Diversity in Chicago is astounding, known for the contrasting ethnic and racial society having contributed to the cultural and economic value of that great city. Chicago is defiantly one of the ultimate divers’ cities in the country. The City of Chicago thrives on its multicultural diversity and harmony throughout its neighborhoods. The city is overflowing with diversity from amazing dining and shopping to the breathtaking views from either the lakefront or even some of the most spectacular architecture skyscrapers. It is accustomed that Chicago defiantly represents diversity and its countless designs. However, diversity exists in Chicago that has a tendency to go unnoticed diversity of the individuals that compose the city. Starting a brand-new journey in my life I have recently, taking new employment in Chicago, this has inclined me an opportunity to examine the city in an incomprehensive contemporary way. Over the years, I have had an opportunity to visit Chicago numerous times to sightseeing, or shopping and dine, but never on a regularly daily basis. As a brand-new adventure, I am absorbing all of my brand-new surroundings, which includes the diversity that the city has to offer including its individuals. I am finding myself fascinated by all of the diversity leaving me with numerous questions. Nevertheless, each day starts with an hour ride on the South Shore train from Northwest Indiana to Chicago. The train commute alone is complete of much diversity, watching numinous individuals interact with one another. All of the commuters are heading in an equal direction as me mostly to work, go to school or perhaps to visit. The commute into Chicago is entirely divers so many race, gender, age, ideas, viewpoints, and perspect... ... middle of paper ... ...m? Are these individuals of the city living on the street because they have nowhere else to go? On the other hand, do they not have the wherewithal to do anything else? There are at least a hundred more examples that I could write about but I have shared just a few to create a picture of the diversity of the individuals. The next time that you are in a big city such as Chicago, take a moment just look around or even just listen you will be amazed at what you see or hear. There is a good chance that you will witness the diversity of the individuals that make up that city. Cities such as Chicago demonstrate much diversity such as in their ethnic and racial societies that exist within. However, diversity exists in Chicago that has a tendency to go unnoticed by many people who pass through the streets such as the diversity of the individuals that make up the city.
Elijah Anderson wrote an interesting book, The Cosmopolitan Canopy: Race and Civility in Everyday Life, which describes social settings and people interactions in different parts of Philadelphia’s neighborhoods. This book was published on March 28, 2011 by W. W. Norton & Company. Anderson has observed these places in Philadelphia for over thirty years. He uses the observations he made and the stories that people shared with him during his endeavor to answer the following questions: “How do ordinary people in this diverse city interact across and along racial lines? When and how do racial identities figure out into these encounters? When and how do city dwellers set aside their own and other’s particular racial and ethnic identities to communicate
Chicago, one of the most popular cities in America. Visits from families all around the country, what makes this place so great? Is it the skyscrapers that protrude the sky? Or is it the weather people loved? Does Chicago being the second most favored city in America show that this town has some greatness? In the nonfiction novel The Devil in the White City, Erik Larson uses imagery, tone, and figurative language to portray the dreamlike qualities of Chicago and the beauty that lies within this city.
The Pilsen Neighborhood is located Lower West Side of Chicago, extending approximately from Western Avenue and Blue Island Avenue to Sixteenth Street and Canal Street. (Pero.) Today Pilsen has transformed into a colorful, artistic, and beautiful community with the population majority shifted towards the Hispanic. Over the course of these years Pilsen has gone through many changes ranging from cultural to economic and societal changes that have shaped into its present day form. Pilsen’s residents have resisted attempts to gentrify their neighborhood, and have preserved the community as a gateway for Hispanic immigrants.
New York City, known for its crowded streets and subways, is filled with people of different ethnicities; those who look, talk and behave differently from others around them. After all, it is called the “melting pot” of the United States for a reason, a place where people from various backgrounds come to assimilate into the American Society. These different humans are identified and categorized into groups based on their skin color and physical features, giving rise to the concept of race.
Every individual in society and in a community is unique in their own ways, and their diversity shows up in many ways. Some of these ways include: religion, race, socioeconomic status, lifestyle, and so on. Everyone’s backgrounds are different, and this is what creates diversity in people. Even though everyone might not be the same, only by uniting everyone can we create the big picture. It’s like a puzzle—even though people are different, we can come together to create a big picture that couldn’t be created by puzzle pieces of the same shape. To me, diversity symbolizes the unique backgrounds that we come from. Every individual in their communities and in their society are influenced by their background—and this can come from various reasons. If someone comes from a different socioeconomic background, or lifestyle, their thought processes and their view of life might be much more different than mine. Their reaction to a certain situation can be much more different than mine, and it is important for me to see all these viewpoints in order to be a more informed member of my community. Everyone is diverse in their expression, style, and
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 ended racial segregation in the USA. Since then, America has begun to learn that, no matter the skin tone, we accept all races and become one united nation. Elijah Anderson analyzes certain areas in the big city of Philadelphia and observes how different races and people act and acknowledge one another in the same environment. He describes certain places called “cosmopolitan canopies” where the display of public acceptance by all of all is intense and is a setting where a mix of people can feel comfortable (3). Anderson does a worthy job of backing up his argument with the different evidence he brings to light throughout his article. Although his argument covers how while we might have these cosmopolitan canopies we still have races that are considered “out of place” and how the black people and men in specifically, are seen in the society. For my class observation, I visited Dilworth Park Ice Rink and my reflection at the rink agreed with Anderson’s argument considering that the rink provided a cosmopolitan environment although his argument is now outdated.
Chicago was the best place to live and visit for anyone. Many people traveled from far places to visit and live in Chicago. Long after the World War II many things started reshaping America. One of the most significant was the racial change all over America but specifically in Chicago. Many southern blacks started to move into Chicago. Chicago started to become mostly dominated by blacks and other minorities while whites started to move into the suburbs of Chicago. "Beginning in the 1930s, with the city's black population increasing and whites fleeing to the suburbs, the black vote became a precious commodity to the white politicians seeking to maintain control" (Green, 117). Many of the mayors such as Edward J. Kelly, Martin H. Kennelly, and Richard J. Daley won over the blacks and got their votes for them to become mayor. The black population grew by 77 percent by the 1940. The white population dropped from 102,048 to 10,792 during the years of 1940 to 1960. With all of these people moving into Chicago there had to be more housing. There were many houses built to accommodate all the people. Martin H. Kennelly at one time wanted to tear down slums and have public housing built in the black ghetto. Many of the blacks wanted to escape these ghettos so some of them; if they could they would try to move to the white communities. When the blacks would try to move into the white communities they were met with mobs. There were many hurdles that blacks had to overcome not only in Chicago but all over America. The blacks of Chicago had to fight for a place to live and to find a mayor that would help them for who they are, not their color.
Kottak, Conrad Phillip and Kayhryn Kozaitis 2012 On Being Different, Diversity and Multiculturalism in the North American Mainstream, 4th edition, McGraw Hill Press, New York: Chapter 1.
Takaki, Ronald. A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America. Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1993. Print.
For instance, Brooks himself confesses that he has himself in the past gravitated towards places where he believed he could be most comfortable in and where he also felt he could be his true self. He further states, that the majority of his friends are middle-income level Caucasians and conservative Christians. Brooks’ main argument in the essay is that many individuals in the United States often do not even bother to show that they would like to build diverse communities. The essay, Brook says, is about the public discourse on race and is meant to make us ponder about the stereotypes and assumptions we have when we think about diversity or people from other ethnicities. It is also meant to make us look where we fit in the diversity debate? Are we truly for the integration of
The fancy American Dream has drawn people from all over the world to the United States to push for their upward social mobility. They have a dream and they want to make it come true. At this time Immigrants, into the major cities of the U.S, making them a melting pot. That melting pot has a different ethnic, social and cultural background, some of which contradict each other, while others are very harmonious. Race is often an obstacle to cultural communication and understanding. For this problem, Sherman Alexie his short story “Gentrification”, and Alex Tizon, with his story “Land of the Giants”, have a lot to say about how race is Obstacle to intercultural communication and understanding and that affect people misunderstand.
New York City’s population is a little over 8.3 million people. 8.3 million people are spread out among five boroughs and each have their own set routine. Each one of those 8.3 million see New York in a different way becuase “You start building your private New York the first time you lay eyes on it” (“City Limits” 4). Some people are like Colson Whitehead who “was born here and thus ruined for anywhere else” (“City Limits” 3). Others may have “moved here a couple years ago for a job. Maybe [they] came here for school” (“City Limits” 3). Different reasons have brought these people together. They are grouped as New Yorkers, but many times, living in New York is their only bond. With on going changes and never ending commotion, it is hard to define New York and its inhabitants in simple terms.
In Jane Jacobs’s acclaimed The Life and Death of Great American Cities, she intricately articulates urban blight and the ills of metropolitan society by addressing several binaries throughout the course of the text. One of the more culturally significant binaries that Jacobs relies on in her narrative is the effectively paradoxical relationship between diversity and homogeneity in urban environments at the time. In particular, beginning in Chapter 12 throughout Chapter 13, Jacobs is concerned greatly with debunking widely held misconceptions about urban diversity.
The U.S. Department of the Interior, describes the term "diversity" is used broadly to refer to many demographic variables, including, but not limited to, race, religion, color, gender, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, age, education, geographic origin, and skill characteristics. America's diversity has given this country its unique strength, resilience and richness. (doi.gov)
When most people think “Diversity” they think of the most communal characteristics: such as: Age, race, gender, sexual orientation, body type, ethnicity, and a person’s