Main argument from the two texts Portes and Zhou

Second generation immigrants in the United States of America face more discrimination than other immigrants do. On the other hand, Malcolm Gladwell contends that intercultural racism is pervasive in America.

In America, racism against people of color is pervasive. The claim is supported by both recent American events as well as publications by Portes, Zhou, and Gladwell. However, Portes and Zhou link the actions of immigrants to the discrimination present in America. According to them, the uniqueness of immigrant culture contributes to the existence of negative attitude about immigrants in the US (Portes and Zhou 355). They support this claim by explaining that students preserve their traditional values that differ greatly from American culture (Portes and Zhou 357). They also argue that the inflow of immigrants into America affect the way they are treated in the country. According to Portes and Zhou (357), the number of immigrants in America is very high that majority of them accept menial jobs . In his article, Gladwell noted that immigrants discriminate themselves in America. Apart from associating themselves with specific place, they behave differently (Gladwell 3). In addition to this, Gladwell asserts that the existing information about citizens from different countries affect the way they are treated in America (Gladwell 4). For instances, he argues that Black Indians are considered good immigrants.

However, I disagree with Portes and Zhou’s argument that variation of culture is the main reason why immigrants occupy poor jobs and receive low salary in America. Racism has been part of the American culture for many years. People of color receive poor treatment in different settings because of the “black attitude.” As it was noted in their article, menial jobs are associated with immigrants. In other words, whites believe blacks deserve poor pay. Just like Portes and Zhou, Gladwell also fails to recognize the fact that racism is practiced in America. Immigrants seclude themselves from other races to avoid feelings associated with discrimination. In his article, Gladwell provided a case of a black employee receiving a lower pay than a white despite doing the same job. From the practice, one can conclude that whites consider blacks inferior.

Works Cited

Gladwell, Malcolm. .“Black Like Them.” The New Yorker, April 1996.

Portes, Alejandro and Zhou, Min. “The New Second Generation: Segmented Assimilation and Its Variants .” The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 1993.