Prepping for my team’s Day of Discovery with guess what…some reading.

I’m very excited to find out my cohort will be heading to Ellis Island at the end of the week. As any good researcher and ethnic studies student would, I bought a book to prepare for the visit. It’s called Whiteness of a Different Color: European Immigrants and the Alchemy of Race. I am always conscious of the different experiences of the myriad of people that have contributed to this nation. However, I am also prepared to fight for the voices that have unjustly been recognized by history. I understand the harsh battles European immigrants faced upon arrival to this country. I don’t want to take those experiences away from them. Nonetheless, let us also be reminded that European immigrants, despite the many prejudices they faced, were able to be subsumed into the white folds of American society. Other immigrants groups have not been so fortunate. This is just a reminder to keep a whole perspective of the world and that it’s possible to be empathetic and critical at the same time. 

- Zoe Haakenstad | 4.28.2019