Book Description
Recent political polarization in the United States has added new energy and attention to discourses on race, immigration, and identity. As previously silenced voices gain influence and immigrants bring increased cultural and racial diversity to the United States, the narratives that define how people of different racial and ethnic backgrounds interact must be renegotiated within communities. Narratives emerge from collective experiences and place present lived experiences in context of one's understanding of the past, necessarily influencing the perceptions and expectations of other's behavior. While narratives take shape from history, they are also a function of dominant values, biases, and institutions of power. The North Hill Community in Akron, Ohio has historically been home to a diverse U.S.-born population and a multitude of immigrant populations, creating a microcosm of changing American diversity. Interviews from the North Hill Listening Project provide insight into community relations as long-established American racial narratives extend into relations with new refugee and immigrant groups. The analysis finds that U.S. racial narratives, have been maintained despite the changing demographics of North Hill, and are incorporated into immigrant populations. However, contact leading to consistent relationships between ethnic groups provides counter narrative that assert the humanity and membership in the community across ethnic lines.
