American Ethnic Practices in the Twenty-first Century

Jill Florence Lackey melds sensitive ethnography with sophisticated discussion of the literature on ethnicity in contemporary American cities in American Ethnic Practices. She presents ‘ground-truthing’ sociological theories derived from her experience at UrbAn, a grassroots non-profit organization in Milwaukee. This book tests sociological theories against the hundreds of interviews and observations that Lackey and her staff have made of several ethnic communities in Milwaukee. Rich and direct excerpts from these interviews invite readers to form their own conclusions. Organized, compared, and interpreted, the excerpts help to make up a clearly written picture of multiculturalism in an American heartland city. -- Alice Beck Kehoe, professor of anthropology emeritus, Marquette University
We must thank Jill Florence Lackey and her many associates for their labors in collecting these data and providing us with a vivid and somewhat unexpected view of the variety and the continuing significance of ethnicity in Milwaukee. Jill Lackey has demonstrated the many manifestations of this important phenomenon and how it can serve individuals, families, and communities and municipalities in our current situation. -- Herbert S. Lewis, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Anthropologist Lackey (founder, Urban Anthropology Inc.) presents the findings of a study of ethnic practices among a sample of 434 individuals in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, area. The author discusses the continued salience of ethnicity in the lives of her informants in the realms of organizational involvement, language, homeland remittances, religion, foodways, art, health care, genealogy, politics, and employment. She also presents informants' views of what they perceive as some of the primary threats to the maintenance of their ethnicity, as well as data and snapshots of informant interviews on a range of relevant topics. In a short concluding section, Lackey discusses the study's broader implications for understanding contemporary ethnicity in the US, though this section is limited to just a few pages, unfortunately. This case study from one metropolitan area will definitely be of interest to students and scholars working in ethnic studies, particularly those conducting research and teaching in the Midwest. Summing Up: Recommended. All academic levels/libraries. * CHOICE *
American Ethnic Practices in the Early Twenty-First Century: The Milwaukee Study is an impressive work of contemporary cultural anthropology. This extremely well-written volume summarizes data from qualitative interviews with 434 informants, using extensive quotations to provide perspectives on ethnicity using the participant's own words. Lackey provides an impressive breadth of analysis rooted in historical trends and classical theoretical orientations on immigration, assimilation, and ethnicity drawn from sociology and anthropology. Her extensive analysis demonstrates how ethnic practices, organizations, and identity have made significant contributions to individual, familial, and communal social lives throughout Milwaukee. This book is a deceptively easy read that covers extensive theoretical and substantive content with remarkable depth. -- Paul Moberg, University of Wisconsin-Madison