“I Felt I Arrived Home”: The Minority Trajectory of Mobility for First-in-Family Hungarian Roma Graduates

Abstract

This chapter explores the upward social mobility trajectories, and the corollary prices of them for those 45, first-in-family college educated Roma in Hungary who come from socially disadvantaged and marginalised family and community background. We argue that among the academically high-achieving participants of our study the most common upward mobility trajectory, contrary to the common belief of assimilation, is their distinctive minority mobility path which leads to their selective acculturation into the majority society. This distinctive incorporation into the mainstream is close to what the related academic scholarship calls the ‘minority culture of mobility’. The three main elements of this distinct mobility trajectory among the Roma are (1) The construction of a Roma middle class identity that takes belonging to the Roma community as a source of pride, in contrast of the widespread racial stereotypes in Hungary (and all over Europe) that are closely tied to the perception of Roma as a member of the underclass, (2) The creation of grass-roots ethnic (Roma) organizations and (3) The practice of giving back to their people of origin that relegate many Roma professionals to a particular segment of the labour market, in jobs to help communities in need. However, we argue that in the case of the Hungarian Roma, these elements of the minority culture of mobility did not serve the purpose of their economic mobility as the original concepts (Neckerman et al. Ethnic and Racial Studies 22(6):945–965, 1999) posits, but to mitigate the price of changing social class and to make sense of the hardship of their social ascension.

Introduction. Cultural migrants? The consequences of educational mobility and changing social class among first-in-family graduates in Hungary

“…Previous research shows that among academically high-achieving Roma the most common upward mobility trajectory, contrary to the common belief of assimilation, is their distinctive minority mobility path which leads to their selective acculturation into the majority society (Durst-Bereményi 2021). This distinctive incorporation into the mainstream is close to what the related academic scholarship calls the 'minority culture of mobility' (Neckermann-Carter-Lee 1999).…”

Accumulating Roma cultural capital: First-in-family graduates and the role of educational talent support programs in Hungary in mitigating the price of social mobility

“…The common experience of discrimination along with a strong feeling of solidarity towards the group of origin seem to be common in the narratives of upwardly mobile members of racialized minorities across different countries (Naudet 2018). To cope with this distinctive problem, upwardly mobile minority middle classes develop the repertoire of a so called 'minority culture of mobility' (Neckerman et al 1999), or as we prefer to call it in the case of our Roma first-in-family respondents, the 'minority mobility trajectory' (Durst-Bereményi 2021). A part of this repertoire is the ethos of mobility to 'give back' to one's community of origin by working in a segmented part of the labour market where one deals with 'Roma Issues'.…”

The effect of educational upward mobility on habitus – The Subjective Experience of Mobility among First-in Family Graduates in Hungary

“…They highlighted the tangible and hidden obstacles (like discrimination, prejudice, low self-esteem and self-confidence) that highly educated young Roma have to struggle with during their career. Durst and Bereményi (2021) examined the upward mobility trajectories and its costs of first in family Roma graduates from socially disadvantaged background. They found that they realise a distinctive minority mobility path that results in their selective acculturation into the majority society.…”

“…When she was asked about why she applied for the interview, she said that she was interested in the reasons for her giving up her academic carrier and believed that she climbed too high on the social ladder and she felt as a 'fish out of water', so she had to leave her job in order to decrease the effects of the hysteresis. (see Friedman 2016, Mallman 2018, Bereményi -Durst 2021:…”

“…To date, only a limited number of studies (e.g. Durst -Bereményi 2021, Cole -Omari 2003, Hochschild 2003, Naudet 2018, Reay et al 2001, Shahrokni 2015 investigated the upward mobility experience of stigmatised minority groups. Furthermore, many studies' sample consists of college or university students while our research concentrates on the period after higher education enabling us to focus on the actual outcomes of mobility.…”