President George Washington and most of the founders of the United States envisioned the new nation as a haven for those escaping religious persecution and other forms of oppression in their homelands. In that vision they laid the seeds for America becoming the leading nation of the world economically, militarily, scientifically and culturally.
Today as the US and the world struggles with immigration and immigration issues, it is important to remember the history and impact of our nation opening – and closing — its doors to refugees, asylum seekers and immigrants from the nation’s founding through today. Future blogs will deal with immigration laws that affected the story about the making of the American people.
In recalling that history, the National Museum of the American People is proud to have the support of a broad range of organizations that focus on refugees, immigrants and immigration reform. They include:
- United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Committee on Cultural Diversity in the Church
- Church World Service
- National Association of Evangelicals
- HIAS (Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society)
- Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service
- Friends Committee on National Legislation
- National Council of Churches
- Council for Christian Colleges and Universities
- Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc.
- National Immigration Forum
- American Immigration Lawyers Association
- American Immigration Council
- International Rescue Committee
- U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants
- New York Immigration Coalition
- Welcome.US
- America’s Voice
- Ethiopian Community Development Council, Inc.
- Center for the Integration & Advancement of New Americans
In telling the story about the making of the American People the National Museum of the American People will be a home for all of these organizations and a beacon for the nation.
This blog is about the proposed National Museum of the American People which is about the making of the American People. The blog will be reporting regularly on a host of NMAP topics, American ethnic group histories, related museums, scholarship centered on the museum’s focus, relevant census and other demographic data, and pertinent political issues. The museum is a work in progress and we welcome thoughtful suggestions.
Sam Eskenazi, Director, Coalition for the National Museum of the American People