Rufus T. Firefly wrote:...
Pretty much the history of this country.......assimilation is a myth.
I can't accept that generality, at least not from my perspective as having been a resident of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, though I can make a strong case in agreement with you, too.
During the 40's and 50's and 60's, it was my experience that the ethnically rich population was very desirous of being assimilated, though
not at the expense of being proud of their roots. Jews wanted recognized among their Christian neighborhoods, but assimilated just the same . Italians, Poles, Hungarians, Germans, Czech , Romanian, Irish, Scottish, Yugoslavians, and others reveled in their ethnic foods and local celebrations, but they insisted their children learn English and avoid becoming proficient at an ethnic language at the expense of learning English.
In my own family, which was composed of two distinct ethnicities, grandparents insisted children avoid learning either language and focus on English. Neither of my grandparents spoke to my parents in their "native tongue." Neither parent, though I wanted to learn both ethnic languages , made much effort in having me learn the languages of their parents.
I can clearly recall a visit by one grandmother which amazed me. She went into our broad and wide backyard to harvest among the grass for
Dandelion weeds, which she pulled out by hand, to cook and use in a salad. Everybody was "scandalized," including the neighbors, seeing her out there on her hands-n-knees picking what were considered weeds. She was encouraged to "eat American" and not go out into lawn again for dandelions.
Everybody wanted to be assimilated , not particularly ethnically distinguished.
Little by little , the languages of the various ethnic groups disappeared, except for clandestine conversations held among the most senior immigrant citizens .
Now, that may not be what you had in mind, but what I have related here, in part, exemplifies from my experience, ethnicities and religions wanting to assimilate , while also retaining expertise and appreciation of how to make to such ethnic specialties as the best stuffed-cabbage , pasta-fagioli, and mutza-ball soup, for example .