Similar examples are reported by Stepick (1992) in his study of Haitian-
American youth in Miami and by Suarez-Orozco (1987) and Matute-Bianchi
(1986, 1991) among Mexican-American teenagers in Southern California. In
each instance, the emergence of downward leveling norms has been preceded
by lengthy periods, often lasting generations, in which the mobility of a particular
group has been blocked by outside discrimination. That historical experience
underlines the emergence of an oppositional stance toward the mainstream
and a solidarity grounded in a common experience of subordination.