Many European immigrants who come to the United States are surprised to be labeled white. In the article “The Brooklyn Style: Hip-Hop Indicators and Racial Affiliation Among European Immigrants in New York City,” we see young people from Ukraine and other European countries who want to assimilate to the American style by involving themselves in the hip-hop style. hop culture. These young people live primarily in Brooklyn and Queens and express their affiliation with hip-hop through stylized language and lifestyle practices. They believe that it is advantageous and more attractive to identify with black American culture than with traditional white American culture. Those who have chosen to direct their allegiance toward Black American culture through the use of hip-hop linguistic markers and other forms of identity place themselves in contrast to other young Ukrainians who have chosen to identify with the white mainstream. But hip-hop offers a space where young people can experiment with their identity while remaining in tune with Black American culture. Oversized suits, baggy pants, caps over their eyes and "du rags" are just some of the ways young people express their affiliation with hip-hop and although most accept their classification as white, they are negotiating their place in the United States. In the United States, understanding our place in racial categorization is easy. However, for Ukrainian immigrants who were not born in the United States, racial categories are not necessarily meaningful. Although most Ukrainian immigrants are classified as white, white may not be a category that is part of their self-definition. Their understanding of what white means may differ from what American-born people think. ......middle of paper......marriage even if domestic violence because worse. When Nataliya was finally sent to the emergency room during a particularly bad encounter with her husband, she learned that she had made choices that would allow her to escape the abuse. She fled to a shelter while Encounters International described her marriage to everyone as a success. Natalya was one of the lucky Ukrainian immigrants: not only did she escape her abusive husband, but Encounters International was held accountable for not telling her about a federal law that allows foreign immigrants to escape abusive marriages in the United States without fear of be deported. He was also ordered to pay Nataliya $433,500 in damages. This case made it clear that the government needed to play a more active role in providing immigrant boyfriends and spouses with information about women's legal rights.