Transcript Greensboro - The Center for New North Carolinians
GREENSBORO: Gateway to the World
Presenter:
Raleigh Bailey, Ph.D., UNCG Department of Social Work
Moderator:
Gale Greenlee, Glenwood Public Library
Panelists:
Jake Henry, Guilford County Newcomers School Kathy Hinshaw, Center for New North Carolinians (Peru) Omer Omer, NC African Services Coalition (Sudan) H’Tuyet Rahlan, Center for New North Carolinians (Vietnam-Montagnard)
Gateway to the world
• Greensboro is recognized as a Gateway for newcomers • Newcomers across US right now, but Greensboro has unique qualities • There are 120 first languages in the public schools, • An abundance of new churches, temples, mosques generated by newcomers • Let’s take a quick glance through history to what has brought us here
1708: 100 years before Greensboro The American Indians
• No known Indian villages in Greensboro/Guilford area • 1701, John Lawson, explorer, said village evidence in Mayodan area • He visited Keyawee village in Uwharries • Triad was well established passageway for the first immigrants • Native Americans traversing between northern and southern nations • Prehistory 10,000 year evidence of many native cultures and civilizations
• Woodland era, Mississippian migration • When Europeans arrived, NC area had an estimated 100,000 American Indians, and100 tribes • Most were killed or forced away • No Europeans or Africans had come into the Greensboro area yet
• First European visitors were probably Spaniards, missionaries trying to establish a mission in the Cape Fear River area in the early 1500’s • First European language spoken in what is now NC Spanish • First English settlers came to Roanoke Island in 1587
1758: 50 years before Greensboro Early colonial era
• German Lutherans came in 1740s – eastern Guilford County • They came as secondary migrants from Western Pennsylvania • Friedens Lutheran Church established near Gibsonville, 1744 • Maintained German language through church schools for about a century
• English speaking Quakers settling in western Guilford County, 1750’s • New Garden Friends Meeting,1764, reported buying its land from Cheraw Indians • (Indians probably did not have the European concept of land ownership) • Scotch Irish Presbyterians settled in mid Guilford, 1750’s
• West African forced migrants, slaves, brought to area for farm labor, 1750s • Much smaller numbers of Africans than coastal plantations • Slaves combined traditional cultures with colonial life
1808: Greensboro incorporated as a city
• Greensboro was not a major gateway for newcomers • Population was growing mostly within existing ethnic groups • secondary migrants seeking land came from other parts of US • African heritage community included slaves and free • Some migration west by Quakers opposed to slavery
1858: Greensboro 50 years old
• Newcomers included Irish immigrants, fleeing potato famine • A Roman Catholic presence alongside array of Protestants • Greensboro, like other parts of the country, torn by slavery issue • Active underground railway and resistance toward secession • Railroad opened in 1856, connecting Goldsboro and Charlotte • Greensboro, as central point, became known as a transportation center • Industrialization becomes major factor in local economy
1908: Greensboro 100 years old
• 1882 Chinese Exclusion act, restricted immigration to Europeans • Greater national percentage of immigrants than now • Greensboro, and most of the nation, still were not initial gateways for immigrants • Ellis Island as gateway to industrial north
• Immigrant waves stoked nation’s economy, but not in the south.
• Industrial revolution began transforming Greensboro • Cones, Benjamins, Sternbergers, brought textile mills • Judaism brought new tolerance and acceptance of diversity • Greensboro higher education opportunities were growing
1958: Greensboro 150 years old
• Aftermath of World War II led to United Nations refugee programs • Independence movements broke colonial ties in Africa, Asia, Latin America.
• NC farms shifting to migrant labor, primarily Latino and Caribbean • Latinos in Guilford County were farm workers, out of sight • Greensboro, as well as other communities, struggling with desegregation
1968: Greensboro 160 years old
• Impact of 1964 Civil Rights Act • Impact of 1965 Immigration Act • Sit In movement brings newer visibility to Greensboro • West African nations sending students to NC A&T State University • Ghanaian, Nigerian, Liberian, Sierra Leonian communities established • Urban job migration brings thousands of Lumbees, other Indians to Triad • Latinos in Guilford County as farm workers, still out of sight
1978: Greensboro 170 years old
• Vietnam War ends, influx of Southeast Asian refugees coming to US • Greensboro faith based communities sponsor refugee families • Greensboro still works on desegregation issues
1988- Greensboro 180 years old
• Refugee Resettlement Act of 1980 sets up refugee resettlement systems • Greensboro refugee resettlement network becomes professionalized • Faith communities partner with business, human services, schools • Greensboro targets SE Asian refugees • Vietnamese, Cambodian, Laotian, Montagnard communities established • 1986 Immigration Reform & Control Act: path for farmworker citizenship • Other new immigrant communities emerging-Korean, Indian, Pakistani-
1998- Greensboro 190 years old
• Farmworkers move into construction, factory work, and bring families • 2000 Census recognizes NC as fastest growing Hispanic immigration state • Additional refugee resettlement agencies establish Greensboro as base • Refugee resettlement expands to Africans: Somalis, Rwandans, Sudanese • Smaller European refugee populations include Bosnians, Russian Jews • 1996 Immigration Reform and Control Act restricts immigrant entries • 1996 Personal Responsibility/Work Opportunity Act restricts services
• Ethnic enclave communities become magnet for other newcomers • Selected African and Latino enclaves grow in Greensboro • Other groups grow in other parts of state- Triangle, Asheville, Charlotte • Hmong in Hickory area make NC the 4th largest Hmong state • Ethnic and faith communities form informal support systems • Immigrants are recognized as key to Greensboro and US economic booms • Human service systems are unprepared for cultural and linguistic issues
2008: Greensboro 200 Year Bicentennial Celebration
• Over 60,000 people live in immigrant families in Greensboro • City is rich in new faith communities-Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu • Mainstream churches and new faith communities host newcomers • New ethnic businesses, stores, restaurants are abundant • Greensboro has largest Montagnard community in world outside Vietnam
• UNCG has become school of choice for Hmong second generation • A&T remains a magnet for people from developing countries • GTCC ESOL programs are overenrolled • Over 120 first languages are represented in Guilford County Schools • Guilford County Schools creates a Newcomer School for new arrivals
• Aftermath of 9-11 includes increased xenophobia • Economic downturn and political scapegoating targets immigrants • New restrictions threaten immigrant families and economic development • Historic desegregation and civil rights issues have new shades of color • Second generation of newcomers bring new challenges and opportunities • They want better jobs, better education
• They will discard some cultural traditions and preserve others • Second generation is here to stay, and likes calling Greensboro “home” • The diversity of immigrant communities is unique to Greensboro • Greensboro’s historic struggle with human rights is also unique • As we work to resolve our disparities, embrace tolerance for differences, • We will emerge as a unique city in our diversity and cultural richness