.5 This is a particularly sensitive issue among parents of multi-cultural/racial children and for parents raising children of another race than their own who feel that their choices are unfai rly constrained. An important element of ethnicity is its intersection with social class. For instance, purely symbolic ethnic connections are more prominent among middle-class Hispanics and whites, while lower­ class Hispanics tend to view ethnicity as part of their disadvantaged minority status.6 We see this played out among parents concerned with their child ren's child care--do they emphasize their class expectations when searching for
Recommended publications
  • Lithuanian Voices

    Lithuanian Voices

    CHAPTER FIVE Lithuanian Voices 1. Lithuanian Letters in the U.S. The list of American works featuring Lithuanians is short; it apparently consists of three novels. However, for such a small nation, not a “global player” in Franzen’s words, three novels authored by Americans can be seen as sufficient and even impressive. After all, three American authors found Lithuanians interesting enough to make them the main characters of their works. Two of those works, Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle and Jonathan Franzen’s The Corrections, became bestsellers and popularized the name of Lithuania in the U.S. and the world. The third work, Margaret Seebach’s That Man Donaleitis, although overlooked by critics and readers, nevertheless exists as a rare token of admiration for an obscure and oppressed people of the Russian empire. Many other small nations never made it to the pages of American texts. The best they could do was to present themselves to Americans in their own ethnic writing in English. However, the mere existence of such ethnic texts did not guarantee their success with the American audience. Ethnic groups from Eastern Europe for a long time presented little interest to Americans. As noted by Thomas Ferraro, autobiographical and biographical narratives of “immigrants from certain little-known places of Eastern Europe . did not attract much attention” (383). He mentions texts by a Czech, a Croatian, a Slovakian and a Pole written between 1904 and 1941, and explains the lack of attention to them from American public: “the groups they depict remained amorphous in the national imagination and did not seem to pose too much of a cultural threat” (383).
  • Parent Perceptions on Identity Formation Among Latvian Emigrant Children in England Kamerāde, D and Skubiņa, I

    Parent Perceptions on Identity Formation Among Latvian Emigrant Children in England Kamerāde, D and Skubiņa, I

    Growing up to belong transnationally : parent perceptions on identity formation among Latvian emigrant children in England Kamerāde, D and Skubiņa, I http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-12092-4 Title Growing up to belong transnationally : parent perceptions on identity formation among Latvian emigrant children in England Authors Kamerāde, D and Skubiņa, I Type Book Section URL This version is available at: http://usir.salford.ac.uk/id/eprint/49752/ Published Date 2019 USIR is a digital collection of the research output of the University of Salford. Where copyright permits, full text material held in the repository is made freely available online and can be read, downloaded and copied for non-commercial private study or research purposes. Please check the manuscript for any further copyright restrictions. For more information, including our policy and submission procedure, please contact the Repository Team at: [email protected]. IMISCOE Research Series Rita Kaša Inta Mieriņa Editors The Emigrant Communities of Latvia National Identity, Transnational Belonging, and Diaspora Politics IMISCOE Research Series This series is the official book series of IMISCOE, the largest network of excellence on migration and diversity in the world. It comprises publications which present empirical and theoretical research on different aspects of international migration. The authors are all specialists, and the publications a rich source of information for researchers and others involved in international migration studies. The series is published under the editorial supervision of the IMISCOE Editorial Committee which includes leading scholars from all over Europe. The series, which contains more than eighty titles already, is internationally peer reviewed which ensures that the book published in this series continue to present excellent academic standards and scholarly quality.
  • Politics of a Refugee Community: AMERICAN LATVIANS

    Politics of a Refugee Community: AMERICAN LATVIANS

    AMERICAN LATVIANS Politics of a Refugee Community AMERICAN LATVIANS leva Z a k e O Routledge g ^ ^ Taylor & Francis Group LONDON AND NEW YORK First published 2010 by Transaction Publishers Published 2017 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017, USA Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business Copyright © 2010 by Taylor & Francis. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Catalog Number: 2010014941 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Zake, Ieva. American Latvians : politics of a refugee community / Ieva Zake. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-4128-1451-5 (alk. paper) 1. Latvian Americans--Politics and government. 2. Latvians-- United States--Politics and government. 3. Refugees--United States- -Political activity. 4. Political activists--United States--History. 5. Anti-communist movements--United States--History. 6. Latvian Ameri- cans--Social conditions. 7. Refugees--United States--Social conditions. 8. Community life--United States--History. 9. Latvia--Relations--Soviet Union. 10. Soviet Union--Relations--Latvia. I. Title. E184.L4Z35 2010 973’.0049193--dc22 2010014941 ISBN 13: 978-1-4128-1451-5 (hbk) Contents Preface vii Introduction 1 1 Into Exile 17 2 American Latvians as Ethnic Anticommunists 49 3 Ghosts from the Past 89 4 Surviving the Soviet Pressure 125 5 The End of Exile 161 Conclusion 197 Index 211 Preface This book is a product of my more than a decade long interactions with the American Latvian community involving both informal observa- tions and formal research.
  • Acadiens and Cajuns.Indb

    Acadiens and Cajuns.Indb

    canadiana oenipontana 9 Ursula Mathis-Moser, Günter Bischof (dirs.) Acadians and Cajuns. The Politics and Culture of French Minorities in North America Acadiens et Cajuns. Politique et culture de minorités francophones en Amérique du Nord innsbruck university press SERIES canadiana oenipontana 9 iup • innsbruck university press © innsbruck university press, 2009 Universität Innsbruck, Vizerektorat für Forschung 1. Auflage Alle Rechte vorbehalten. Umschlag: Gregor Sailer Umschlagmotiv: Herménégilde Chiasson, “Evangeline Beach, an American Tragedy, peinture no. 3“ Satz: Palli & Palli OEG, Innsbruck Produktion: Fred Steiner, Rinn www.uibk.ac.at/iup ISBN 978-3-902571-93-9 Ursula Mathis-Moser, Günter Bischof (dirs.) Acadians and Cajuns. The Politics and Culture of French Minorities in North America Acadiens et Cajuns. Politique et culture de minorités francophones en Amérique du Nord Contents — Table des matières Introduction Avant-propos ....................................................................................................... 7 Ursula Mathis-Moser – Günter Bischof des matières Table — By Way of an Introduction En guise d’introduction ................................................................................... 23 Contents Herménégilde Chiasson Beatitudes – BéatitudeS ................................................................................................. 23 Maurice Basque, Université de Moncton Acadiens, Cadiens et Cajuns: identités communes ou distinctes? ............................ 27 History and Politics Histoire
  • Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act and Its Place in "Post-Racial" America

    Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act and Its Place in "Post-Racial" America

    Emory Law Journal Volume 61 Issue 2 2011 Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act and Its Place in "Post-Racial" America Enbar Toledano Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarlycommons.law.emory.edu/elj Recommended Citation Enbar Toledano, Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act and Its Place in "Post-Racial" America, 61 Emory L. J. 389 (2011). Available at: https://scholarlycommons.law.emory.edu/elj/vol61/iss2/4 This Comment is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at Emory Law Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Emory Law Journal by an authorized editor of Emory Law Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. TOLEDANO GALLEYSFINAL2 4/3/2012 12:05 PM SECTION 5 OF THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT AND ITS PLACE IN “POST-RACIAL” AMERICA ABSTRACT The Fifteenth Amendment purported to withdraw race and color from the calculus of suffrage. Instead, it gave rise to an era of creative exclusion in which Southern states erected one barrier after another and Congress floundered in its attempts to secure the black vote it had promised. After ninety-five years, progress at last seemed possible with the introduction of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA), an echo of the Fifteenth Amendment fitted with shiny, new teeth. Section 5 of the VRA reversed the inertia of discrimination by requiring states with a demonstrated history of employing disfranchising voting practices to obtain federal preclearance before implementing any changes to their voting laws. The VRA has achieved tremendous success since its enactment, due in large part to the powers embedded in section 5.
  • Identitarian Movement

    Identitarian Movement

    Identitarian movement The identitarian movement (otherwise known as Identitarianism) is a European and North American[2][3][4][5] white nationalist[5][6][7] movement originating in France. The identitarians began as a youth movement deriving from the French Nouvelle Droite (New Right) Génération Identitaire and the anti-Zionist and National Bolshevik Unité Radicale. Although initially the youth wing of the anti- immigration and nativist Bloc Identitaire, it has taken on its own identity and is largely classified as a separate entity altogether.[8] The movement is a part of the counter-jihad movement,[9] with many in it believing in the white genocide conspiracy theory.[10][11] It also supports the concept of a "Europe of 100 flags".[12] The movement has also been described as being a part of the global alt-right.[13][14][15] Lambda, the symbol of the Identitarian movement; intended to commemorate the Battle of Thermopylae[1] Contents Geography In Europe In North America Links to violence and neo-Nazism References Further reading External links Geography In Europe The main Identitarian youth movement is Génération identitaire in France, a youth wing of the Bloc identitaire party. In Sweden, identitarianism has been promoted by a now inactive organisation Nordiska förbundet which initiated the online encyclopedia Metapedia.[16] It then mobilised a number of "independent activist groups" similar to their French counterparts, among them Reaktion Östergötland and Identitet Väst, who performed a number of political actions, marked by a certain
  • Transracial Parenting in Foster Care and Adoption

    Transracial Parenting in Foster Care and Adoption

    Transracial Parenting in Foster Care & Adoption - Strengthening Your Bicultural Family This guidebook was created to help parents and children in transracial homes learn how to thrive in and celebrate their bicultural family; and for children to gain a strong sense of racial identity and cultural connections. 1 Transracial Parenting in Foster Care & Adoption - Strengthening Your Bicultural Family 2 Transracial Parenting in Foster Care & Adoption - Strengthening Your Bicultural Family Table of Contents: Page # INTRODUCTION 4 A TRANSRACIALLY-ADOPTED CHILD’S BILL OF RIGHTS 5 TRANSRACIAL PARENTING PLEDGE 6 WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A TRANSRACIAL FAMILY? 7 HOW FAR HAVE WE COME? THE HISTORY OF TRANSRACIAL FAMILIES 8 - 10 GENERAL PARENTING TASKS FOR TRANSRACIAL PARENTS 11 - 14 HOW TO CONNECT YOUR CHILD TO THEIR CULTURE - 15 - 16 AND HOW TO BECOME A BICULTURAL FAMILY THE VOICES OF ADULT TRANSRACIAL ADOPTEES 17 - 24 RACISM AND DISCRIMINATION – FOSTERING RACIAL COPING SKILLS 25 - 28 ANSWERING TOUGH QUESTIONS 28 - 29 SKIN CARE & HAIR CARE 30 - 32 RESOURCES 33 - 46 General Transracial Resources Online Help, Books, Videos, Toys & Dolls Organizations & Internet Resources Cultural Camps African American Resources Asian American Resources Native American Resources Hispanic Resources European American Resources Arab American Resources Language & Self-assessment tools 3 Transracial Parenting in Foster Care & Adoption - Strengthening Your Bicultural Family INTRODUCTION According to transracial adoption expert Joseph Crumbley, all foster children, whether in a transracial placement or not, worry “Will I be accepted in this home, even if I am from a different (biological) family?” Children in transracial homes also worry “Will I be accepted even if I’m from a different race?” This booklet will help you understand the importance of race and culture for your family; and share helpful hints, parenting tips and resources for you on the culturally rich journey of transracial parenting.
  • The Making and Unmaking of Ethnic Boundaries: a Multilevel Process Theory1

    The Making and Unmaking of Ethnic Boundaries: a Multilevel Process Theory1

    The Making and Unmaking of Ethnic Boundaries: A Multilevel Process Theory1 Andreas Wimmer University of California, Los Angeles Primordialist and constructivist authors have debated the nature of ethnicity “as such” and therefore failed to explain why its charac- teristics vary so dramatically across cases, displaying different de- grees of social closure, political salience, cultural distinctiveness, and historical stability. The author introduces a multilevel process theory to understand how these characteristics are generated and trans- formed over time. The theory assumes that ethnic boundaries are the outcome of the classificatory struggles and negotiations between actors situated in a social field. Three characteristics of a field—the institutional order, distribution of power, and political networks— determine which actors will adopt which strategy of ethnic boundary making. The author then discusses the conditions under which these negotiations will lead to a shared understanding of the location and meaning of boundaries. The nature of this consensus explains the particular characteristics of an ethnic boundary. A final section iden- tifies endogenous and exogenous mechanisms of change. TOWARD A COMPARATIVE SOCIOLOGY OF ETHNIC BOUNDARIES Beyond Constructivism The comparative study of ethnicity rests firmly on the ground established by Fredrik Barth (1969b) in his well-known introduction to a collection 1 Various versions of this article were presented at UCLA’s Department of Sociology, the Institute for Migration Research and Intercultural Studies of the University of Osnabru¨ ck, Harvard’s Center for European Studies, the Center for Comparative Re- search of Yale University, the Association for the Study of Ethnicity at the London School of Economics, the Center for Ethnicity and Citizenship of the University of Bristol, the Department of Political Science and International Relations of University College Dublin, and the Department of Sociology of the University of Go¨ttingen.
  • Ethnic Sensitive Social Work Practice: the State of the Art

    Ethnic Sensitive Social Work Practice: the State of the Art

    The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare Volume 22 Issue 1 March - Special Issue on Social Work Article 4 with Minority and Ethnic Groups March 1995 Ethnic Sensitive Social Work Practice: The State of the Art Elfriede G. Schlesinger Rutgers University Wynetta Devore Syracuse University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/jssw Part of the Social Work Commons Recommended Citation Schlesinger, Elfriede G. and Devore, Wynetta (1995) "Ethnic Sensitive Social Work Practice: The State of the Art," The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare: Vol. 22 : Iss. 1 , Article 4. Available at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/jssw/vol22/iss1/4 This Article is brought to you by the Western Michigan University School of Social Work. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Ethnic Sensitive Social Work Practice: The State of the Art ELFRIEDE G. SCHLESINGER Rutgers University WYNETrA DEVORE Syracuse University The social work literature of the past ten years has paid increasing attention to the ideological, theoretical and practice issues related to eth- nic sensitive practice. Major focus has been on the life styles, needs and oppression of people of color, with minimal attention paid to other ethnic groups. A literature focused on adapting prevailing practice modalities to work with diverse groups is beginning to emerge. In the preface to the first edition of Ethnic Sensitive Social Work Practice (1981) we suggested that the time had arrived when social work could comfortably integrate the profession's long standing commitment to the uniqueness of individuals with knowledge about ethnic and class related response. We also suggested then that as a result of the ferment of the 60's social work was finally paying more attention to poverty, to the liberation struggles of various groups and to how minority status, ethnic group membership, and social class status affect problem generation and resolution.
  • The Nativist Lobby Three Faces of Intolerance

    The Nativist Lobby Three Faces of Intolerance

    The Nativist Lobby Three Faces of Intolerance A Report from the Southern Poverty Law Center Montgomery, Alabama February 2009 The Nativist Lobby Three Faces of Intolerance By Heidi BeiricH • edited By Mark Potok the southern poverty law center is a nonprofit organization that combats hate, intolerance and discrimination through education and litigation. Its Intelligence Project, which prepared this report and also produces the quarterly investigative magazine Intelligence Report, tracks the activities of hate groups and the nativist movement and monitors militia and other extremist anti- government activity. Its Teaching Tolerance project helps foster respect and understanding in the classroom. Its litigation arm files lawsuits against hate groups for the violent acts of their members. MEDIA AND GENERAL INQUIRIES Mark Potok, Editor Heidi Beirich Southern Poverty Law Center 400 Washington Ave., Montgomery, Ala. (334) 956-8200 www.splcenter.org • www.intelligencereport.org • www.splcenter.org/blog This report was prepared by the staff of the Intelligence Project of the Southern Poverty Law Center. The Center is supported entirely by private donations. No government funds are involved. © Southern Poverty Law Center. All rights reserved. southern poverty law center Table of Contents Preface 4 The Puppeteer: John Tanton and the Nativist Movement 5 FAIR: The Lobby’s Action Arm 9 CIS: The Lobby’s ‘Independent’ Think Tank 13 NumbersUSA: The Lobby’s Grassroots Organizer 18 southern poverty law center Editor’s Note By Mark Potok Three Washington, D.C.-based immigration-restriction organizations stand at the nexus of the American nativist movement: the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), and NumbersUSA.
  • The Population Crisis: the Stork, the Plow, and the IRS, 77 N.C

    The Population Crisis: the Stork, the Plow, and the IRS, 77 N.C

    NORTH CAROLINA LAW REVIEW Volume 77 | Number 1 Article 4 11-1-1998 The opulP ation Crisis: The tS ork, the Plow, and the IRS Mona L. Hymel Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarship.law.unc.edu/nclr Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation Mona L. Hymel, The Population Crisis: The Stork, the Plow, and the IRS, 77 N.C. L. Rev. 13 (1998). Available at: http://scholarship.law.unc.edu/nclr/vol77/iss1/4 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Carolina Law Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in North Carolina Law Review by an authorized administrator of Carolina Law Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE POPULATION CRISIS: THE STORK, THE PLOW, AND THE IRS MONA L. HYMEL* Tax policy can function as an economic and social tool to influence behavior. The U.S. Congress, however, has failed to use this tool in addressingproblems of overpopulationin this country. Instead, as Professor Mona Hymel argues, current tax policy exacerbates problems of overpopulation in three specific areas: reproductive rates, the strain on agricultural and natural resources, and the overconsumptive lifestyle of U.S. citizens. As it functions now, the U.S. tax system has a pronatalistbias, it fails to encourage sustainable farming practices and the conservation of resources, and it actually encourages overconsumption. This pattern can be altered, however, through proposals made by Professor Hymel such as environmental taxes, preferential treatment for practices such as organic farming, and the elimination of tax exclusions that encourage urban sprawl, to name a few.
  • Discouraging Racial Preferences in Adoptions

    Discouraging Racial Preferences in Adoptions

    Discouraging Racial Preferences in Adoptions Solangel Maldonado* More than 20,000 white Americans go abroad each year to adopt children from other countries, the majority of whom are not white. At the same time, there are more African American children available for adoption than there are African American families seeking to adopt them. While Americans claim there are few healthy infants available for adoption in the United States, hundreds of African American newborns each year are placed with white families in Canada and other countries. Tracing the history of transracial adoption in the United States, this Article argues that one reason why Americans go abroad to adopt is race. The racial hierarchy in the adoption market places white children at the top, African American children at the bottom, and children of other races in between, thereby rendering Asian or Latin American children more desirable to adoptive parents than African American children. Drawing on the rich literature on cognitive bias, this Article debunks the myths about domestic and international adoptions and shows that racial preferences, even if unconscious, play a role in many Americans’ decisions to adopt internationally. This Article proposes that the law discourage adoptions based on racial preferences by requiring that Americans seeking to adopt internationally, while there are available children in the United States who meet their non-race-based criteria, show non-race-based reasons for going abroad. * Associate Professor, Seton Hall University School of Law. J.D. 1996, Columbia Law School. I am grateful to Michelle Adams, Mark Alexander, Ruby Andrew, Carlos Bellido, Carl Coleman, Kevin Kelly, Jason Gardner, Timothy Glynn, Tristin Green, Rachel Godsil, Charlie Sullivan, the participants in the 12th International Society of Family Law Conference in Salt Lake City, the participants in the Second National POC in Washington, D.C., and the participants in the LatCrit X Conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico, for their helpful comments.