Researching my family’s migration to the United States has allowed me to consider how my families story is similar and different to the stories of many Greeks. My family is similar to many others who used the Immigration Act of 1965, which allowed for family sponsorship, to get to the United States. My family’s assimilation into U.S. culture stemmed from a willingness and desire to assimilate. My dad’s ease in assimilation is largely because he immigrated at such a young age. Had he come as a teen it is likely that his accent would have been thicker, learning English would have been harder, and he would have been therefore seen more as a “foreigner.” This may have negatively impacted his ability to assimilate with ease. Coming at a young age allowed my dad to embrace American culture from a young age so by the time he was an adult he had already assimilated quite well.
The upward mobility with some biculturalism my family experienced was a result, I feel, of their whiteness. My dad admits time and time and again that he never felt discriminated against, despite his accent, despite maybe looking European. If he were darker skinned it is likely that this, coupled with an accent, would have caused him to have a much harder time assimilating. The upward assimilation my family experienced is also a result of the mentality of my grandparents and their thoughts regarding life in America. There was no tolerance for my dad getting in trouble, school was a priority, learning English was a priority, and speaking English at the dinner table required. While they did maintain parts of their Greek culture by going to the Greek Orthodox church, celebrating Greek Easter, eating Greek food, and more, assimilating smoothly into United States life was a major priority of my grandparents. Doing so with ease, however, may not have been possible if they were not white and also if they were not skilled and financially stable. Coming to the United States, not out of necessity, but out of a pure desire to take advantage of what America had to offer, shaped their entire experience. Had they come because they were suffering and desperate for a better life, perhaps they would have been able to spend less time focusing on assimilating smoothly, and more time focused on simply “making it.” Having family already in the United States also contributed to my family’s upward mobility with biculturalism. These already established family members were able to help my grandparents network and find jobs quite easily, even before arrival in the U.S. Having this family also opened my grandparents and dad up to a network of Greeks they were friends with and spent time with, which allowed my family to maintain some of their Greek-ness.
In Mary Waters’ “Ethnic and Racial Identities of Second-Generation Black Immigrants in New York City” she talks about the difference in experience for ethnic-identifying second generation teens and American-identifying second generation teens. She talks about how if black individuals want to be see as “good blacks” and want white individuals to look at them in a more positive light, then they should work hard at “conveying their identities” (Waters 1990: 818). If they do not work hard at displaying their ethnic status, they will be looked at as “black Americans,” which many second-generation black immigrants hope not to be looked at as because of the negative connotations that often come with being classified as a black American. This struggle that these second-generation immigrants have is fascinating to me because I too am a second-generation American (or 2.5, since my dad is a 1.5, having come as a child), but I have never thought about my identity as much as these black immigrants have. In order to be looked at and treated the way they want to be looked at and treated these immigrants “must actively work to assert their ethnic identities” (Waters 1990: 796). However, because I am a white second generation immigrant I have never felt I will be looked at one way if I seem foreign and another way if I seem more American. I have the option of embracing my Greek-ness or not, and still being looked at the same by outsiders. I do not have to worry about how others will view me. In Waters’ “Costs of a Costless Community” she talks about ethnic identity in terms of symbolic identity. She says that for many white people being ethnic makes them “feel unique and special and not just ‘vanilla’” (Waters 1990: 151). So I cling to my ethnic background more for fun, than out of desperation to be received a certain way by others.
As mentioned, I go to the Greek festival in my town each year. Waters refers to doing things like this by saying, “The closest thing this type of ethnic identity brings a person to “group activity” is something like a Saint Patrick’s Day Parade” (Waters 1990: 152). Whether I am or am not embracing my Greek-ness, however, I “work and reside within the mainstream of American middle-class life” (Waters 1990: 152). The difference being white plays here is that being white allows me to embrace my ethnicity when I want to and successfully reside within the “mainstream of American of middle-class life,” whether I ever choose to embrace my ethnicity or not. For those that are black, not embracing and showcasing their ethnic status impedes on their ability to successfully reside within the “mainstream of American of middle-class life” (Waters 1990: 152). I agree that being white provides one with more options in regard to how much of their culture they want to hang on to. They will probably be received the same no matter what, whereas the context of reception for black individuals differs greatly depending on whether they identity and embrace their ethnic status or whether they identity as more black-Americans.
While I symbolically identify as Greek certain times of the year or on random days when I feel like making a Greek dessert, I am really proud to be Greek, and I think this stems from how thankful and proud I am of my dad. Doing this research into my family’s history has made me realize that while assimilating was easier for my dad than it has been for others,his struggle came from deviating from his culture, despite the scrutiny he would face as a result. If my dad did not follow his goals of marrying my mom, opening his own business, and having five kids, I would not be here today.
I always will try to embrace my Greek-ness as much as I can, even though I do not have to in order to be viewed positively within society. I want to embrace my Greek-ness for my dad who 100 percent identifies as American, but inside is still proud of where he comes from and still enjoys embracing parts of the Greek culture. I identify more as Greek than I do with any other ethnicity. My dad’s Greek pride is shown in the way he tells us and others that his kids are fifty-one percent Greek.
Katie's Family Migration Blog 