Response 5/5

The Brooklyn Historical Society on 128 Pierrepont street is a lovely sight and the exhibitions were wonderful. It’s exhibits describes the history of Brooklyn through exhibits such as Jackie Robinson’s Legacy, Women’s abolition, and even an exhibit on The Emancipation Proclamation. The Brooklyn Historical Society includes a complete library of Brooklyn history. The library is beautiful and dimly lit, making it a very intriguing place. It is not often that  I feel an environment inspires work in me, but I felt that I should be reading and studying in this library. While I did not read a book, the topics covered were extensive, ranging from historical accounts, to books specifically detailing events in Brooklyn from 150 years ago. Everything inside of the museum is presented in an educational way which helped in learning it. The exhibits have a lot of information but are supplemented with physical artifacts as well, which make it not as overwhelming. Being inside the museum made me feel as if I was right at home, also known as the Brooklyn College Library reading room. It is small for a museum, but I enjoyed this aspect of it. Normally, a huge museum is very physically exhausting and mentally, but this one was small and concise for the casual goer, but had enough information to keep a scholar busy for years. There was a discussion that I attended focused on activism and how it relates to sports. I stayed for a short amount of time but it fascinated me because it talked about sports within the context of brooklyn, which I really enjoyed.

One of the exhibitions that I was intrigued by would be the Jackie Robinson exhibit. He was able to break the exclusion of color from baseball, which was America’s most popular sport at the time. This exhibit was able to tell the story of Jackie Robinson and his impact within the larger context of racial struggles in America and the city. It had many artifacts of his, including baseball equipment. It was personal and holistic, not focusing one one aspect of Robinson’s career.

This museum relates significantly to our class because its focus is on Brooklyn and its history. Brooklyn has a very large amount of immigrants and ethnic enclaves, second to only Queens. Places like Brighton Beach, Greenpoint, Canarsie, Bayridge, and Williamsburg are filled with Immigrants from all over the world. This museum did not necessarily focus on immigration, but It did provide a lot of context, on for example, Brooklyn’s ideal location for immigrants. It also detailed immigrants role in the formation of what is modern day NYC and Brooklyn. Jackie Robinson’s exhibit is one that detailed the racial struggles which engulfed America, which were also felt to a lesser extent by European immigrant groups, especially initially upon their arrival. I really enjoyed this museum and I plan on visiting the Dumbo location soon as well, which is very surprising because I will not need it for a class requirement. P.S. Thank you for the wonderful semester!!!

Charles Lauer (Response 5 of 5)

I get the impression that museums are named after one of two things: their content or their location. The “New York Transit Museum” has exhibits on the MTA and the subway system, the “Museum of Modern Art” is filled with contemporary art pieces, and the “Museum of Sex” is filled with… well, I think you get the point. The “Newark Museum”,  on the other hand, is called the “Newark Museum” purely because it’s located in Newark.

Now if you’ve ever been to the “Brooklyn Museum”, you’re more than aware that the institution falls into the latter category: it’s not a museum dedicated to the borough of Brooklyn, it’s simply located there. This came as no surprise to me when I visited, as I had been to the museum numerous times before. But this time, walking through the museum in order to satisfy a requirement for an NYC-centric class, I came to a realization:

Almost none of the museum even talked about the city.

Continue reading “Searching for Brooklyn in the Brooklyn Museum”

Response 5 of 5

Sarah C. Bishop, “(Un)documented immigrant media makers and the search for connection online”

In her article “(Un)documented immigrant media makers and the search for connection online” Sara Bishop discusses how the internet and media have been an outlet through which undocumented immigrants can tell their stories. Bishop interviewed many undocumented immigrants about their experience, hardships and their decision of whether or not to “come out” as undocumented. They all share a common fear of repercussion which dissuaded them from sharing their immigration status. But, many undocumented immigrants have made the decision to tell their stories online through the use of websites like YouTube and various other social media.

Continue reading “Undocumented Immigrants”

John Semanduyev                   

5/5

Believe it or not, this was actually my first time ever visiting the Museum of Natural History. My family isn’t very cultured. I arrived with the intent to immediately seek out patterns that relate what I saw at the museum to culture and immigration. Although I still expected to spend a lot of time gasping at the site of big dinosaur bones and feeling belittled by the dark universe show, it was to my surprise that I enjoyed the more “Human” exhibits far more.

Continue reading “Museum of Natural History”

Charles Lauer (Response 4 out of 5)

The Man in the White Sharkskin Suit: A Jewish Family’s Exodus from Old Cairo to the New World Lucette Lagnado, 2007

If you were to go around the City interviewing people who, at one point or another, immigrated to this country, one of the more common types of stories you’d find is one motivated by financial reasons.

And that shouldn’t come as a surprise.

We’re used to hearing emigration stories about how people ran away from their country of origin due to a lack of resources there and the promise of opportunities here. We’re used to hearing stories about people chasing the “American Dream”, which was, arguably, our country’s greatest selling point at the time, and why foreign families would chase this “dream”, to many, is more than understandable.

It promised a life of financial security in a (relatively) financially secure country, while also pushing the belief that regardless of who you were and where you came from, as long as you were willing to put in the work, you could accomplish anything.

Continue reading “An Inversion of the American Dream”

Salma Ali

Post 5 of 5

5/8/18

“The Man in the White Sharkskin Suit”

 

This book discusses the lives of immigrants who came from Cairo, Egypt. It is the story of Lucette Lagnado and her family, specifically her father and the experience from going from Cairo to Alexandria to Paris to the United States. She discusses Cairo in a way where it is a magical place that was very difficult to leave. She reminisces on her street and the great views from her house where she watches all the people on her block interact and the things they carried and walk by with. I loved reading about this because although I was born in the U.S., I visit Egypt every year and I know exactly how to relate to these treasuries of moments. It is amazing how you can never be bored when sitting in the balcony and just watching people go about their day. It is such a beautiful country and everything about it amazes me. Even better, I love to hear the stories my father has to say about his experiences during his childhood and the people he grew up around and the neighborhood itself.

I can imagine why it was so hard to leave a place like that to find a better source of income for yourself. Lucette Lagnado is a reporter at Wall Street Journal and she discusses how the war forced her family to leave and to lose their home and privileges. She discusses the struggles that they went through when they first arrived to the United States and how they poor for so long when they arrived and the amount of work her father had to do to build up for his family.

This story relates to the People of New York City because it discusses another ethnic group of people who had to leave their country for exile reasons and find a new home in New York and start over. I can relate to this in the fact that my father also left home and came to find work in a foreign country and built a life here from scratch. After all, the famous term for Egypt is “Om el Donia”, which means “Mother of the World”.

 

Question

If Leon can return to Cairo, would he do it immediately or would it take a lot for him to do so?

 

Vijay Deopersaud

Post 2 of 5

The story of Lucette Lagnado’s immigration to the United States is detailed in, “Man in the Sharkskin Suit”. She begins the story, delving into the life of luxury that she once used to have when she resided in Cairo. Her father, Leon Lagnado was a wealthy businessman but unfortunately was not immune to the influence of the Suez Canal crisis. As a result, they were forced to shift around from place to place finally settling in the United States. It was not an easy transition however; they went from a life of grandeur to poverty. The luxuries of the past were just faint memories now. Leon went from making business deals to a humble street vendor. Be it as it may, this was not the most challenging aspect. Cairo was their home, and Leon especially missed it.

Continue reading “Man in the Sharkskin Suit”

Salvatore Fevola

Response 5/5

Lagnado, Lucette. The Man in the Sharkskin Suit: A Jewish Family’s Exodus from Old Cairo to the New World

Moving to new places is incredibly difficult- especially when the decision is forced.  While America may have the connotation of being the land of opportunity, for Leon Lagnado it was the inverse.   In the wake of the Suez Canal crisis, Leon and his family were pushed into Paris temporarily and subsequently New York. With this forced displacement came Leon’s desire to return to Egypt as he says “Ragaouna Masr: Take us back to Cairo.”

Leon had led a wonderful life in Egypt as he was affluent, and thus lived comfortably. However, not being able to take much money with him as his family left Egypt led to not only a complete local shift but a complete class shift. This would leave the Leon ““destitute, dependent on charity for himself and his family to survive.” In New York he was desperate enough that he sold ties out of a suitcase on the subway which still did not enable his family the ability to survive well. The solace that Leon found could not be in returning to his economic position as he had in Egypt, but it was trying to return to the culture he loved and missed so much.

Much like most immigrants in NY,  the Lagnados found solace in the ability to surround themselves with the culture that is familiar to them. Enclaves give a support structure to ethnic groups by allowing for an easier adjustment into the broader community by having access to a smaller community within it. For Leon he had found comfort in his religious community, enjoying the freedom of religion that America had to offer. Enclaves are a reoccurring theme in most of what we read as it allows for people to be comfortable with the major life change that comes with moving to a whole new place. Seeing people that look and act like you helps you settle down quicker.

Questions:

1. Is it valid to compare the situation that the Lagnados faced to the potential deportation of undocumented immigrants? (Having established lives and then being uprooted)
2. Should enclaves try to assimilate more with surrounding cultures, or should enclaves focus on remaining segregated into specific cultures?
3. Do you have your own enclave? If you do, do you find solace in that enclave? (The enclave doesn’t necessarily need to be ethnic.)
4. Are enclaves as prevalent around the world as they are in American Cities?