The importance of racism is dramatically illustrated if we consider
the history of ethnic relations in US cities. Waves of ethnic groups –
Irish, Russian, Italian, Jewish, Puerto Rican – have arrived succes-
sively in many American cities to go through similar processes of
accommodation, integration and assimilation. At first such groups
have been accommodated in the worst city centre slums, in multiple
occupation ‘tenements’. They have taken the worst-paid lowest status
jobs and usually formed isolated groups seeking help from already
established members of their own community. Very often first- and
even second-generation immigrants sought to maintain their own
cultural, religious and linguistic traditions and planned to return to
their country of origin on retirement.
However, such groups have consistently gradually assimilated
to the American ‘way of life’. First they have become politically
organised – even if through corrupt ‘bosses’ (local party leaders) and
trade unions. Their votes and bargaining power were sought first by
others then by members of their own community. Next, second- and
third-generation immigrants have sought acceptance in the wider
American society by anglicising names, obtaining college education
and moving out into the affluent suburbs. Integration has gradually
occurred partly on the basis of the new immigrant group accepting
American values and citizenship, but also on the basis of America
accepting a rich kaleidoscope of cultural traditions and religious
beliefs within society. The power of many ‘immigrant’ groups has
been comfortably accepted in many respects – consider the giant St
Patrick’s Day parade every year in New York and the political power
of the Kennedy family. Whilst Catholicism was, at first, regarded as a
badge of inferior immigrant status, and, as late as the 1920s Al
Smith’s candidacy for the presidency may have been defeated by a
Protestant backlash, it is now just one more fully acceptable deno-
mination of Christianity (Jones, 1960).
In contrast to this, the African-American group was one of the first
to arrive in what is now the United States. But this group has been
the last to achieve anything near equal status with the WASP (White
Anglo-Saxon Protestant) majority. For many years blacks were
mainly detained as slaves on southern rural farms and plantations.
But even after emancipation in 1865 they remained the victims of
massive social and political discrimination. They long ago lost their
specific African languages and cultures, and they have contributed
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