Ethnic-minority climbers: Evaluating “minority cultures of mobility” as a lens to study Dutch minority student organizations

The increasing discomfort with ethnic diversity in many countries is paralleled by
the emergence of middle classes consisting of second-generation immigrants
who articulate their minority identities. This calls for an enhanced
understanding of the experiences and identifications of social climbers with
minority backgrounds. In this article, I explore the relevance of the idea of a
“minority culture of mobility” (MCM) as a lens to look at these processes of
integration, using the case of Dutch student organizations with ethnicminority
signatures. Based on parallels with the literature, I conclude that the
MCM is a useful framework, also for contexts outside the United States. At the
same time, observed variations between ethnic groups and changes over
time within the Dutch context lay down a research agenda in order to further
refine the model.