Monday, January 28, 2019

Immigration and the United States: The Importance in American Society and Culture



Immigrants from every corner of this planet have brought with them culture, science, arts and special labor skills that were shared with others to enhance innovation. 
One good example is a Russian born boy that had a tremendous voice for theater, his name was Asa Yoelson. Asa, which later changed his name to Al  Johnson. Al Johnson later became a popular singer during the 1920s and 1930s was a highly paid entertainer at that time. He brought his idea of Jazz and to an American music-loving audience and was a huge success within the American performing arts. 
Other artists like Czech composer Antonin Dvorak who in 1892 was invited to come to the United States to direct the National Conservatory of Music and compose "American" music. His style of music captivated the American musical performance by storm. 
African American musical artists like Benny Goodman and Artie Shaw were second-generation Jewish Americans who were inspiring musicians who mixed their style of Jazz with European traditional style and made it more exciting to listen too. Both artists were performing their music during the Jim Crow segregation era. 
However, Immigrants did not only brought music and theater as their specials skills to offer but also brought cooking methods and flavor.
"...the classic American hot dog is probably the product of nineteenth-century German immigration. “Wiener” and “frankfurter,” synonyms for hot dogs, reflect the geographical origins of German sausage-makers: Vienna (Wien in German) and Frankfurt. Similarly, hamburger is the name for a native of the German city of Hamburg, which must have been the place of origin of the German sausage-makers who popularized chopped beef, formed into a cake and fried. Hamburgers, hot dogs, and other traditional American foods were popularized in the early twentieth century in “diners,” a distinctive restaurant style resembling railroad cars. Diners were commonly run by Greeks and other immigrants who found a niche serving low-cost food to the American masses." 
From food to music and much more, immigrants have really contributed to American society making it the country it is today.

Reference
Gabaccia, Donna R. "We Are What We Eat: Ethnic Food and the Making of Americans" Havard. 2000

Wednesday, January 23, 2019

American government making immigration relatively easy by restrictions?


There were numerous changes in immigration policies that allowed a certain number of migrants to easily come into the United States. However, Nativist Anglo-American Protestants organized in mass numbers to suppress the huge influx of immigration process and the block the efforts for an immigrant to be a citizen. The biggest fear was the economic competition and religious belief in the spreading of Catholicism. 
During wartime, many feared of a subversive potential of spies infiltrating in the country. This led to the passing of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 which enabled government authority officials to detained and deport "aliens" from the United States. 
Let us keep reminding ourselves that American ports were receiving its first waves of immigrants; 31 Million between 1860 - 1930 arrived here. 
Meanwhile, American ports began receiving the first waves of an enormous and transformative mass migration — some 31 million between 1860 and 1930. They represented a “new” immigration: Chinese, Italians, Greeks, Poles, Russians, Syrians, Slovaks, Serbs, Armenians. To many so-called “old stock” Americans, millions of these newcomers were dangerous and unworthy, and to the members of an Immigration Restriction League – which included in its number many of “the best people” of New England – the immigrants were of the “wrong” religions and nationalities." 
This way of thinking was really troublesome and if the Nativist Anglo-Americans Protestants would have gotten their way, many immigrants would have had to wait over 21 years to apply for citizenship.
These restrictions implemented on those days seems to be repeating itself all over again in today's world just repackaged and named something else.
Reference
Gerber, David A. "American Immigration: A Very Short Introduction."  Oxford University Press, 2011, pp 20 - 21.
Weisberger, Bernard. "For Immigrants - And All of Us - A Time To Fight" Retrieved from https://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/09/15/immigrants-and-all-us-time-fight 

Tuesday, January 15, 2019

Racism and discrimination in the US


Creator:wildpixel
Credit:Getty Images/iStockphoto
Copyright:wildpixel

From the Chinese, Irish, and Italians that immigrated into this country, many of them faced extraordinary levels of racism and discrimination from most of the White Anglo-Saxons in this country. Racism in the United States is nothing new, even goes back to the “American Holocaust” that occurred in this country; the ethnic cleansing of the indigenous tribes (Native Americans) they were systematically annihilated.
Racism and Discrimination continue, except is that is a masquerade and repackaged in a different form so many won’t notice it. From the Mass Incarceration of Black Youth to the Mass deportation of Latinos and people of color from other countries; nothing has really changed.  
When it comes to talking about Racism and Discrimination in the United States, many feels that is a taboo topic. I believe if we are ever going to combat this issue, we must tackle it head and be open about it. By bringing people of different races and nationalities together, we can try to create a more compassionate world. To honestly achieve this goal, we must challenge and change the status quo to bring some sort of understanding and clarity which can ultimately lead to a more open dialogue.
NO HUMAN BEING IS ILLEGAL.
Once we start to understand the meaning of the phrase, we can start to break down all the mechanism that keeps us all apart.

Tuesday, January 8, 2019

Post-1965 migration


Since the signing of the bill in 1965, millions have immigrated to the United States of America. Though many Politicians and their constituents sympathize with immigrants seeking better opportunities and to be part of the melting pot, there were others that opposed the bill completely. The United States has always struggled with the idea of how a nation should be defined. Many argued that the type of immigrants that were coming into the country will no assimilate to "America's" way of thinking. Others persist that the United States is a "Judeo-Christian Nation", that immigrants from other religious groups are a contradiction to the American way of living. 
We always want to believe that this country opens the doors for the poor and the hungry. We the people of the United States of America want to believe that we extend our hands to help those in need and show compassion for immigrants. However, from a recent article, I came across the following is mentioned that really stuck in my mind:
 " The original version of the 1965 Act, cosponsored by Senator Philip Hart of Michigan and Representative Emmanuel Celler of New York, both liberal Democrats, favored those immigrants whose skills were “especially advantageous” to the United States." 
There is definitely a fundamental problem in how we view immigrants in this country back then and even to this day. Xenophobia today is in an all-time high and the debate on the immigration process to obtain visas for immigrants still continues. Was the actual Bill of 1965 and the politicians that signed it into law had good intentions? That is something we should really have an open debate on it in my opinion. 
Reference:
Gjelten, Tom. "The Immigration Act That Inadvertently Changed America". The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/10/immigration-act-1965/408409/. Accessed Oct 2, 2015

Friday, January 4, 2019

Trump and Immigration


Creator: Susan Walsh, Credit: AP, Copyright: Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Going back to the first "illegal" immigrant and his entire crew that came to the shore of America(s), I would like to quote Columbus from the log he wrote:
“They ... brought us parrots and balls of cotton and spears and many other things, which they exchanged for the glass beads and hawks' bells. They willingly traded everything they owned... . They were well-built, with good bodies and handsome features.... They do not bear arms, and do not know them, for I showed them a sword, they took it by the edge and cut themselves out of ignorance. They have no iron. Their spears are made of cane... . They would make fine servants.... With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want.”
Christopher Columbus was referring to the Arawak men and women he and his sailors came across when he landed on the Bahamas Islands.  Of course, we all know the outcome of what occurred afterward. His intentions were not to work with the natives, but to take what is not theirs and claim it for themselves. 
“As soon as I arrived in the Indies, on the first Island which I found, I took some of the natives by force in order that they might learn and might give me information of whatever there is in these parts.”
I find it troubling and yet confused why we continue to have this same conversation about Immigration in the United States. Trump’s rhetoric of immigration is nothing more but racist and bigot remarks on Blacks and people of color from other countries which is causing a major division in the country. 
Nothing has really changed when it comes to Immigration rhetoric from politicians and communities nationwide. It seems We have forgotten the history on how this country was built. The United States of America flourished because Immigrants from all over the world came (illegal or legal) with good intentions came to share ideas and lived among other ethnic and religious groups for a better life. Immigrants came to escape from political and religious persecution from their native lands.  Immigrants came to the United States from famine and WARS oversea caused by those in POWER. Immigration has been an ongoing thing for a long time. I will even argue since the beginning of human civilization. 
So yeah, this is definitely nothing new between Trump's rhetoric and others before him. 


Reference:
Zinn, Howard. A People’s History of the United States. Harper Collins Publishers, 2015.

El Comité-MINP 50th Anniversary - Day of Commemoration and Dialogue

In a recent article, I wrote back in August of 2020, I shared my admiration for an organization that has inspired so many of us, and their a...