Authored by Alma Sakic
Inventor Antonio Meucci’s Letter to Prime Minister Ricasoli
The Academic Service Learning (AS-L) object of which this narrative is an exposition was first selected at the Center for Migration Studies (CMS) of New York. CMS is an educational institute devoted specifically to the study of the immigrant experience and the phenomenon of international migration.
Authored by Chris Lund
Cover Page of INS Presentation on The Nonimmigrant Information System
One of the most effective weapons for providing a voice to the underrepresented is accurate information, and a general prerequisite to providing accurate information is the ability to obtain and manage accurate data. This latter goal of accurate data management constitutes the primary purpose of the Nonimmigrant Information System (“NIIS”). The attached presentation (the “NIIS Presentation”), taken from the Arthur P. Endres Collection at the Center For Migration Studies in New York City, appears to have been created some time around 1986 and presents a 15-page plan for improving on existing NIIS methods for collecting and managing data on nonimmigrants (i.e., foreign born individuals within the United States who are neither citizens nor permanent residents of the United States). Continue reading
Authored by Liza Young
Letter written by Alex Pisciotta to his mother while deployed in France and working on a farm during World War I.
Alex Pisciotta was a US attorney, Judge Advocate, Assistant Chief Attorney, and Mayor of Lake Grove, Long Island, just mention a few of his career highlights. His vocation of serving country and government began at the age of twenty when he enlisted in the US Army during World War I. Pisciotta was one of more than two million men trained by General John J. Pershing and deployed overseas for President Wilson’s American Expeditionary Force (AEF). In 1918 the AEF joined France and England in the battle to expel the Germans from French territory. Three-quarters of these men faced the horrors of battle, resulting in 320,710 total casualties, yet Pisciotta’s documentation of his deployment is without reference to adversity. Pisciotta’s regiment was one of the lucky few that was never sent into battle. His letters home, such as this one written to his mother on August 26th, 1918, are filled with accounts that must have soothed the nerves of his family. On stationary provided by the supportive YMCA, Pisciotta describes a rather peaceful experience serving in the farm detail, sightseeing, and playing ball with the boys from a nearby artillery. Continue reading
Authored by Toni Liberty
Vito Marcantonio arrives in Puerto Rico
Vito Marcantonio, New York Congressional Representative of the 18th Congressional District, from East Harlem was an advocate for Puerto Rican civil rights, social justice, and independence. This photograph is part of a larger collection of speeches, documents and photographs collected and donated to the Center for Migration Studies of New York after being published in a book, I Vote My Conscience, dedicated to remembering the Congressman’s selfless acts in the political arena until his untimely and sudden death in 1954.1 Pictured left, in the dark suit holding a hat, Marcantonio stood before Congress in May 1939 to say, Continue reading
Authored by Giovanna Fiorino-Iannace
Alexander Pisciotta Photo Album Page
The American Expeditionary Forces in France were deployed to help the French during World War I in 1918. The severity of the situation during this period is difficult to imagine when viewing some of the personal photographs taken by Alex Pisciotta during his time with the American Expeditionary Forces from 1917 to 1919. In an article published in January 1919, Gregory Mason, the Staff Correspondent of the Outlook with the American Expeditionary Force, wrote about “How America Finished” and commented on the experience of the military men during World War I. Continue reading
Authored by Tess Morrison-Colwell
Vito Marcantonio speaks at the dedication of Benjamin Franklin High School in New York City on April 16, 1942. Photo by Michael’s Studio.
The untitled photograph of New York politician Vito Marcantonio is part of a larger Vito Marcantonio Collection through the Center of Migration Studies in an effort to preserve the photographs and written works from Marcantonio’s life and political career. The series contains 77 photographs spanning from his birth until 1956. The image was originally published in the book I vote my Conscience, a collection of Marcantonio’s speeches and writings funded by the Vito Marcantonio Memorial Fund. The photographs from this collection were also featured in an exhibit on January 7, 1956 at the Hotel Vanderbilt in New York City to launch the publication of the book. Continue reading
Authored by Ellen Elsen
Page 1 of a letter from Alexander Pisciotta to his father, dated August 12, 1918.
Black and white photograph of fort, by Alexander Pisciotta
This letter is part of the Alex Pisciotta Papers, 1918-1981 at the Center for Migration Studies in New York. Alex Pisciotta served in World War I, World War II, and the Korean War, and worked as a lawyer and local politician, incorporating the town of Lake Grove, Long Island and serving as its first mayor. Continue reading
Authored by Karen Beverly
http://cbenedic4.wix.com/italianephemera
Website created by Cassandra Benedict and Liza Young
A flyer of a performance by Camillo Baucia obtained from the Center for Migration Studies.
This website showcases the journey of an Italian-American immigrant in New York City during the late 19th and early 20th centuries and his quest for the pursuit of happiness in his newfound home. Though there were numerous ways that many immigrants found joy and contentment, this particular collection focuses on the happiness found in the outlet of music. Continue reading
Authored by Danielle Manri
Amnesty International Correspondence
This document, which has never before been seen by the public eye, showcases the development and revision of the Refugee Act of 1980. Most importantly, it provides a context for analyzing the inequities in previous refugee legislation that created the need for a more humanitarian law. This widespread injustice among the admittance of refugees stemmed from the somewhat discriminatory definition of the term “refugee.” In the end, this narrow definition imposed undue suffering on the hundreds of thousands of refugees who sought protection in the United States during the 1970s.[1] On top of dealing with painful memories of a lost home, many of these refugees were not even sure if they would be able to stay in the Land of the Free.[2]