August 30, 2025

For many of my father’s generation, access to the American dream was through the erasure of ethnic difference. But embracing the melting pot metaphor led to more of a broth than a gumbo. Leaving behind the trappings of culture in trade for success was considered a fair bargain. The sacrifices made were often given freely—if painfully—and for succeeding generations it led to a level of privilege often not afforded those who held their difference tightly.
I can’t fully imagine what my grandparents felt when they first glimpsed the Statue of Liberty. Full of hope and anticipation, after their journey across the Atlantic, they faced the possibility of separation at Ellis Island. But my family arrived intact and we became an American family.
The economic migrations of previous generations, the hard fought struggles against discrimination should not be taken lightly. For many who suffered soul crushing dismissal, the ridicule for their accent or shade, for those who fought tooth and nail for a better life for their families a generation ago, there’s a bitterness for their experience.
The pressure to conform to a Northern European identity is baked-in to the American Experiment. “Kill the Indian, save the man” was the call to action that created the Carlisle Indian School where children were beaten for speaking their native language, forced into European clothes, and take on foreign names. 
Growing up, my father often used the saying: “What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.” We all react differently to adversity, but I believe it’s our responsibility to make sure that people don’t have to experience the indignities endured by generations before.
“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”
I believe it is incumbent on us to live up to that promise and honor the sacrifices made by the generations that brought us here. Gumbo is better than broth, and as I work to reconnect my own heritage it is important to honor and embrace those who come looking for opportunity for succeeding generations just as my family did a century ago.