21 Feb 1935, Chicago, Illinois, USA — All cotton goods factories and shops workers in Chicago have been called on strike by the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union, which claims a membership of 10,000 in the city, for higher wages and a $16 minimum. Pickets are shown above in front of a factory on market street, on the edge of downtown Chicago. — Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS

Program One: The Century of Immigration: 1820-1924

New York, A Documentary Film: Episode 4, The Power and the People | The Jewish Americans: Episode 2, A World of Their Own

Becoming American is an in depth series studying the immigration experience in America. This special six -week public programming event will feature a documentary film presentation and a moderated discussion led by Bill Westerman, PhD. The series is designed to encourage an informed discussion of immigration issues set against the backdrop of our immigration history.

This special event will begin with a screening of The Century of Immigration: 1820-1934 which provides a critical view of the study of immigration, looking at the reasons for and consequences of one of the peak periods of immigration. During this heightened period more than forty million immigrants were added to the population of the United States. This influx of cultural diversity helped to make immigration a major and defining aspect of American life. A guided discussion will explore the industrial expansion and how the need for inexpensive labor motivated major waves of immigration from all over the world. Topics such as the economic role of immigration, immigration and freedom, urbanization and the changes that impacted the social institutions that transformed America.

This important collaboration between the Folk Life Center at Perkins for the Arts and the Burlington County Library System will shed great light on the history of immigration in our country and how it had impacted the culture of our ancestors as well as the communities we live in today.

For further information, please contact Karen Abdul-Malik, Director, Folk Life Center at the Perkins Center for the Arts 856 235 6488.

This program is made possible by a grant from City-Lore through the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the Human Endeavor and in cooperation with the Perkins Center for the Arts and the Burlington County Library System.

All programs are free, open to the public and will begin at 6:30PM.

Presented by:  Folk Life Center at Perkins for the Arts and BCLS
Location: Burlington County Library, Meeting Room