Dec. 7 Roundtable to Highlight Migration Journeys to Scranton
This event will feature speakers, shown: Jenny Gonzalez Monge, Stephanie Longo,Jack McGuigan, and Ushu Mukelo.In collaboration with The Schemel Forum, The “Scranton’s Story, Our Nation’s Story” project, a National Endowment for the Humanities-funded initiative of The University of Scranton and community partner organizations, is hosting “The Journey from ‘Immigrant’ to Citizen”. The roundtable discussion with local resource speakers will take place on Wednesday, Dec. 7 from 5:30 - 7 p.m. in The Kane Forum, Edward R. Leahy, Jr. Hall, The University of Scranton. This event is a part of the Scranton’s Story project’s “From ‘Immigrant’ to Citizen” theme and will feature four speakers: Jenny Gonzalez Monge, STARS Program Director, Marywood University; Stephanie Longo, author of regional Italian American history; Jack McGuigan, retired English teacher and poet; and Ushu Mukelo, Congolese Community of Scranton.
The roundtable discussion will highlight myriad ways in which people have come to be members of the Scranton 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. Light refreshments will be served. Space is limited and registration is required at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/22Roundtable
“This roundtable will be an opportunity to consider the migration journey of different Scrantonians, their families and communities – in the past and in more recent years – and discuss how immigrants and refugees may be welcomed today,” said Julie Schumacher Cohen, assistant vice president for Community Engagement and Government Affairs and project director.
To further highlight the many journeys to Scranton, project media partner WVIA has created a special website, wvia.org/extraordinaryjourney, which houses the three feature documentaries produced by WVIA, available for public access for the duration of this project. WVIA's "The Extraordinary Journey" Migration Documentary Series series includes:
"The Extraordinary Journey," a three-episode series on the Eastern Europeans of Northeastern Pennsylvania,
"The Irish: Two Nations - One Heart," and
"Paesani: Italian Culture in Northeast Pennsylvania."
"The Extraordinary Journey" series celebrates and preserves Northeast Pennsylvania's European heritage through a poignant blend of first-person storytelling, 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.
Previous theme events included “All the Places We Come From: Stories, Food, & Community,” a special community story exchange with international writers panel with appetizers and sweets from Scranton's multi-ethnic restaurants hosted on Oct. 25, with130 community members joining at the Scranton Cultural Center, a story exchange facilitated with national partner Narrative 4 at Scranton High School, and a connected Hope Horn Gallery Exhibition, "Mayan Narratives: San Lucas Tolimán, Guatemala. Photographs by Byron Maldonado," which will remain on display until mid-December.
Upcoming Scranton Story Winter and Spring 2023 events will focus on Black history and experience, and discuss the religious and ethnic tapestry of Scranton.
For more information and to view upcoming events and recordings of past events, please visit www.scranton.edu/scrantonstory.
Questions? Contact community@scranton.edu or call 570-941-4419.
Follow the Scranton’s Story, Our Nation’s Story project on social media at: Facebook and Instagram @ourscrantonstory and on Twitter at @scrantonstory
