A New American Dilemma?: Asian Americans and Latinos in Race Theorizing

Within the last two decades, the racial composition of the nation has undergone a profound change. Immigration reforms originally intended to favor Europeans have resulted, ironically, in the influx of over 15 million Asian and Latino immigrants. The newcomers have settled in neighborhoods, both Black and White, and they are now part of the national economy, culture, and politics. More so than ever before, they are central participants in American race relations, often by appearing in the spectacular social breakdowns that unfortunately constitute much of American race relations: riots in Miami in 1980 and Los Angeles in 1992, punctuate these changes. Moreover, they are intertwined in a host of racial issues, like affirmative action and immigration, and their larger presence indicates a move toward a much more complicated multi-racial society.