A Different Mirror

A type of supportive, ethnic membership, often formed in response to capitalist exploitation. For example, Japanese laborers in Hawaii organized themselves into blood unions, which later became the basis of labor unions.

A term popularized by cultural theorist Gloria Anzaldúa that refers to a place where people of different races and cultures inhabit the same territory. Borderlands are part of our psyches too. This is why Anzaldúa says that any changes to society must first come from within, from an awareness of our shared struggles. Takaki uses the concept of borderlands to write a more inclusive history and to imagine a more inclusive future for Americans.

Describes a Mexican worker who is allowed to enter the United States as a seasonal laborer. Takaki discusses the historical origins of the bracero program and the exploitative nature of the terms of its employment.

A social process in which an individual migrates to a new city or town with kin and ethnic networks following, usually at a later time. Chain migration was an important support system for new immigrants to the United States, helping them find housing, employment, etc.

Refers to individuals who are bought and sold as property. They are enslaved, as are their children and children’s children and so on. A type of slavery that existed in the American South until emancipation in 1865.

Describes the cotton-producing region of the Southern United States and the institutionalization of slavery. The invention of the cotton gin in 1793 made cotton production more efficient and incentivized plantation owners to use slave labor to increase their profits.

A situation where minority groups participate in a dominant society but maintain their cultural differences. These differences also are accepted by the dominant society. Takaki provides many examples of ethnic immigrant groups adopting American habits while still celebrating their cultural diversity.

The critical and interdisciplinary study of race, ethnicity, and indigeneity that devotes careful attention to power asymmetries and structures of inequality. The field of ethnic studies often includes considerations of class, gender, and sexuality. Takaki helped establish ethnic studies at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1972 and developed it into a thriving undergraduate and graduate program.

Based on cultural similarities and differences in a society or nation, in which similarities are with members of the same ethnic group and differences are between the group and “others.” Takaki demonstrates the fluidity of ethnicity in the United States, as marginalized groups like the Irish assimilated into mainstream America by adopting a white identity.

A group that shares certain beliefs, values, habits, customs, and norms because of a common background. Takaki describes many ethnic groups in his book, including Jewish Americans, Mexican Americans, Chinese Americans, Choctaws, etc.

The genocide of Jews in Europe during World War II. It is estimated that German Nazis and their collaborators murdered approximately 6 million Jews between the years 1941 and 1945.

The original inhabitants of particular territories. Takaki describes many indigenous groups of people, for instance the Cherokee, Pawnee, and Navajo, who were displaced from their territories by English settlers and the US government.

A 19th-century ideology that viewed the unchecked expansion of America as good and justified, which often was framed in ethnocentric terms of white superiority. Takaki discusses this doctrine in relation to Western expansion and the appropriation of Native American lands.

Releasing someone from slavery. Different from emancipation, which abolished slavery with the ratification of the 13th Amendment in 1865.

The view of cultural diversity in a country as something good and desirable. A Different Mirror promotes this perspective as it narrates the accomplishments of different ethnic groups in America.

A type of voluntary, social organization arranged by Mexicans to support each other. Often provided material and emotional assistance to Mexican laborers, especially when they were striking for better wages and treatment.

Following a custom of arranged marriages, Japanese men and women would exchange photographs before meeting. The practiced flourished with transnational migration as Japanese women often came to the United States to marry Japanese men before meeting them in person.

The deliberate massacre of particular ethnic groups. Takaki describes the pogroms in Russia that targeted and persecuted Jews, compelling them to emigrate to the United States.

People who sell their labor to survive, property-less workers. Most ethnic immigrants to the United States worked in manufacturing and agricultural industries. Over time, they developed a proletarianized class consciousness to resist their exploitation.

A grouping of humans into distinct categories based on shared physical or social characteristics. Takaki’s book shows the historical and cultural constructions of race while acknowledging the complex reality of discrimination and prejudice based on perceived racial differences.

Prejudice, discrimination, and antagonism directed against people on the basis of their membership to particular racial or ethnic groups. Takaki’s book addresses the institutionalization of racism in the United States and shows the immense violence directed against racial and ethnic minorities.

Someone who is forced to leave their home country because of war or political oppression and, by extension, famine, earthquake, etc. Takaki describes many refugee groups, like Russian Jews, South Vietnamese, and Afghans, coming to the United States to flee conflict and persecution.

Systematic ways in which a given social structure or institution harms people by preventing them from meeting their basic needs. Unequal access to wealth, power, and prestige has made ethnic minorities in the United States disproportionately vulnerable to poverty, disease, and everyday violence.