Entries by Adam Strom

Telling Stories: the Children of African Immigrants

By Zhaoyang Liu It is common for immigrants, and in particular, their children, to face questions of identity as they become acclimated to their new country. This is no different for the steadily growing African immigrant population in the United States. Michael Rain, a child of African immigrants, struggled with uncertainties about his heritage and […]

A Chapter of Human Migration: Polynesian Seafaring

By Zhaoyang Liu Humans migrated across the globe in a variety of ways, one of which was sea navigation. Sometime between 3000 B.C.E. and 1000 B.C.E., the progenitors of Polynesian people spread from Southeast Asia throughout the Pacific. On their vast seafaring journeys, they developed intuitive navigation methods. Their primary vessel of choice was a […]

Chinese Food on a Jewish Christmas

By Zhaoyang Liu In the United States, there is a tradition of Jewish-Americans eating at Chinese restaurants on Christmas. Although this practice may seem odd on the surface, a deeper exploration into its history reveals an interconnection between two immigrant communities in the United States. In an interview published by NPR, Robert Siegel speaks with Rabbi […]

American Anti-Catholicism in the 1920s

By Zhaoyang Liu Religious tolerance is oftentimes viewed as being a fundamental American value, inseparable from the country itself. Throughout U.S. history, religion and migration have often been linked. Religious diversity in the U.S. is often associated with migrants bringing new cultures and religious traditions along with them. It is a story as old as […]

Words Without Borders: Literature from Around the World

By Zhaoyang Liu Words Without Borders is an organization that publishes modern international literature from a variety of different peoples and regions. Their mission statement, which can be read here, begins with the following: “Founded in 2003, Words Without Bordersexpands cultural understanding through the translation, publication, and promotion of the finest contemporary international literature. Our […]

Singing Cowboys and the Mongolian Steppe

By Zhaoyang Liu What is the relationship between music, migration and culture? In 2005, a group of musicians from the American West visited the Mongolian Steppe in order to sing with the herdsmen there. Two years earlier, they had hosted the Mongolians in Elko, Nevada. Hal Cannon, from the Western Folklife Center, chronicled the journey […]

Classroom Resource: Fatima’s Drawings

This resource is part of our Media Highlight Series, which aims to support curriculum about migration through the exploration of storytelling – this includes literature, film and more. We align selections of media with questions in our Learning Arc.  Filmmaker Magnus Wennman’s Fatima’s Drawings tells the story of a nine yeard old refugee’s journey from […]

Japanese-American Soldiers in World War II

By Zhaoyang Liu While their families were interned in camps at home, the 100th Infantry Battalion and the 442nd Infantry Regiment, both composed mainly of Nisei — American born children of Japanese immigrants — fought for the allies in the Western Front of World War II. Out of all units of similar size and length […]

Separated Children at the Border

Embed from Getty Images In the Spring of 2018, the U.S. government enacted what President Trump called a “zero tolerance” policy meant to deter undocumented immigrants from coming to the United States. At the same time, the Attorney General Sessions worked to make it harder for immigrants to declare and receive asylum status. Central to […]