The Impact of Perceptions on Interpersonal Interactions in an African American/Asian American Housing Project

An increasing number of communities in the United States are ethnically diverse. In recent decades, large numbers of immigrants, for example, Mexicans, Central Americans, Latin Americans, and Asian Americans, have been incorporated into predominantly Af-rican American urban neighborhoods and communities. An under-standing of the nature of interactions in these ethnically, culturally, and sometimes linguistically diverse environments is necessary to enable community members and leaders to deal with changing interactional patterns in their neighborhoods. By recognizing that interpersonal interactions are influenced by ethnicity and by com-prehending the impact of ethnicity on social interaction, it may be possible for these dynamic neighborhoods to maintain a sense of community life that includes all ethnic groups. However, informa-tion on the effect of immigration on African American lifeway is lacking. A body of literature exists on Chinese American communities in America. These studies include examination of the types of indi-AUTHORS ’ NOTE: We gratefully acknowledge the many residents of the housing project who participated in this project. Thanks are also extended to various professionals working in the area and a special thanks to employees of the Housing