New York Celebrates Immigrant Heritage Week

Next week is Immigrant Heritage Week in New York City. From April 17 through 23, this unique celebration will honor the vibrant immigrant cultures, heritage, and communities found in every corner of the City. Since the stories we tell here at the Museum often include immigration, we are getting involved by co-sponsoring a public program. New York Times Metro reporter Joe Berger will discuss his book The World in a City: Traveling the Globe Through the Neighborhoods of the "New" New York  which brings to life the sights, smells, tastes, and people of the globe in an intimate look at New York City’s vibrant neighborhoods on Sunday, April 19 at 2:30.

And speaking of the “new New York,” I’m not sure if it was done intentionally (it probably was), but this week’s issue of New York Magazine appropriately highlights how immigration adds to the city’s dynamic with an article titled “Arrivals.” Dozens of well-known figures (Diane Von Furstenberg, Lorne Michaels, Wynton Marsalis, and Connie Chung to name a few) are interviewed on what brought them to the city in the first place, when they came, what they thought then, and how they feel now. Some of those featured are immigrants in the true sense: they came from another country and settled in America. But more are “immigrants” from places throughout the United States. This trend is reflected in our very Museum—while we shall not dismiss the undeniable charisma and charm of the native New Yorkers among us, many staff members are either from another state (Connecticut, Massachusetts, Iowa, Florida), upstate (Westchester, Orange, Ulster), or another country (Germany, China, Israel, Dominican Republic). We noble transplants continue the tradition of “outsiders” who are drawn to this incredible city and, by coming, add to what makes it so unique.

So to all the New Yorkers out there: where are you from? Feel free to share your story in the comments below.