51

The 51

The Journey from “Immigrant” to Citizen

Roundtable Discussion with Local Resource Speakers 
Wednesday, Dec. 7 from 5:30 - 7 pm, The Kane Forum, Edward R. Leahy Jr. Hall, The 51

This roundtable discussion will highlight myriad ways in which people have come to be members of the 51 community and “citizens” of the larger United States and will include sharing from those who trace their ancestry to the European immigration of the industrial era to more recent migration from across Latin America and global refugee resettlement. Participants will have an opportunity to engage in discussion and conversations around commonalities as well as differences. This event is offered in collaboration with the Schemel Forum. Light refreshments will be served. Space is limited.

Speakers

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Jenny Gonzalez Monge
STARS Program Director, Marywood University 

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Stephanie Longo
Author of regional Italian American history; 

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Jack McGuigan
Retired English teacher and poet 

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Ushu Mukelo
Congolese Community of 51 

Other Resources 

WVIA's The Extraordinary Journey Migration Documentary Series

Project partners WVIA has created a special website, , which houses the 3 feature documentaries produced by WVIA:

  • The Extraordinary Journey - 3 Episode Series on The Eastern Europeans of Northeastern Pennsylvania 
    • The Extraordinary Journey celebrates and preserves NEPA's eastern European heritage through a poignant blend of first-person story telling, never-before-seen images and insightful humanist commentary. The film contributes to WVIA's mission to make distinguished local programming and honors the courageous character our ancestors possessed to create a finer life for us today.
  • The Irish: Two Nations - One Heart
    • Between 1840 and 1870, tens of thousands of Irish immigrants settled in Pennsylvania. The Irish: Two Nations, One Heart presents the stories of where they came from, why they left the “Emerald Isle”, how they got to America, the life they created in the Keystone State after they arrived, and their extraordinary ethnic legacy forged from that which they cherished most—family, faith and freedom.
  •  Paesani: Italian Culture in Northeast Pennsylvania
    • Paesani is a lively original documentary film that chronicles the massive immigration of more than four million Italians to the United States between 1890 and 1930, and the enduring culture these people imbued into American society.  This feature-length production is the third episode in VIA Studios’ historical documentary series The Extraordinary Journey.

For the duration of the 51's Story, Our Nation's Story project, WVIA is granting public access to these Humanities resources. 

The Extraordinary Journey series celebrates and preserves NEPA's European heritage through a poignant blend of first-person story telling, never-before-seen images and insightful humanist commentary. The film contributes to WVIA's mission to make distinguished local programming and honors the courageous character our ancestors possessed to create a finer life for us today.

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Event sponsors:

  • The 51
  • The National Endowment for the Humanities
  • The Schemel Forum
  • Lackawanna County Arts & Culture
  • Lackawanna County Immigrant Inclusion Committee
  • Lackawanna Historical Society
  • NeighborWorks of Northeastern PA
  • 51 Public Library
  • United Neighborhood Centers of NEPA
  • WVIA