Growing up in Boston, I often heard people claiming that their ancestors arrived on the Mayflower. There was this \u201cblue-blood proper Bostonian\u201d culture that permeated everything. But even as someone who was born at Kenmore Hospital in Kenmore Square, a stone\u2019s throw from the Red Sox\u2019 Fenway Park, I was repeatedly asked, \u201cWhere are you from?\u201d Honestly, I am tired answering that question.<\/p>\n
My answer of Boston, was not sufficient. When I was asked again, \u201cWhere are you really from?\u201d I had to answer that my parents came from China. Only then was my inquisitor satisfied. Only someone who\u2019s white with blue veins showing could claim to be a proper Bostonian.<\/p>\n
I went to Boston public schools and spoke like a Kennedy but I was not a proper Bostonian. I\u2019m a faithful Red Sox and the Patriots fan during the years when they never won championships but that didn\u2019t make me a proper Bostonian. I ate Joe & Nemo hot dogs, Boston cream pie, and baked beans that my insides were Boston but my outside did not make me a proper Bostonian.<\/p>\n
In 1882, President Chester A. Arthur signed the Chinese Exclusion Act prohibiting all immigration of Chinese laborers. Building on the earlier Page Act of 1875 which banned Chinese women from immigrating to the US, the Chinese Exclusion Act was the first, and remains the only law to have been implemented, to prevent all members of a specific ethnic or national group from immigrating to the US. The belief was that Chinese could never become proper Bostonians.<\/p>\n
Recently, there was an attempt to form an America First Caucus meaning \u201cwhite people first.\u201d The goal was to strengthen Anglo-Saxon political traditions when threatened by foreigners\/immigrants and people of color American citizens gaining political power. But in stark contrast to this, President George W. Bush just published a new book, \u201cOut of Many, One\u201d that celebrates the contributions immigrants and refugees make in creating a stronger republic.<\/p>\n
I have never met someone who happens to be white and ask him\/her, \u201cWhere are you from?\u201d I assume that the person is an American. The beauty of the American experiment is that all who love liberty are welcome to be here. Those who are born on US soil are given citizenship whether we exercise those rights and responsibilities or not. Those who have come from afar and who may be presently undocumented or foreigners when given an opportunity will become American citizens and will add in the making of a great nation.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s try an experiment. All who read this post, I invite you to reply with just a few words in identifying your place of origin. For many of us, our ancestors have come from another place. Name the place or places. And if you are a Native American Indian, I invite you to name the section of the continent where your ancestors have come from.<\/p>\n
It is only when we acknowledge that no blue-blood proper Bostonian has any more privilege and entitlement than others that we begin to celebrate the strength of America. I pray that when we recognize that we are all here journeying on this blue celestial ball if only for a moment in history that we can honor and respect each other, appreciate and learn from each other, and believe \u201ce pluribus unum\u201d that out of many, we are indeed one people.<\/p>\n
Where are you from? I\u2019m a Bostonian and my parents came from China.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Growing up in Boston, I often heard people claiming that their ancestors arrived on the Mayflower. There was this \u201cblue-blood proper Bostonian\u201d culture that permeated everything. But even as someone