To the shattering screech of the bellicose tweeter who relentlessly proclaims ‘you can’t spell America without ME!’, this issue of Newest Americans is a forceful reminder that to spell United States requires US, and that to actually achieve a nation we can all be proud of will require all of us. E Pluribus Unum. Many voices, many stories, many tangled histories. One nation. Indivisible.
When we set up our story booth at the Newest Americans exhibit at Photoville in September we hoped to encourage a few festivalgoers to share their stories of arriving in the U.S. Ten days later over 500 people had entered the booth to share their narratives. At a moment in our history when immigrants are under pressure on numerous fronts, this collective desire to testify to the formative experience of migration on our individual and collective identities inspired us, and Issue 6 of Newest Americans.
When We Meet Again documents the effects of an immigration policy that divides families across national borders, and a program that re-unites them.
Detained explores an immigrant detention system that incarcerates people who have not been charged with a crime and treats stateless human beings as a business opportunity.
Brick By Brick depicts the lives of Lusophone immigrants in Newark’s Ironbound through interviews and books made of glass.
Arrivals features 16 of the people who entered our arrivals booth at Photoville to share their stories.
This issue also includes the latest installments of our web series American Sueño, the audio narratives of From Where I Stand, and the blog Maid in the USA.
