PDF Equal Means Equal: Why the Time for an Equal Rights Amendment Is Now by Jessica Neuwirth in History

Description

Among the most consequential pieces of Great Society legislation; the Immigration Act of 1965 opened the nation's doors to large-scale immigration from Africa; Asia; and Latin America. A half century later; the impact of the "new immigration" is evident in the transformation of the country's demographics; economy; politics; and culture; particularly in urban America. In The New Bostonians; Marilynn S. Johnson examines the historical confluence of recent immigration and urban transformation in greater Boston; a region that underwent dramatic decline after World War II. Since the 1980s; the Boston area has experienced an astounding renaissance―a development; she argues; to which immigrants have contributed in numerous ways. From 1970 to 2010; the percentage of foreign-born residents of the city more than doubled; representing far more diversity than earlier waves of immigration. Like the older Irish; Italian; and other European immigrant groups whose labor once powered the region's industrial economy; these newer migrants have been crucial in re-building the population; labor force; and metropolitan landscape of the New Boston; although the fruits of the new prosperity have not been equally shared.