Stratified

Takaki uses the term to describe the ideal condition, according to planters, in which there were hard lines that separate races in the social order. Whites were on top with the best jobs. Then, other races were on bottom with the worst jobs. Very little, if any, crossover would be permitted.

Resistance

Rising up against oppression. The Asian laborers in Hawaii resisted exploitation by banding together and going on strike. They formed their own giddy multitude. It could also be thought of as the desire of whites to keep all other races out of the U.S. or at least keep them oppressed.

Model Minority

A term sometimes used to describe Japanese people. They are believed to be quiet and accommodating. That is why whites labeled them as the model minority. Whites did not believe Japanese would cause problems because the Japanese were passive. They supposedly accepted their oppression. Takaki disagrees with that myth on page 257.

The American Dream

An ideological term that means that in America, everyone is free to pursue whatever life he/she wants to live. According to everything we have read so far, this really only applies to whites in America.

The GI bill

A bill giving GI’s preference in jobs, home loans, and educational benefits. Brodkin describes it on page 44 as the “most massive affirmative action program in American history.”

Affirmative Action

A law in the U.S. that makes it mandatory for organizations to maintain a workforce with a proportionate number of minority employees. Brodkin refers to affirmative action on page 44 as something that is aimed at and disproportionately helps people of a certain race or ethnicity. She specifically refers to “male Eruo-origin Gi’s.”

War Relocation Authority

This was the U.S. government agency responsible for moving Japanese-Americans to internment camps during World War II.