| Description |
x, 310 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, map ; 24 cm |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 297-298) and index. |
| Contents |
Diversity comes to northwest Arkansas. A Black man redefines a white company ; A Muslim philanthropist champions the Jews ; A shul is born ; A Hindu family's delicate balance ; A Marshallese security guard "talks story" ; Of buyers and sellers -- Towns and townies, then and now. Bentonville's ex-mayor, the Boom Town, and the Daughters of the Dust Bowl ; A trucker in "Chickendale" ; The major of Rogers takes on undocumented workers -- The Hispanic explosion. Incident at Bentonville High ; Springdale's tough-as-nails lady police chief ; A chicken plant worker without options ; A once-undocumented housepainter finds money and God. |
| Summary |
In 1950, Sam Walton, founder of the Wal-Mart empire, arrived in Bentonville, Arkansas, and discovered that the nondescript Ozarks backwater--population 2,900 white Christians--suited him just fine. Six decades later, Walton's legacy has left its mark. The area is headquarters to not only Wal-Mart but also Tyson Foods and J.B. Hunt. The town's population has grown to 30,000, and the region is now home to blacks, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Marshall Islanders, and the fastest-growing Latino population in the country. This book explores the ever-shifting social, political, and cultural character of the United States through the microcosm that is Northwest Arkansas and the personal stories of its people. She talks with a Palestinian immigrant who rose from penniless dishwasher to multimillionaire contractor--and dedicated himself to building a local Jewish community's first synagogue. A black executive hired to diversify Wal-Mart, whose arrival coincided with a KKK rally in the town square, gives his views on the controversies surrounding the company. A Mexican mother of three, fired from a chicken plant after an injury on the job, discusses her struggle to survive. A Hindu father concerned about interracial dating, a Marshallese security guard whose daughter was ignored in the ER, and others reveal the issues and challenges facing those who make up the?boom towns? where the economy and culture are in constant flux. |
| Subject |
Wal-Mart (Firm)
|
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Diversity in the workplace -- Social aspects -- Arkansas -- Bentonville.
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Multiculturalism -- Arkansas -- Bentonville.
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Bentonville (Ark.) -- Commerce -- Social aspects.
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Bentonville (Ark.) -- Social conditions.
|
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Wal-Mart (Firm) (OCoLC)fst00658584
|
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Commerce -- Social aspects.
(OCoLC)fst00869311
|
|
Multiculturalism. (OCoLC)fst01028836
|
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Social conditions. (OCoLC)fst01919811
|
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Arkansas -- Bentonville.
(OCoLC)fst01216819
|
| ISBN |
9781556529481 |
|
1556529481 |
|
