As the news cycle continues to bring stories about how the U.S. government defines and controls, immigration, discussion includes who should be allowed to become a citizen.  But what does it mean to be a citizen, and how do we test it? 

Dr. Faye Allard-Glass will lead an interactive workshop that has participants comparing their experiences with citizenship requirements here and in other countries. Can you pass a U.S. naturalization test?  Does it measure the qualities and knowledge you think citizens need?  Add your voice to the discussion.

Come early at 6:00 p.m. to see a document display of items from HSP’’s collection related to citizenship education and naturalizations.  Refreshments will be served at the program’s conclusion.

A teacher workshop will be offered 5:30-8:30 the same evening that will enrich the program with suggestions for how to teach this subject in class. 

Moderator bio:

Dr. Faye Allard-Glass is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the Community College of Philadelphia. Her primary areas of research and expertise are U.S. race relations and education

About Becoming U.S.

Becoming U.S. is a series of programs launched by HSP in fall 2016 to encourage sharing across ethnicity, race, and citizenship status. We want to hear and learn from each other about the human endeavor of transition and settlement. Through civic dialogue, we wish to personalize stories often presented in the media in only the broadest of strokes, to foster a mutual respect and renewed appreciation for the histories of all Philadelphians. 

Starting with Dutch, Swedish, and English settlers in the 1600s, the Greater Philadelphia Area has been inhabited by wave after wave of immigrants. Many are drawn to the area for personal or familial reasons, while others are fleeing their homes out of political or economic necessity. They arrive documented, under-documented, or undocumented. Regardless of classification, immigrants' contributions are integral to Philadelphia's culture and history. 

Philadelphia has always boasted a diverse population, and continues to do so. According to the Brookings Institution, “Among its peer regions, metropolitan Philadelphia has the largest and fastest growing immigrant population, which now stands at over 500,000, comprising 9 percent of the total population.”

Behind these sterile statistics lay vivid, individual experiences detailing the human endeavor of transition and settlement: struggles with assimilation, trials in maintaining cultural identity, and perhaps – finally – success in calling Philadelphia “home.”