Proud Shoes Chapter Summaries

I. Immigration has always been a matter of controversy in the United States. Most of us have a foreign background or heritage. However, nowadays we can see major leaders in the world of politics and business that have different cultural backgrounds, and, if you are Latin American, Asian, African American, the Middle East or any other race, you might feel more identified with some of these leaders.

Since the beginning of America, this country has been a place of diversity and many different cultures. In the beginning the Europeans made up a majority of the population. Then many different groups of people came to America seeking religious freedom or to escape war in their country of origin. This brought many different cultures and diversity to America. America became for people of many different cultures and backgrounds to call home. Although African and Asian people have been living in the United States for many decades they still are treated differently than the Caucasian group. Africans and Asian people have both been asked to assimilate to American culture. History shows that both of these groups have not always had an easy time interacting with the Caucasian group. There are many differences among Africans, Asian, and Caucasian culture, but there are also similarities. Minority groups interact with the Caucasian group differently, but over time their equality in the society has improved.

In the article “15 Years on the Bottom Rung” written by Anthony DePalma compares the story of a Greek and a Mexican immigrant, seeking better opportunities here in the United States. However, one succeeds and one doesn’t. One commonality is that they both resided in New York. Mr. Zannikos is the Greek immigrant who arrived in the United States in 1953 with 100 dollars to his name. Mr. Zannikos 19, left with no intent to go back to Greece. Once Mr. Zannikos arrived in New York he immediately started working and learning English. While working in a coffee shop the shop was raided by the cops and he was deported. Mr.zannikos snuck back in the United States and married a Puerto Rican from the Bronx, because of this he was able to gain citizenship giving him the opportunity to own his own restaurant “3 Guys”. 3 Guys became very successful in the South Bronx. In contrast, Mr. Peralta is a Mexican immigrant who came to the United States in 1990, whose father sent him because he was the first born and never able to have that opportunity for himself. Mr. Peralta 19, was out of a job for weeks waiting for job openings when he first arrived in New York. Once Mr. Peralta found a job opening he made enough money to pay back his father back, so he went back to Mexico to take care of his family and winds up getting married to Matilda while there. Mr. Peralta returns to New York with his new wife illegally. Living in poverty Mr. Peralta could only accept cheap labor jobs because he was not a documented citizen and didn’t know much English. DePalma explains in his writing why Mr. Peralta was not able to triumph in New York because of ethnicity, marriage, and language.

The “Who am I? Who are my people” by Kirk and Okazawa-Rey was very insightful and I agree with most of the arguments the authors made about how subordinate groups have to adapt when there are amongst dominant groups. I’ve dealt with this issue a lot growing up. My family originates from Nigeria. I was born and raised in Maryland. Although I have never been to Nigeria, growing up in a Nigerian household under Yoruba culture had a huge impacted on my identity. It influenced the way how I think, how I form relationships with people, my morality and my religion. However going to school in my neighborhood was challenge for me and my other siblings because of the cultural differences between us and the other students. Most of students and my friends that I went to school with were mostly African-American, but they had no understanding of we view things in Yoruba culture.

What if we lived in a world where there were no races? What if people were not discriminated against because of the color of their skin or because they are different from what we see as acceptable? This is what Kwame Anthony Appiah tries to examine in his essay “Race, Culture, Identity: Misunderstood Connections.” Appiah tries to point out that “American social distinctions cannot be understood in terms of the concept of race.” (102) That America is made up of so many different races that no race is the more superior or in other cases inferior to one another. America is defined by its cultural diversity; it is what makes America the nation that it is. It is the reason that we as Americans have freedoms other people

The first day in the United States is one of the best day and most thrilling days in my life. My father and my older sister move to Malaysia to get a job and support our family due to financial difficulty and lack of job opportunity in Burma. After a few years, my father and my sister were able to enter as immigrant and they were sent to the United States as immigrants through United Nation. After being apart with my father and my sister for more than a decade, my parents decide to move completely to America where more opportunities are available for a brighter future. My family faces many obstacles during the process of migrating to America. Despite all the struggle that are on our way, my family finally arrives in the United States and face major changes in life.

To begin I will talk about Latino Americans, Native Americans and Asian-Americans immigrating into the United States and the many differences in the journey though it all. I will focus on the relationship to the new social policies

Immigration is both a domestic issue and global concern. It involves economics, politics, and culture. Unlike other current issues, it has been at the center of the American experience for hundreds of years (Tirman, John). Every year, hundreds of thousands of immigrants from around the world, come to the United States. These immigrants have many different motivations as to why they leave their home country; but as currents events indicate, it is injustice, poverty, and violence in their own country that generally make people move to save themselves and to ensure a better future for their families. Many of these people believe the United States is the best place to go, because there is more freedom, protection, and benefits,

Through interviewing my roommate Linda Wang, I have gotten the opportunity of hearing a first-hand account of what it is like being a young immigrant living in the United States. At the age of eight, Linda, along with her father, mother, and aunt, emigrated to America. Linda’s family currently resides in Bayside, Queens and she is a student-athlete on the St. John’s women’s golf team. Linda was kind enough to share her immigration story with me so that I may use it as a manifestation of what life as an immigrant, and the immigration process itself, entails.

Like many Americans today, a successful life is something every family endeavors to achieve. Whether you are native to this land or an immigrant, everyone is pursuing their idea of the American dream. Whereas every dream may be different, the journey to each dream is both trying and straining. In both articles written by Hogan and Shteyngart, we find two families striving for a better life as they encounter their own struggles along the way. Although Native Americans and immigrants are different as Native Americans are indigenous, while immigrants are foreigners, the authors illustrate they are also similar as they both have adversities, pervading family influences, and are strangers in a world they attempt to call home.

America as we know it today has been shaped by immigrants. It can be argued that America shapes immigrants as well. It is a nation that people, nationalist or foreign-born, desire to assimilate partially or fully into. According to a New York University professor, “Immigration, however, played a key role not only in making America’s development possible but also in shaping the basic nature of the society” (Diner, p. 2). It is a nation built on this idea of the “American dream” which varies depending on the person. However, it is something that holds steadily in an immigrant’s mind that is possible to achieve. America’s past, present and certainly future will be formed by immigrants, and once they get here America will coincidentally form their being as well.

The United States was founded through means of immigration; immigrants from everywhere and anywhere around the world. Who are they? How did they get here? Why did they come? Many of these questions can be answered when considering how race, gender, and sexuality affect immigration. Immigration means something to different to everyone and for some it forced, while for others, it is a choice. For some it means pursuing the “American Dream,” for others it may be breaking away from political and religious persecution, but nonetheless, it is always a test. Gender roles, relations and inequalities affect who migrates and why, how the decision is made, the impacts on migrants themselves, on sending areas and on receiving areas. While focusing

The United States of America was a country founded by immigrants on the values of equality and freedom and the idea of a fresh start. Only American Indians are truly native to this country and the rest of us have some history of immigration in our ancestry. So what about today’s immigrants? Most people immigrate to the United States searching for simply searching for a better life. Immigration seems like it should be a simple and organized process, but many people who try to immigrate to the United States find that the process is not so simple. To better understand the immigration process, I have interviewed a friend who immigrated to the United States as a small child and now faces the

One of the deciding factors in my current political affiliation is my family’s background. My family consists of mostly immigrants, from the country of Jamaica. My family first set foot in this country in 1993, with my 14-year old mother leading the way. This is one of the central points to my political identity because, now that all my family is settled in the United States, I can hear their stories. They often tell me stories of what it was like living in Jamaica; those stories often consist of struggle, scarcity, and little sprinkles of happiness. These stories are what lead to my belief that immigrants, of all kinds, should be welcome in the United States.

As an immigrant myself, I know the struggles, hardship, and the difficulties that come with being accepted to the United States, as well as the struggles with becoming a citizen. The many barriers and the conflict that my family and I had to endure were very exhausting. For example, the many denials, then anticipation but finding out we weren’t accepted. Dealing with the rejection was especially hard for us. However, that didn't stop us; we knew that there will always be a chance as long as we kept on trying. The wait was well worth it because I can honestly say that my life has changed for the better. Even though I was too young back then to really understand the situation, I could still realize that there was something wrong every time I