I’m sitting here trying to remember the first time I thought of someone I knew as an immigrant and I can’t. Maybe it was my great-aunt Una, who came to New York from Panama just after WWII, from what I’ve been told. Maybe my godmother, a French Canadian who eventually repatriated and sent me birthday cards in her first language to keep me sharp. Maybe it was my mother’s friend Ms Rice, who was from England and Jamaica and had a voice that sounded like a cold, sweet drink.
Maybe it was my school friend Kyetchuwan, who had come from Cambodia and was remarkably patient when the whole neighborhood mispronounced his name. Maybe it was my close friend B, who I bonded with over ambitions, dreams, and my dumb questions about the Philippines while working graveyard shifts many years ago. (Now, he’s a doctor and I…read things. He wins.)
What stands out to me is not how many of the people I know are immigrants, or where they’re really from, or how deserving they are or aren’t of the title American. It’s the uniqueness of their stories and lives. That’s what’s collected in this beautiful coffee table book. People from every inhabited continent and walk of life who have migrated to each of the 50 US states share brief stories and touching photos about what it’s like to be an American who comes from somewhere else. They’re artists, scientists, laborers, parents, politicians. They’re African, Asian, Arab, Latine, European. They’re queer, straight, trans, cis. They have children, or parents, or siblings, or American families of choice.
There’s no one immigrant story. People come for love, money, knowledge, freedom, fun. The snapshots curated here run the gamut and give us an idea of how dynamic and vital immigrants(and their lives and experiences) are to American identity and social progress.
When the Canadian documentary photographer Colin Boyd Shafer reached out and offered me a copy of his book nearly 2 years ago, I didn’t know how important it would become, or how precious these collected stories would feel in the present madness. Usually, this is where I’d break everything on the subject down neatly with a twist, offer an exhortation, and maybe sprinkle a little humor over it all.
But I’ve been expecting LA since February, and for once words fail me. Instead I’ll simply say:
Abolish ICE.
Protect immigrants.
No human is illegal on stolen land.
Due process and dignity to Finding American.
(Deepest thanks to Colin and his publisher, Figure 1, for the complimentary copy of this book. Fellow readers, be safe and careful if you’re out protesting or demonstrating this weekend, or any weekend. Also, go hug an immigrant! If you are an immigrant, go demand hugs from someone. Feel free to tell them I told you to do it. Also, if you want to support this site and read more about immigrant lives and experiences, check out the booklists at the Equal Opportunity Reader Bookshop. We earn a commission if you purchase anything there. Now, go and read something good! Peace!)
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