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My Turnby Maileen Hamto |
 |
From The Asian Reporter, V18, #3 (January 15, 2008), page 6.
Being American
Why do immigrants in the U.S. still hang on to their home culture? Why can’t they simply adopt an American identity?
It’s funny, the things that get discussed at a diversity workshop.
Funnier still: Such questions are asked by Americans, of Americans, in our United States, a nation of immigrants.
The topic at hand was neighborhood organizing. Held in Portland, the workshop included participants from Colorado, Pennsylvania, Utah, New York, and California. The man who posed the question manages a nonprofit in Utah. He was born in New Mexico to parents of Mexican descent. Now in his late 40s, he professes that he never learned to speak Spanish, although it was spoken in his home.
I was one of only two women of color in the room, with immigrant roots. The instructor came to the United States via Ecuador. The questions were directed at me, because I had earlier talked about my experience immigrating to the United States as a teenager. I shared that all of my "growing up" was done in Texas, before moving to Oregon.
Where does one begin to address such remarks? American History 101 seemed like a good place to start. Perhaps start with the Puritans who left England to escape religious persecution, then fast-forward to Jamestown and the pilgrims. Talk about the forced migration of Africans who powered the rise of the United States as a military and economic power. Then go off on lessons about waves of Irish and Italian immigration throughout the Industrial Revolution. Underscore the contributions of the Chinese in building the railroads that bridged the eastern and western parts of the new country.
But we didn’t have time for a history lesson, and it wouldn’t have mattered anyhow. Despite mounds of evidence to the contrary, the questions reflect bias toward the belief that the United States is a melting pot of cultures. People come here, shed the gifts of their own cultures and identities, and voila! Instant Americans.
Is that how assimilation and acculturation happen? Of course not.
Throughout American history, each and every immigrant community — no matter which continent they come from — has made efforts to preserve and honor the cultural traditions from the old country. Ethnic enclaves are not a new phenomenon. Until World War I, German and English were co-official languages in Pennsylvania. Many Italian Americans continue to retain aspects of their culture. New York City still has more people who claim Irish heritage than the entire population of Dublin. About four percent of the U.S. population has Scandinavian heritage, with about 160,000 who speak a Scandinavian language.
What is different is that in recent decades, more and more newcomers are people of color — immigrants from Asia, Latin America, and Africa. For the most part, the dominant culture views traditions and social mores of these newcomers as foreign. Throughout our history as a nation, fear and apprehension about "the other" — especially in times of economic uncertainty — have fuelled anti-immigration sentiment.
So how did I respond? For the sake of preserving diplomacy and a conducive learning environment, I took a few deep breaths before addressing his concerns. In so many words, my response was brief and pointed.
"For many immigrants, becoming an American means that we subscribe to the tenets of hard work, sense of community, and a spirit of independence and self-sufficiency. The wonderful thing about living in the United States is that we don’t expect people who want to make a life here to check their cultures at the customs office."
Rather than a melting pot, Being American is akin to halo-halo, a popular Filipino dessert made up of a variety of ingredients: ice cream, shaved ice, a mixture of sweetened beans, and fruits. There is no hard-and-fast recipe, and each ingredient retains its original flavor to create a truly unique experience.