Globalizing Philadelphia: Becoming an Immigrant Metropolis

Posted by on January 13, 2006

YOU ARE INVITED TO PARTICIPATE:

Urban Studies Program, University of Pennsylvania
5th annual Public Conversation Series

Globalizing Philadelphia: Becoming an Immigrant Metropolis

Greater Philadelphia has become a significant center of immigration. Africans, Latin Americans, Eastern Europeans, and South and Southeast Asians are changing the face of countless urban, suburban, and rural sections of the Delaware Valley. This series of public conversations explores the challenges, opportunities, and experiences of immigrants, civic institutions, and communities throughout the city and region.

For most of the past century, Philadelphia attracted relatively few immigrants. In 1904, Lincoln Steffens labeled it ?the most American of our greater cities,? with a lower proportion of foreign- born residents than any other large city in the United States. As the region?s industrial economy crashed in the second half of the twentieth century, the city offered little as an immigrant destination. Immigrants to the U.S. chose to settle elsewhere, in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Miami, where available jobs and pre-existing migrant communities made settlement more attractive.

But as the twentieth century came to a close, the service economy created new jobs for immigrants, from restaurants and landscaping to computer programming. Foreign-born workers account for all the recent job growth in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Policy makers in Philadelphia point to immigration as a way to re-grow a city that has lost one third of its population in the last fifty years. Local organizations are working to facilitate settlement, employment and entrepreneurship, and community building.

What does immigration mean for urban policy, planning, and civil society? How does the arrival of new Philadelphians affect ongoing efforts to alleviate poverty and stimulate neighborhood development? What does it mean for our schools and public services? What are the implications for race relations in a minority-majority city? This series explores these and other issues.

Speakers include immigrants sharing their experiences; representatives from service organizations, government agencies, and community activists working with immigrants; and scholars studying immigration and its effects on the city and region.

All events are free and open to the public. All events except the bus tour are hosted by undergraduate and graduate classes, integrating the civic and educational missions of the Urban Studies Program. Questions and directions ? call: 215-898-7799.

SCHEDULE
How Philadelphia Became an Immigrant City? And What it Means
Tuesday, January 24, 4:00-5:30pm
Bodek Lounge, Houston Hall, 3417 Spruce Street

* Roger D. Simon, Professor of History, Lehigh University
* Judith Bernstein-Baker, Executive Director, Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society of Philadelphia
* John Kidane, Deputy Executive Director, African Cultural Alliance of North America
* Gautam Ghosh, Professor of Anthropology and South Asian Studies, University of Pennsylvania
* Moderator: Michael Katz, Professor of History, University of Pennsylvania

This event is hosted by four classes: Immigration & African Americans in Twentieth-Century America, taught by Michael Katz (Urban Studies 220/History 214); Migration and Citizenship in a Global Society, taught by Kathleen Hall (Education 545); Globalizing Philadelphia: The Immigrant City, taught by Domenic Vitiello (Urban Studies/Sociology 270); and Migration and Multicultural Membership, taught by Gautam Ghosh (Anthropology 191).

Race and Ethnic Relations in Philadelphia and its Schools
Monday, February 6, 3-5pm
St. Francis de Sales School, 917 South 47th Street
This event will include a tour of St. Francis de Sales School

* Host: Sister Constance Marie Touey, Principal, St. Francis de Sales Church
* Doua Xiong, Philadelphia Health Department
* Judith Goode, Professor of Anthropology, Temple University
* Moderator: Elaine Simon, Co-Director, Urban Studies Program, University of Pennsylvania

This event is hosted by the Urban Education class taught by Cheryl Jones-Walker (Urban Studies/Education 202).

Immigration Law, Deportation, and Civil Liberties in Post-9/11 Philadelphia
Tuesday, February 14, 3-5pm
Silverman Hall, Room 240 A, Penn Law School, 3400 Chestnut Street

* Marwan Kreidie, Executive Director, Arab American Development Corporation and Adjunct Professor of Political Science, Villanova University
* Ronald Daniels, Provost, University of Pennsylvania, and author of The Security of Freedom
* Moderator: Wendell Pritchett, Professor of Law, University of Pennsylvania

This event is hosted by three classes: Migration and Citizenship in a Global Society, taught by Kathleen Hall (Education 545); Migration and Multicultural Membership, taught by Gautam Ghosh (Anthropology 191); and Globalizing Philadelphia: The Immigrant City, taught by Domenic Vitiello (Urban Studies/Sociology 270).

Immigrant Labor and Political Mobilization in the Delaware Valley
Tuesday, February 28, 3-5pm
Terrace Room, ground floor of Logan Hall, 249 South 36th Street

* Nelson Carrasquillo, Executive Director, Farm Worker Support Committee
* Peter Bloom, Executive Director, Juntos
* Youth organizers and representatives from the Community Youth Organizing Campaign
* Moderator: Kathleen Hall, Professor of Education, University of Pennsylvania

This event is hosted by three classes: Migration and Citizenship in a Global Society, taught by Kathleen Hall (Education 545); Migration and Multicultural Membership, taught by Gautam Ghosh (Anthropology 191); and Globalizing Philadelphia: The Immigrant City, taught by Domenic Vitiello (Urban Studies/Sociology 270).

BUS TOUR:
Community Development in Immigrant Philadelphia
Monday, March 27, 2-5pm
Led by Domenic Vitiello, Urban Studies Program, University of Pennsylvania
Tour of Chinatown, Eastern North Philadelphia, and Kensington.
Stops to visit with:

* Marwan Kreidie, Executive Director, Arab American Development Corporation
* Iris Brown, Grupo Motivos, Norris Square Neighborhood Project

***Limited seats are available. To reserve a seat on the bus, call: 215-898-6948

Public Policy and Services for Immigrants: Exploring Challenges, Envisioning Opportunities
Tuesday, April 11, 3-5pm
Room TBA

* Anne O?Callaghan, Executive Director, Welcoming Center for New Pennsylvanians
* Robert Seiger, Co-Chair, Committee on the Practice of Law for New Americans, Philadelphia Bar Association
* Judi Cassel, Special Assistant to the Managing Director, City of Philadelphia
* Alisa Ordu?a-Sneed, Director of Special Projects, Office of Philadelphia City Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell
* Moderators: Mark Stern and Domenic Vitiello, Urban Studies Program, University of Pennsylvania

This event is hosted by three classes: Migration and Citizenship in a Global Society, taught by Kathleen Hall (Education 545); Migration and Multicultural Membership, taught by Gautam Ghosh (Anthropology 191); and Globalizing Philadelphia: The Immigrant City, taught by Domenic Vitiello (Urban Studies/Sociology 270).