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STORY: “The Browning of Minnesota”
For more than 100 years, Neighborhood House has given people on St. Paul’s West side “that little boost” that people sometimes need. Gilbert de La’O`, a Neighborhood House youth-turned-employee, tells his story of growing up in St. Paul in the generation that propelled the Chicano Power movement. Since its founding in 1906 by the Twin Cities’ Jewish community, the House has served vastly changing immigrant populations in Minnesota. Yet even now, Gilbert sees similarities between himself and the immigrant families now arriving from Southeast Asia and East Africa. Shared cultural values allow for empathy and understanding between people whose languages are different. Of particular interest to Gilbert is education. As he points out, “it behooves us to make sure everyone gets educated now to their fullest extent,” and reminds us that this will strengthen the whole of society in years to come.
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| Key Terms |
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| Browning of Minnesota |
| Community-building |
| Ellis Island |
| Harry Gaston |
| Immigration |
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Click here to take a Survey
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| Before Viewing |
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Have you ever heard of Neighborhood House? Where do many of Minnesota’s immigrant communities come from? Is this different today from in the past?
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| After Viewing |
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- What is Neighborhood House?
- How have its mission and activities changed over the years?
- How have they remained constant in spite of serving immigrants from differing regions?
- When did Mexican immigrants begin to come to MN?
- What does Gilbert mean by “the Browning of Minnesota”?
- When Gilbert says “this is a story that hasn’t been told,” what does he mean? To whose story is he referring? Only that of Chicanos or a broader story?
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| Suggested Activities |
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Articles and Stories on Immigration
Invite a representative from an immigrant or refugee community, or a non-profit organization that works with immigrants and refugees (e.g., Advocates for Human Rights, www.advocates.org ) to speak to your audience about immigrants and the work their organizations is doing.
Collect newspaper or news magazine articles with a variety of view points concerning immigration. See Handout below . Have participants work in small groups and use one of the following human rights documents: 1) Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 2) Convention on the Rights of the Child, 3) Minnesota Human Rights Act. The groups should decide if the articles contain any issues pertaining to human rights. Participants should identify and list human rights issues in the articles and share their findings with another group that is using a different document.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/instree/b1udhr.htm
Convention on the Rights of the Child
http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/instree/k2crc.htm
Minnesota Human Rights Act
http://www.humanrights.state.mn.us/employer_363_emp.html
When the responses are ready, ask a few groups to read, briefly describe their article, and share their response. In the plenary discuss:
What issues in the articles are similar to those in your community? How are these issues dealt with? How are you or can you be involved?
- Resources
Have the participants review the online brochure on immigration in Minnesota developed by the Minneapolis Foundation:
Immigration in Minnesota: Discovering Common Ground
www.minneapolisfoundation.org/immigration/overview.htm
Review definitions pertaining to immigration at www.minneapolisfoundation.org/immigration/overview.htm#definitions
Develop a list of minority entrepreneurs in your community and invite your audience to support them. Invite minority entrepreneurs to your film screening event. Provide tabling space for displaying and selling goods, and invite minority entrepreneurs to talk about what they do.
For current trends and statistics, refer participants to:
Twin Cities Compass www.tccompass.org
Mind the Gap Report www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/rc/reports/2005/10cities_sohmer/20051027_mindthegap.pdf
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