Ethnicity and Race in American Life: Chapter 5

One passage that stood out to me in the chapter 5 reading was a short paragraph written by Marcus Eli Ravage, a Romanian immigrant. The passage, found on page 102, reads:

"The alien who comes here from Europe is not the raw material that Americans suppose him to be. He is not a blank sheet to be written on as you see fit. He he has not sprung out of nowhere. Quite the contrary. He brings with him a deep-rooted tradition, a system of culture and tastes and habits-a point of view which is as ancient as his national experience and which has been engendered in him by his race and his environment. And it is this thing- this entire Old world soul of his- that comes into conflict with America as soon as he has landed."

What I found so interesting about this passage is that it directly addresses one of the 'myths' that we learned about in class, the melting pot myth. This is the notion that once an immigrant settles in America that they become 'American' and all their history and culture fades. As Ravage points out, the individual does not lose their culture, but in fact brings it with them.  This transition would be difficult on the immigrants and I am sure would cause some inner struggle to adjust to their new life in America.   Thankfully the individuals held tight to their roots and made America what it is today, and gave us a diverse selection of cuisine!

UnCORKing the past

For a graduation gift my parents are sending me to Europe for some 15 to 20 days to explore! One of my must see stops is Cork, Ireland, where my father's side of the family is from. My grandmother Mary Jane Corkrum's parents came from County Cork, hence the last name... creative right? haha  In doing some research about County Cork, Ireland I have found that it was a central fixture in the Irish civil war in the 1920's and was the last stop before the departure of the Titanic( or a region close to Cork). The Blarney Stone is in a close vicinity to Cork ( just don't kiss the Blarney Stone, a local told my dad they pee on it and watch the tourists kiss their pee rock.... gross!) My strong Irish roots are something that cannot be ignored and it would be amazing to actually be able to visit the county where my family is from.

There is still a ton of work and research to be done, but this would be a possible topic for our research paper? Hopefully I'll have some interesting family history!