Immigrants and education in the u.S. interior: Integrating and segmenting tendencies in nashville, tennessee

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education (1954), recent global immigration to the U.S. interior compels local education systems that are relatively inexperienced with immigration to address new integrating and segmenting tendencies expressed by the growing and diversifying number of immigrants from Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The authors discern 4 patterns of integrating and segmenting tendencies from self-proclaimed education needs expressed in focus groups by African, Asian, and Latin American immigrant residents of Nashville, Tennessee. Integrating tendencies were expressed more frequently than segmenting tendencies by group participants. Results suggest further integration of immigrants into the Nashville education system can be achieved with policies that overcome economic, linguistic, child care, scheduling, and discriminatory barriers to adult and children’s education.