Here to stay : uncovering South Asian American history /

Here to stay : uncovering South Asian American history /

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Author / Creator:	Rudra, Geetika, author.
Imprint:	New Brunswick : Rutgers University Press, [2022]
Description:	vii, 191 pages, 10 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 23 cm
Language:	English
Subject:	South Asian Americans -- Social conditions. South Asian Americans -- History. South Asian Americans -- Ethnic identity. Ethnic relations. South Asian Americans. South Asian Americans -- Ethnic identity. South Asian Americans -- Social conditions. United States -- Ethnic relations. United States. History.
Format:	Print Book
URL for this record:	http://pi.lib.uchicago.edu/1001/cat/bib/12741029

Hidden Bibliographic Details
ISBN:	9780813584034 0813584035 9780813584058 9780813584065
Notes:	Includes bibliographical references (page 189).
Summary:	"There are 3.4 million South Asian-Americans in the U.S. They are creating an identity in a nation accustomed to binary racial choices, where the common understanding is that you are either black or white. The old model of immigration follows a progression from outsider to insider, or from being a person of color to either being perceived as white or being lumped in with white citizens. That transition has been documented with the help of two well known book titles: How the Irish Became White and How Jews Became White. Rudra argues that this typical pattern doesn't and can't apply to South Asian immigrants to the U.S. They are remarkably successful and well-educated residents, so they enjoy the privileges of whiteness without actually being white, while they continue to suffer discrimination (South Asian Muslims have a particularly difficult path toward acceptance). Author Geetika Rudra argues that it may no longer be necessary for minorities to be perceived white in order to succeed here on multiple levels. To explore South Asian identities, Rudra follows the influence of domestic immigration policies and international affairs for over a century. She starts her story in 1895, focusing on a particular immigrant who became the first South Asian-born naturalized U.S. citizen. For each of the five historical periods she covers, she has selected an exemplar--an actual historical figure -- whose story serves as an entryway to help explain evolving immigration policies and ethnic identity construction. Rudra explores how South Asian identity has veered toward and away from whiteness, allowing us to see the inherent artifice behind how American society has classified immigrant groups. She argues that the practice is more revealing about the construction of American identity than it is about American immigrant identity. Along the way, she also addresses the problem that there is not a single South Asian identity, since immigrants from the large geographical area that we call South Asia often have little in common"--

Description
Summary:	Today, South Asians are a rapidly growing demographic in the United States, comprising nearly 2 percent of the population. But there was a time in the not-too-distant past when the United States was far less hospitable to South Asian immigrants. In fact, until 1952, only white immigrants could become naturalized American citizens. Yet in the first half of the twentieth century, many states still had thriving communities of South Asians. <br> <br> <br> <br> In Here to Stay , Geetika Rudra, a second-generation Indian immigrant and American history buff, takes readers on a journey across the country to unearth the little-known histories of earlier generations of South Asian Americans. She visits storied sites such as Oregon's "Hindoo Alley," home to many lumber workers at the turn of the century, and Angel Island, California's immigration hub. She also introduces readers to such inspiring figures as Bhagat Singh Thind, an immigrant who had enlisted in the U.S. Army to serve his adopted country in World War I, but who was later denied citizenship and took his case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. In turns both serious and joyful, this book vividly reveals how South Asians have always been a vital part of the American tapestry.
Physical Description:	vii, 191 pages, 10 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 23 cm
Bibliography:	Includes bibliographical references (page 189).
ISBN:	9780813584034 0813584035 9780813584058 9780813584065