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This chapter reviews the theoretical perspectives used to understand immigrant assimilation, the challenges to studying assimilation and current research on diverse immigrant origins and across diverse locations of settlement. The authors review recent research on the integration and involvement of immigrants and their descendants into several key structural domains: education, labor markets and residential patterns. This review also focuses on variations in these outcomes among immigrants and their descendants in diverse contexts and policy regimes with cross-national comparisons from several immigrant receiving countries. Understanding how immigrants fare and the extent to which their children and grandchildren succeed requires an examination of immigrant characteristics, the migration process and the changes that occur in the context of reception.

In many urban communities, unemployment, substance misuse, violence, and mass incarceration among African-American males has reduced the number of conventional adult male role models. These role models could potentially serve as positive sources of social capital for at-risk adolescent African-American males. An understudied population of black men has a long tradition in the black community as conventional adult male role models, mentors, and social fathers for black male youth. Black male coaches have played a significant role in reducing crime and delinquency among at-risk youth as well as influencing positive youth outcomes. Yet this population of African-American men in disadvantaged communities has received little attention. Using in-depth interviews, community-based participant observations, intensive home observations, and auto-ethnography, this study found that black male coaches serve as a critical form of social capital for black male youth and single parents in high-risk neighborhoods. The results suggest that research needs to focus more on the role of coaches as mentors and in some instances social fathers who provide quality adult supervision, guidance, information, support, encouragement, and community bridges to other forms of social, human, and cultural capital for inner-city black male youth.

Student loans have become a social-financial issue in the United States. This study uses a nationally representative dataset to examine the association between financial socialization and student loan borrowing behavior of individuals after controlling a number of different socio-demographic factors. Results show that the financial burdens of college education, such as borrowing and the dollar amounts of a loan, are higher for Blacks, however, their college attendance is significantly lower than Whites. Blacks are more independent and receive less financial support from family and relatives than Whites. The wealth gap that exists between Black and White parents may contribute to the disparity. Additional financial resources for higher education as well as financial education and counseling may be needed to create better academic access for the vulnerable underserved groups including minority students.

Housing is a social determinant of health

Many Black Americans disagree with the President's claim to "have done more for Black Americans than anybody"

Amy Lewin and Kevin Roy work with Montgomery County, Maryland, public schools

Comments on social stratification and remote work

Rashawn Ray pens OpEd in The Hill

Perpetual stress brings long-term health impacts

Notes strong new business formation