The Marginalization of Shadow Minorities (Roma) and Its Impact on Opportunities

Over 1 million Roma/Gypsies live in the United States, yet they often retain a hidden identity among America's Shadow Minorities. Why? The Gypsy identity has been shaped by the permeation of negative images and obscured within the mainstream by a lack of knowledge of their political, cultural, and historical background. Gypsy, a pejorative term, conjures images of magic, deviancy, and wanderlust while the lack of information about the Romani political, cultural, and historical background inhibits any resolution to addressing the reality of current inequities in education, employment, and other basic human rights. Many Roma have been forced to hide their identity within the mainstream to avoid continued marginalization and ongoing attempts towards their extinction. In this study I explore the interrelationships between Roma history, current event and representation through the lens of Orientalism and the 'othering' of the Gypsy/Roma identity. This research extends to include an examination of common negative and stereotypical Gypsy images, as identified through surveys, evaluation of popular culture images and a literature review from across disciplines including those outside the academic lens in order to counter negative images with the facts about the Roma race.