Running head: IMMIGRANT CHALLENGES 1 REFLECTION: IMMIGRANT CHALLENGES Assignment Description: Browse the internet to find videos that meet the following requirements and specific details. Then choose one video that you want to share with the class and present and discuss. Use the information in the video to focus on your family and compare your own family as a way of understanding your cultural background and the diversity which may exist within your family. Include in your paper the following information: When and why did they come to the United States? What are their backgrounds, in terms of race, ethnicity, nationality, and religion? What obstacles did family members or ancestors face as immigrants and how did they deal with them? Please include what you think were the causes of any negative treatment they received. What are some of the things that we take for granted that was new for the individuals in the film and article? What do you feel was the hardest obstacle to overcome besides the language barrier? Lauren Huff ECD 310: Human Diversity and Relations
IMMIGRANT CHALLENGES 1 Reflection: Immigrant Challenges Lauren Huff Fresno Pacific University
IMMIGRANT CHALLENGES 2 Reflection: Immigrant Challenges I am fortunate to be born into a family of historians. In particular, my maternal grandfather is one of the best walking history books, chock full of information about both sides of his family, his Sicilian heritage, and the history of our family both on our time in California and prior to our immigration from Sicily. Recently, when doing a paper about my family s legacy in the Central California, I sat down with my grandfather (known to me as Papa ) to have a conversation about our time in California. Although I have had a very privileged upbringing, I have tried to not take it for granted, especially when I meet others whose families are more recent immigrants to the country. I know that, because of the hard work of my ancestors, I am able to live the luxuries of the American dream. In 1914, my great-great-grandparents, Filipo (Philip) and Vincenza (Virginia) moved to San Jose, California from Travia, Sicily a fishing village while pregnant with my greatgrandfather. While many immigrants were coming through Ellis Island and Angel Island during that time, Philip had established employment with the Pacific Union Railroad Line prior to their immigration, which allowed him to report directly to work in San Jose (LoBue, 2016). With them, they brought their three older children, all whom attended Catholic School in the San Jose area, and thus perpetuating our faith as Roman Catholics in America; many of my family members are still practicing Catholics that also have enrolled their children in Catholic Schools. Although my great-great-grandfather Philip worked for the Railroad, he looked for other means to support his growing family, and he and Virginia bought property where they grew cherries and prickly pears, which his family grew in Sicily. Determined and innovative, rather than selling the fruit for someone else to sell at the markets of San Francisco, Philip would ride his bike and cart to the market every week to sell his fruit. As he grew older, and the work grew harder, his three
IMMIGRANT CHALLENGES 3 sons convinced him to buy property in Central California, and plant oranges a fast growing market in the area, as many of the orange groves in Southern California were being pushed out at that time to make way for the growing population (LoBue, 2016). With the help of the sons, the LoBues were able to make a profit on their fruit, but were unfortunately defrauded two separate times when having someone else pack and sell their fruit. Rather than let it get them down, the three brothers built their own packing house on one of the properties, and began packing and selling their own fruit. Eventually, other farmers began having them pack their fruit as well, and a legacy was born; Eighty-two years later, LoBue Brother s Packing House (now known as LoBue Citrus) is still in business packing fruit in the small Central California city of Lindsay (LoBue Citrus, Inc., 2010; Hurt & Mancini, 2009; Warring, 2012). Something I respect most about my great-great-grandfather and his sons is their resilience. Although many may have given up and found jobs in factories or other similar establishments at the time, failure was not an option. They were always unafraid to pack up and move to follow prosperous trends and were not afraid of hard work whether it be peddling a bike full of fruit or building a packing house with their bare hands. I do not think that they expected their legacies to become so large, but unfortunately, I think that subsequent generations have taken advantage of the wealth they were born into without having to have worked as hard for it. Although some in our family may be grateful, not all are, and it shows in their attitudes to other people and their obsession with wealth. While their parents and grandparents worked long, grueling hours to provide, their children despite being doctors and successful business men appear to have a distorted view of the world. Immigrants raising Italian children in an American world particularly post-world War II had challenges adapting to American culture, which was more about taking care of one s self rather than one s family (Norelli, 2013). With this in
IMMIGRANT CHALLENGES 4 mind, I hope to raise my children differently, as I believe a lot of America s current problems have to do with issues of greed and self-servitude regardless of socioeconomic status at times. And, as we move forward, looking back to our roots may be the key to understanding the new immigrants coming to America and the challenges they may be facing.
IMMIGRANT CHALLENGES 5 References Hurt, L. & Mancini, G. (2009). LoBue Brothers: Celebrating 75 years of tradition [Powerpoint]. Retrieved from https://www.lobuecitrus.com/history.php LoBue Citrus, Inc. (2010). History. LoBue Citrus: A legacy of excellence. Retrieved from https://www.lobuecitrus.com/history.php LoBue, Jr., F. P. (2016, Nov 6). Personal interview with L. Huff. Norelli, G. (2013 Sept 26). Finding the mother lode: Italian Immigrants in California Trailer. Vimeo. Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/75524462 Warring, Anne. (2012). Living the American dream. Citrograph, 3, 10-15. Retrieved from http://citrusresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/nocdecissue_final.pdf