June is National Immigration Heritage Month, a time to celebrate the diverse peoples and cultures that have made America great. This year, when immigration and cultural diversity are being challenged, and the complex history of our country is being erased, it is more important than ever to examine the record of who we are and how we got here as a nation and as an American people.
Original Sins: Slavery and Genocide
First, we should never forget that this country was born with two original sins: slavery and genocide. The current administration in Washington wants to rewrite history by eliminating mention of negative events and practices that defined our past, focusing instead on the greatness and industriousness of our founders and their glorious victories. In reality, there would be no America if not for the surplus wealth created by the labor of enslaved people across the South and the riches accrued by those who benefited from the theft of Indigenous peoples' lands.
Nor should it be forgotten that the Declaration of Independence names one reason for the War of Independence against the British Empire as the American settlers' grievance that King George would not defend them against merciless Indian Savages, who were resisting having their lands taken. And, of course, we fought a civil war not so much to end the deplorable practice of human slavery, but to rein in the power and independence of the southern states.
Immigrant Contributions and Backlash
As the country grew and the industrial age arrived, the need to build infrastructure to transport people and goods, mine coal for power, and operate factories opened doors to new immigrants from far-off countries. The Chinese built railroads; the Irish dug canals; Irish and Eastern and Central Europeans worked in the mines, and they were joined in the mines and factories by Italians, Greeks, and Arabs.
As needed as these new immigrants were for America to grow and prosper, their very presence, growing numbers, and unique cultures provoked a backlash among the earlier northwest European settlers who had come to see themselves as the original and real Americans. The new immigrants were demeaned, discriminated against, and subjected to state and vigilante violence. Tragically, we see the same pattern of behavior playing out today as Americans confront our newest immigrants.
Historical Patterns of Bigotry
In a brilliant paper written a decade and a half ago for the Immigration Policy Center, Jeffrey Kaye examines the immigration history of one town in Pennsylvania. He notes that when the Irish, Italian, and Eastern and Central Europeans were first moving into the community, newspaper articles and speeches by City Council members described the Irish as drunkards, the Slavs as peculiar, the Hungarians as ignorant, immoral, and filthy, and the Italians as the most disreputable. All were subjected to derision for their queer languages and for not fitting in.
The tragic irony is that, one century later, the descendants of these same groups are now saying the very same things about the newest immigrants, who are mostly from Latin American countries.
Lessons Forgotten and Benefits Accrued
Forgotten in this history of miserable repetition are the lessons we should have learned and the benefits we accrued. We now know that the early English settlers in New York and the eastern colonies learned lessons in governance and agriculture from Native Americans, and yet they referred to them as savages. And we know that it was the hard work, for no wages, that brought wealth to white southern landowners, who nevertheless demeaned Blacks as lazy and shiftless.
Much the same can be said about the immigrants of the industrial age. Despite the bigotry and violence they endured, we can ask: Where would America be today if not for the hard work and inventiveness of these immigrant communities? Further, what would American food, fashion, music, art, humour, literature, diplomacy, and so much more be without the contributions of African Americans, the Chinese, Italian, Greek, Polish, Irish, Jewish, Latino, and Arab immigrants, and so many more?
A Simple Lesson
The lesson here is a simple one: We should never forget that what makes America great is its diversity and its capacity to absorb so many peoples and cultures. What threatens our greatness is when we forget this and stupidly attempt to fabricate our history and whitewash our culture.
Dr. James J. Zogby is the President of the Arab American Institute.
