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By Elena Dell'Accio, Capacity Building Intern When thinking about the things in your life that make you feel at home, what do you think of? A family tradition or holiday, a specific recipe or drink, a song from the past, a symbol? When thinking about what played an instrumental part in creating who we are, looking at the culture we grew up in can provide insight into the factors that make us unique.
The people who have submitted to this gallery were asked to think of something that represents their cultural identity. Below you will see photos of amazing looking dishes, videos of beautiful songs, and photographs of important memories. You will also be able to read the significance that each of these items have on the individuals who submitted them, and how something that may seem like an everyday thing can have so much meaning behind it. That is where culture comes into play.
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By Courtney Maurer, Director of Research The U.S. is home to an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants. These individuals are extremely valuable to our country, contributing to both the U.S. labor force and to their communities both culturally and economically, and often have U.S. born children of their own. Without legal status or pathways to citizenship, however, many are forced to live in the shadows fearing deportation and discrimination and our country is struggling to improve these circumstances.
By Thea Rose, Communications Intern Migrating to the United States from any other country is an extremely complex choice to make. And for many, facing the burden of starting over in an unfamiliar place can inevitably bring up a conflict of identity, individuality and, sometimes, spiritual questioning.
By Yasemin Akar, Research Fellow & Poorani Jagadeesan, Technology Team Intern
Massachusetts has been home to both refugees and foreign-born populations for centuries. As the current U.S. population ages, refugees and the foreign-born population are keeping Massachusetts and Boston young. Since refugees and foreign born populations tend to be younger than the native born U.S. population in Massachusetts, the state and specifically the city of Boston’s median age have fallen in recent years. While the median age for the U.S. is 38, Boston has a median age of 32 and Massachusetts’ is 39. Moreover, refugees and the foreign population in Massachusetts contribute to the knowledge-based economy that is crucial for STEM and healthcare. By Jacob Lintner, Communications Intern It’s always important to monitor where we get our news and how we talk about marginalized communities. With rampant vocal ideological division ever-present, this becomes paramount. We’re in an age where just about anyone can build a platform and spread their ideas to a wide audience. That means that fact checking and personal accountability are incredibly important.
By Sue Ra, Communications Intern For many, 2020 was a difficult and uncertain time due to the detrimental effects of the COVID-19 virus. Countries around the globe were faced with high unemployment, rising number of cases, and a collective feeling of panic. Moreover, the origin of the virus brought about a new epidemic altogether – a marked rise in hate crimes directed at the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. In stunning new evidence, data finds that there have been nearly 3,800 anti-Asian hate incidents reported over the past year since the outbreak. These incidents include verbal harassment, shunning, physical assault, and discrimination. Additionally, a poll conducted by USA Today/Ipsos Poll observed that one in four Americans have seen someone blame Asians for the coronavirus epidemic. This recent spike of Asian-targetted hate crimes pose a serious risk to the community on a multifaceted level. The emotional, physical, and mental trauma (on an individual and collective level) of these actions create an added layer of insecurity within the AAPI community.
By Jacob Lintner, Communications Intern In a time that’s been difficult on everyone, we wanted to give praise to some of the hard-working cornerstones of our communities. For the first installment of our Immigrant-Owned Business Spotlight, we talked to Hector and Miriam Morales, who own and operate Recreo Coffee & Roasterie. The two have been serving sustainably sourced, homegrown coffee from their location at 1876 Centre Street in West Roxbury since February 14, 2015. They opened a second location downtown at City Hall in June 2017, which has the same selection of coffee and some small lunch options.
By Courtney Maurer, Director of Research Since its founding, the United States has had a complicated relationship with immigration, favoring certain immigrant groups and holding anti-immigrant sentiments towards others. This anti-immigrant sentiment has been embodied in several laws passed over centuries. Presently there is one particular immigration law that tends to be overlooked and unfamiliar to many Americans; it is colloquially known as “287(g) contracts.”
The current COVID-19 pandemic is having a negative effect on healthcare systems that goes beyond the infected individual. Some of the containment measures implemented could have serious effects in global health.
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August 2021
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