Posts Tagged ‘immigration’
“The truth is, immigrants tend to be more American than people born here”*…
The United States of America is a country of immigrants. That’s the cliche we know, but don’t always take to heart. Especially, during this political season…
Helpful background at “Where Are All the People in the United States From?”
* Chuck Palahniuk, Choke
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As we ruminate on roots, we might recall that it was on this date in 1930 (though some sources locate it on March 7 of that year), that The New York Times revised its style sheet to normalize the capitalization of “Negro” in its pages, a change that it memorialized in a editorial…
The New York Times now joins many of the leading Southern newspapers as well as most of the Northern in according this recognition. In our “style book” “Negro” is now added to the list of words to be capitalized. It is not merely a typographical change; it is an act in recognition of racial self-respect for those who have been for generations in “the lower case.”
[More here]
Sociologist, historian, activist, and author W.E.B. Du Bois, who led the fight for capitalization
“Remember, remember always, that all of us, and you and I especially, are descended from immigrants and revolutionists”*…
U.S. migration patterns changed plenty from 1850 to 2013. A nifty interactive map, created by the Pew Research Center, visualizes these shifts by showing the origin of the dominant immigrant group in each state for every decade during this time period.
The map is a part of a comprehensive report on past and future immigration trends, the main point of which is to highlight the impact of the Immigration Act of 1965. But the map reveals the events, policies, and trends before and after 1965 that shaped the waves of U.S. immigration…
More– the history of U.S. immigration and an account Pew’s take on its future– here; play with the interactive map here.
* Franklin D. Roosevelt
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As we go with the flow, we might recall that it was on this date in 1957 that television viewers in the U.S. met the quintessential… er, fantastical American family, the Cleavers: Leave It To Beaver premiered (on CBS).
Ward, Wally, June, and Theodore “The Beaver” Cleaver
“I’m not afraid of death; I just don’t want to be there when it happens”*…
From Sunbelt seekers and snowbird retirees to economic immigrants and political refugees, folks flock to southern Florida. And many of them chose to return home– if not during their lives, then afterwards… So it’s no surprise that the Miami area is the U.S. capital of corpse repatriation:
The transnational city is a place to die for. Ironically, however, once established in the transnational city, few envision staying there until their last breath. For many, it is a temporary venue, whether as a place of exile, a springboard for upward mobility, or a playground until new opportunities beckon. Few imagine dying there and, as the moment draws near, many make plans to go home.
In the transnational city, which is home to a disproportionate number of the foreign-born and expatriates, death and repatriation are a steady business. The bodies of an estimated 20 percent of South Florida’s deceased are shipped out, more than from any other region in the USA. Most of the HRs (industry shorthand for human remains) going abroad depart from Miami International Airport. According to the CEO of Pierson, a leader in this business since 1964, around 80 percent of business is international, with the company shipping to a range of foreign destinations across Central and South America and a number of European countries as well…
Read more about this last arc in the circle of life (and find out what it costs) at “Miami Is the #1 Airport in America for Shipping Dead Foreigners.”
[TotH to friend PH for the pointer]
* Woody Allen
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As we wonder if there’s a discount fare, we might recall that it was on this date in 1914 that “Little Willie,” the first prototype of the British Mark I tank– thus, the first completed tank prototype in the world– rolled out of the shop. It weighed 14 tons, required rear steering wheels (so got stuck in trenches), and managed only two miles per hour; still, it was the first step toward a technology that revolutionized battlefields.
Roots…
click here or on the image above
From Bloomberg, an interactive graphic that allows readers to see and compare the heritages (as reported in the 2010 Census) of residents of the U.S. as whole and of each of the nation’s 3,143 counties.
(The example above was pulled at random… One notes that a “German heritage vs Mexican heritage” sort yields Maricopa County, Arizona– the precinct policed by brown-skin-busting, sexual-abuse-ignoring, vendetta-prosecuting “Sheriff Joe” Arpaio, the subject of a current Justice Department investigation– as the county in the U.S. with the most self-identified citizens of German heritage. Chillingly weird.)
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As we wonder if the “melting pot” has become a “fondue pot,” we might spare a thought for the first Mississippi field secretary of the NAACP, Medgar Evers; he was assassinated on this date in 1963 by Byron De La Beckwith, a member of the White Citizens’ Council.
A bullet from the back of a bush took Medgar Evers’ blood.
A finger fired the trigger to his name.
A handle hid out in the dark
A hand set the spark
Two eyes took the aim
Behind a man’s brain
But he can’t be blamed
He’s only a pawn in their game.
– Bob Dylan, ‘Only a Pawn in Their Game’
OMG! The Easter Island heads have bodies!…
…so did they bury them complete with petroglyphs..(who would see them if they are buried?) or was it covered by something else that happened?
More (and another photo) at Follow the Money… [TotH to the ever-illuminating Pop Loser]
As we man the monoliths, we might recall that it was on this date in 1954 that an island that was monumental in a different way– Ellis Island– closed… having processed over 20 million immigrants to the U.S. since its opening in 1892.
The first Ellis Island station (source)
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