In the early 1900s, my great grandpa smuggled himself in a boat, hiding from the authorities, coming to America, not knowing what his future held, in a foreign land thousands of miles from his family. My great grandpa, Huey Leong, was born in Canton, China, a period of many cultural uprisings. Huey felt that his life was unfulfilled, and was ... Read More »
One day, a strange woman showed up at the door, saying that Sarah was alive, but she and her family were starving in Kiev. My Great grandfather lost it all when the Communists took over. Joseph was born around 1899 in a village outside the city of Kiev in Russia. He had four brothers and sisters. His parents were upper-middle ... Read More »
I was born in 1943 in Louisiana. I lived in a small yet prosperous neighborhood of mostly black families, one or two Mexican families. No white people. Similarly to all the scary stories that were told to the white people about us blacks, we heard many stories about the white people that made us on edge. One chant they used ... Read More »
But this is all that I wanted, a life that I can survive through and be happy. I only paid a nickel to cross the U.S./Mexico border, which is not a lot today, but it was a lot for me back then. I was very young and vulnerable. This was the year of 1902. All I wanted was a better ... Read More »
Editor’s note: Slavery is an integral part of the American story and those who were forced to come to the US in chains, are no less immigrants than any other group. Not only was their freedom taken, but in many cases, their personal family history was lost. On this web site of immigration stories, we pick up their descendants’ story ... Read More »
Editor’s note: Slavery is an integral part of the American story and those who were forced to come to the US in chains, are no less immigrants than any other group. Not only was their freedom taken, but in many cases, their personal family history was lost. On this web site of immigration stories, we pick up their descendants’ story ... Read More »
Gazing out to where the sun kisses the ocean, I slowly stepped into the shallow water, wanting its comfort one last time. I could see little fish swimming around my toes, schools of bright colors, many different shapes and sizes. The cool breeze gently tussled my hair. It felt nice. The familiar feeling of home. My name is Leali’ie’eiao Nofoaluma ... Read More »
He eventually became a very successful attorney and even argued a case against GM in the Supreme Court for workers’ rights. Many years ago, a young boy named Jacob lived in a small Russian town with his family. He lived happily without a care in the world until one day his father left to escape from being drafted into the ... Read More »
My grandfather’s life started in jeopardy due to his premature birth and small size, which forced him to spend his first two weeks without his family in an incubator. My grandfather, Al Bien, was born in Beijing, China in 1934 where his home was in a “hutong” or alley. Following the beginning of the second Sino-Japanese war, his family moved ... Read More »
Amrutha was born in a small village in Karnataka state in South India. She was the fifth of seven siblings. While growing up she always admired the local doctor, and long story short, became a physician, the first in her family to attend college. She married, and had a son named Ravi Chandra. Amrutha and Ravi immigrated to the US, ... Read More »