Immigrants are often viewed in a negative perspective in their new country. Currently, 41% of U.S. citizens believe immigrants are a burden to the U.S. because they take jobs and limit health care and housing (Pew Research Center, 2015). Additionally, many Americans believe that immigrants are not providing to the economy, instead of taking. This has led to discrimination in different environments toward immigrants such as in school and work. In Abu-Lughod’s (2002) interview Attitudes Toward Muslim Women of the West, she discusses how there are different aspects of other societies that Western people are not capable of understanding. She mentions changing this through a comparison of cultures. This also connects to the central theme discussed in The Historian as Participant that people today do not know the full story and history of minorities, such as women and people of color, because of the one-sided history that …show more content…
Due to the lack of knowledge and awareness, the negative perceptions of minorities still exist in the U.S. In order to change these negative perceptions, the inequality of education faced by immigrants in the U.S. needs to be addressed. Providing an equal opportunity for a college education can effectively change these negative perceptions, in that immigrants can provide to the economy with advanced jobs and skills. Continuing to ignore these inequalities allows for the stereotype that immigrants are uneducated and leeches to the society grow and become more prominent. The best way to alleviate these perceptions is through providing an equal opportunity to a college education, this allows for immigrants to provide to the economy and break the stereotype. Creating an equal opportunity to postsecondary education (PSE) produces a strong-minded minority group that will be able to provide to the economy and further innovations for the