ABSTRACT
The United States has always been a haven for immigrants. Culturally diverse people from Europe, Africa, Latin America, Asia, the Caribbean, and other places have come to the U.S. in search of a new way of life, economic prosperity, and an escape from religious and political persecution. These diverse groups have helped to shape the character of American life as it exists today. Descendants of European immigrants continue to form the dominant white American culture. However, blacks, Americans of African descent, remain America’s most visible minority group, separate in many ways from the dominant society (Nixon 1983).
