When the Coloreds are Neither Black nor Citizens: The United States Civil Rights Movement and Global Migration

In this time of great national concern over the control of American borders and the legal and social status of immigrants, the traditional Civil Rights Movement is at a crucial stage. In this Article, the author finds that the Civil Rights Movement, which operates in a primarily "Black v. white" paradigm, is ill-equipped to deal with an increasingly multiracial and multicultural America. In particular, the influx of great numbers of new immigrants from Asia and Latin America-who are neither Black nor whitecalls for the Civil Rights Movement to re-evaluate its current framework. The author describes the phenomena of anti-immigrant legislation and political scapegoating which has resulted from the changing demographic landscape, and explores the mutual misunderstandings which have arisen between Blacks and the newer "coloreds. " The Article argues that these prejudices have prevented the formation of a multiracial civil rights coalition. The author suggests that racism is the common threat which links together Blacks, Asians, and Latinos, as nativism and anti-immigrant sentiment are rooted in racism. The author advocates for a renewed Civil Rights Movement, one which replaces the more restrictive biracial vision with a new vision which encompasses the new immigrants.