Chicago Cultural Alliance

In Chicago Cultural Alliance’s (CCA) Talking About… series, participants are invited to explore the connections between heritage and contemporary life through a dialogue rooted in the diverse cultural perspectives of CCA members. The 2014 Talking About… series will explore how the journey of immigration and settlement in Chicago influences concepts of American identity and how identity is shaped by laws defining who can become an American.

In a series of four to six dialogues grounded in the immigration experiences of at least eight distinct ethnic communities, participants will explore how different paths to immigration lead to different processes of “becoming American,” both legally and conceptually. Each dialogue will be rooted in a particular immigration experience (adoption, refugee, economic opportunity, and marriage/family unification) and the complexities around these pathways. For example, within the discussion of immigration and marriage, we will examine the experience of same-sex couples in the American immigration system. Participants will be asked to examine their own perspectives of what it means to be American and to discuss how their stories connect to community narratives.