Description
Book SynopsisBefore the next century is out, Americans of African, Asian, and Latin American ancestry will outnumber those of European origin. In the Elmhurst-Corona neighborhood of Queens, New York City, the transition occurred during the 1970s, and the area''s two-decade experience of multiracial diversity offers us an early look at the future of urban America. The result of more than a dozen years'' work, this remarkable book immerses us in Elmhurst-Corona''s social and political life from the 1960s through the 1990s.
First settled in 1652, Elmhurst-Corona by 1960 housed a mix of Germans, Irish, Italians, and other white ethnics. In 1990 this population made up less than a fifth of its residents; Latin American and Asian immigrants and African Americans comprised the majority. The Future of Us All focuses on the combined impact of racial change, immigrant settlement, governmental decentralization, and assaults on local quality of life which stemmed from the city''s 1975 fiscal cr
Trade Review
This is a very optimistic book.... Sanjek's discussion of quality-of-life issues and the decline of manufacturing are especially important.... The Future of Us All is an interesting and important look at changes in urban America during the last third of the twentieth century.
-- Dominic A. Pacyga * Journal of American History *
