The assimilation model, family life and race and ethnicity in the United States: the case of minority welfare mothers

In this article we assert that it is necessary to better understand the assimilation model of racial and ethnic relations in order to comprehend more fully the contemporary debate over minority welfare mothers. We analyze the origins of the assimilation model in the debate over Indian policy in the 19th-century United States and its role in 20th-century social thought and policy toward other racial and ethnic minorities. We then examine three critical weaknesses of the model as they appear in assimilation programs based on the model. Finally, we return to the debate over assisting minority single mothers and show how the assimilation model has shaped that debate from the turn of the century to the present day.