Evaluating the American Dream:
Dominican Immigrant Experiences in the United States
By Jason Ludwig
Introduction:
!!!!
•  Large scale Dominican immigration to the United States
began in the 1960’s, after rebels overthrew Rafael
Trujillo’s dictatorship.
•  Population of the Dominican Republic: 10.5 Million
•  The Dominican immigrant population in the U.S., which
was only 12,000 in 1960, reached 960,000 in 2012.
•  This is a case study of four first-generation Dominican
immigrants to show how their experiences in the United
States have contrasted with their original expectations, and
the cause(s) behind this disparity.
•  Participants reported racism, social alienation, and
difficulty in the education system as barriers to achieving
their “American Dreams.”
Dominican Immigrant Population in the United
States
Source:Migration Policy Institute
1980(
1990(
The Participants
Issue 2: Racism
1)  Sarita Montilla: 58 year old social worker born in
San Pedro de Macoris. Immigrated in 1987 to New
York, moved to Boston and now lives in
Philadelphia.
2)  Juan Henderson: 41 year old former baseball
player born in Santo Domingo. Currently the head
of the New York Met’s Academy in Santo
Domingo.
3)  Evelyn Beato: 42 year old bus driver born in La
Vega. Immigrated in 1989 to New York after
finishing high school because there was no
opportunity in the Dominican Republic. Now lives
in Stratford, CT with her 12 year old daughter.
4)  Danilo Taveras: 45 year old born in Puerto Plata,
emigrated to New York in 1985. Currently
unemployed due to disability in Pembroke Pines,
FL.
•  Racial views formed by relationship between
the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
•  All four participants had experienced racism in
the United States
•  “I was naïve, I had no idea that I was different
except in relation to Haitians.. when I came
here it was almost like I was Haitian.”- Danilo
Taveras
•  Taveras’ family chased out of Federal Hill
neighborhood in RI and called “Puerto
Ricans”.
•  “Dumb Dominican” stereotype in Baseball
because of lacking English proficiency.
•  Overcoming alienation by developing new
views on race: Evelyn Beato’s closest friends
are Caribbean immigrants from St. Lucia,
Guyana, and even Haiti.
Dominican Migration to the United States
Source: 2010 US Census
2000(
Issue 3: Education
2010(
2014(
0(
200,000( 400,000( 600,000( 800,000( 1,000,000(1,200,000(
Percent of Employed Immigrant Workers in the
Civilian Labor Force by Occupation and Origin 2012
!
Source: Migration Policy Institute
40(
(
35(
30(
Foreign-born
25(
(
Issue 1: Social Alienation
20(
Dominican
15(
10(
5(
0(
Management,
business, science
and arts
occupations
Service
Occupations
Sales and office Natural resources, Production,
occupations
construction, and Transportation,
maintenance
and material
occupations
moving
occupations
Literature Review
•  Emigration lends credence to the notion that a Dominican
education – and in some cases education in general – is
superfluous (Levitt 2001).
•  In the DR, the argument in favor of baseball, at the
expense of education, is a credible one (Klein 2014).
•  Dominican constructions of nation and race are based on
distance from blackness and on the marking of Haitians
as a black racial other. Dominican national discourses
deny the blackness and African roots of the Dominican
people (Itzigsohn 2004).
•  “In the DR, your neighbors are like your
immediate family….If something happens to you
and you have no family, you go to your
neighbors… Here, if I make three good friends in
a year, I consider myself lucky.”- Sarita Montilla
•  “Believe it or not, I've been living in Florida for
seven years now and I don’t have a single friend
here… All my friends are either in the Dominican
Republic or in New York”- Danilo Taveras
•  Alienation vs. Independence
•  Minor League Baseball- Dominicans live with
Dominicans or other Latinos. Interaction with
American players limited to on the fields
•  Council of Spanish Speaking Organizations, Inc.
and Baseball’s efforts to combat alienation
•  Education system in the DR influences
perception of value of education and ability to
succeed in American schools.
•  English proficiency effects academic
achievements and also relationships with peers
•  Many young men pursue immigration or
baseball careers at the expense of education
•  Efforts in MLB academies to educate
Dominican players
•  Latino Athlete Education Fund and similar
initiatives
•  Evelyn’s son left Stratford High school during
his junior year to focus on baseball in a
buscone’s academy in the Dominican Republic,
Foreign-born MLB Players in 2014 by
Nation of Origin
Source: MLB.com
21%
36%
4%
5%
8%
26%
Conclusions & Future Research
•  Effect of Immigration on Racial Views
As Evelyn Beato reported, Dominicans
and Haitians in the United States can
find common ground in the shared
experience of immigration.
•  Darwin’s Athlete’s 2.0?
In his 1996 text, Darwin’s Athletes, John
Hoberman argued that fixation on athletic
achievement undermined AfricanAmerican status. Are Dominicans facing
a similar situation?
•  Minor League Efforts
Minor league teams are making efforts to
promote interaction between American
and Dominican efforts. Two of the Mets’
Minor League affiliates reported success
in having Dominican and American room
together.
Selected Bibliography
Itzigsohn, José. "Incorporation and Transnationalism
among Dominican Immigrants.” Caribbean Studies
(2004): 43-72. JSTOR. Web. 9 Feb. 2015. <http://
www.jstor.org/stable/25613422>.
Klein, Alan M. Dominican Baseball: New Pride, Old
Prejudice. Philadelphia: Temple UP, 2014. Print.
Levitt, Peggy. The Transnational Villagers. Berkeley:
U of California, 2001. Print.
Dominican(
Republic(
Venezuela(
Orozco, Carola, and Marcelo Orozco. "Education."
The New Americans a Guide to Immigration since
1965. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard UP, 2007. Print.
Cuba(
Bailey, Benjamin H. Language, Race, and Negotiation
of Identity a Study of Dominican
Americans. New York: LFB Scholarly Pub., 2002.
Print.
Puerto(Rico(