+

Multi-culturalism

in the

US

Eric FlaxmanUS Embassy WarsawApril 2012

+Melting pot or salad bowl?

Multicultural Assimilated

+What is cu

lture

? Food Holidays

AppearanceArtLanguage

Religion

ValuesBeliefs

Attitudes

+Types of cultures

Culture

National Ancestry

Religion

Race

Region

AgeGender

Political beliefs

Socio-economic background

Language

+What causes diversity?

Native population

Colonization

Immigration

Slavery

Freedom

+How does

impact U.S. culture?

DIVERSITYdiversity

Encourages openness and open-mindedness

Demands tolerance

Forces self-examination

Requires compromise and problem-solving

Individual and community freedoms

More political power for smaller groups

Many races

Many languages

Many religions

Many outward displays of culture

Many inward cultural values

Many different world views

Nation of nationsNation of Nations

+15 Largest Ancestries in the US

+Why did people leave and come to “The new world”

Religious tolerance (Quakers, Puritans, Jews, Catholics)

Class structure/Inmobility

Wars

Displacement (Poland is a good example)

Famine (Irish Potato famine of the 1840’s)

Economic Opportunities

Indentured Servants/Slavery/Prisoners (State of Georgia)

Recruited for work (Miners, Steel Workers, Farmers)

+My story

Father’s Family Great grandfather -came from Zvonetz, Ukraine in 1883 at

age 16 Escaped draft into the Russian Imperial army and charges

of smuggling from the Austrian empire across the river. Had an older brother who had come to Philadelphia earlier Came to Philadelphia and became a clothes presser and

then a farmer Grandfather became a union clothing worker-my father a

physician thanks to GI bill after WWII Here I am a 3rd generation American and a diplomat

+And this is my family:My daughter Alisha was born in southern China in 1995 and she is of Han Chinese originMy son, Travis was born in Guatemala in 2003 and is pure MayanWe are all Americans, so we represent a modern Multiculture family

+

Religious Self-Identity

Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census

Racial Identity

Non-Hispanic White: 68% (2050: 46%)

Hispanic: 15% (2050: 30%)

African American: 12% (2050: 15%)

Asian American: 5% (2050: 9%)

Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census

Can you name these holidays?

Can you name these holidays?

Can you name these holidays?

Can you name these holiday?

Can you name these holidays?

+Language

+Food

+Arts

+Effects of culture

Language

Food

Architecture

Holidays

Belief systems

Education

The arts

+The Future of Multiculturalism: Immigration

+Salad? Soup? Stew!