Note - plesae be CIVIL.... if this turns into an ugly debate, I'll ask to have it moved to a non-debate area. (let's please set aside the illegal alien issue for a time)
Many of us are quite pleased to have people immigrate to this country the legal way.
I have a number of Nigerian families in my Church who did just that. One of them had her 60th birthday party last Saturday, and in their culture, it's a BIG DEAL. They rented a hall, hired a band, catered a meal, and got all decked out in their cultural finest. (Apparently, they spread the word what the special dress is for the evening, and everybody dresses the same to indicate "we are family")
One thing puzzled me a little - as those of us who are NOT Nigerian entered, we were ushered to a bank of tables separate from everybody else. I joked to the other non-blacks at my table that "We're being segregated".
As the evening progressed, there came a time when the Master of Ceremonies - yes, there was one of those - took some time to bow toward us as he explained how very grateful they were to be citizens of the United States, and for our "bothers and sisters who have welcomed us and made us feel at home". It was quite touching, because a number of them gave testimony to the fact that they left their country with one suitcase, one carry-on, and a seat on an airplane in search of the American Dream. Nearly the entire service was in English, and they explained, "we do this because we are AMERICANS". They never said anything about "African-American" - they were proud to be citizens of our great land. The only time they did something NOT in English was when a pastor was called upon to pray a blessing on "the celebrant". He very humbly turned toward us and asked, "would you allow me to pray for the celebrant in my native tongue?" It was beautiful, and kind of a "prayer and response" type prayer throughout.
In fact, all but a few of them were citizens, and those who were not were studying hard for their citizenship test. As I met some of them for the first time, they were doctors and lawyers and nurses and architects and professional people, and appeared to be people of means. They explained, "we come to America for the American Dream for us - and every day we want to make America better".
To me, they epitomize the ideal immigrant --- very proud of their culture, and not forgetting it in the least, but cognizant of the fact that they have taken on a new life in a new land. These are, without exception, some of the most polite and gracious people I have ever encountered. Their children are amazingly well behaved and respectful of elders.
To me, this is how I understand many people "back in the day" immigrated to our country - to pursue the America Dream and 'be Americans', not abandoning their own culture, but embracing ours.
group cropped.jpg cake cropped.jpg band cropped.jpg
Many of us are quite pleased to have people immigrate to this country the legal way.
I have a number of Nigerian families in my Church who did just that. One of them had her 60th birthday party last Saturday, and in their culture, it's a BIG DEAL. They rented a hall, hired a band, catered a meal, and got all decked out in their cultural finest. (Apparently, they spread the word what the special dress is for the evening, and everybody dresses the same to indicate "we are family")
One thing puzzled me a little - as those of us who are NOT Nigerian entered, we were ushered to a bank of tables separate from everybody else. I joked to the other non-blacks at my table that "We're being segregated".
As the evening progressed, there came a time when the Master of Ceremonies - yes, there was one of those - took some time to bow toward us as he explained how very grateful they were to be citizens of the United States, and for our "bothers and sisters who have welcomed us and made us feel at home". It was quite touching, because a number of them gave testimony to the fact that they left their country with one suitcase, one carry-on, and a seat on an airplane in search of the American Dream. Nearly the entire service was in English, and they explained, "we do this because we are AMERICANS". They never said anything about "African-American" - they were proud to be citizens of our great land. The only time they did something NOT in English was when a pastor was called upon to pray a blessing on "the celebrant". He very humbly turned toward us and asked, "would you allow me to pray for the celebrant in my native tongue?" It was beautiful, and kind of a "prayer and response" type prayer throughout.
In fact, all but a few of them were citizens, and those who were not were studying hard for their citizenship test. As I met some of them for the first time, they were doctors and lawyers and nurses and architects and professional people, and appeared to be people of means. They explained, "we come to America for the American Dream for us - and every day we want to make America better".
To me, they epitomize the ideal immigrant --- very proud of their culture, and not forgetting it in the least, but cognizant of the fact that they have taken on a new life in a new land. These are, without exception, some of the most polite and gracious people I have ever encountered. Their children are amazingly well behaved and respectful of elders.
To me, this is how I understand many people "back in the day" immigrated to our country - to pursue the America Dream and 'be Americans', not abandoning their own culture, but embracing ours.
group cropped.jpg cake cropped.jpg band cropped.jpg
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