America’s new arrivals have always been one of our nation’s greatest sources of strength and, at times, challenge. When newcomers arrive to a community, they bring great assets, but their presence can also cause tension within the receiving communities, particularly those who do not have the institutional support to facilitate integration.
Though widely experienced, the challenges of integration are largely ignored and too little attention is given to how local communities can help facilitate, or impede, the process of integration of new arrivals.
Please join us for a fascinating two-part event that breaks new ground in a phenomenon as old as our nation—how communities sometimes cower, but more often conquer fears and grow stronger by embracing differences. First, an abridged screening of a soon-to-be-aired PBS documentary entitled “Not In Our Town: Light in the Darkness” that gives a clear-eyed view how the town of Patchogue, New York, reacted and rebounded after an immigrant was killed in a hate crime attack by local teenagers.
Following the screening, experts from across the nation will discuss the importance of focusing on what receiving communities can do to help integrate new arrivals, and what others can learn from communities that have taken the lead in creating a dynamic process of integration. The discussion will draw heavily from a two-day gathering of experts on integration and a soon-to-be-released CAP report.
Featured panelists:
Laurent Gilbert, Mayor, City of Lewiston, Maine
Patrice O’Neill, Co-Founder and CEO, The Working Group
Michael Byun, Executive Director, Asian Services In Action, Inc.
David Lubell, Executive Director, Welcoming America
Moderator:
Vanessa Cárdenas, Director of Progress 2050, Center for American Progress