Immigration, Identity, and Education

The following is an announcement from the Carrboro Cybrary:

On Wednesday, February 1 at 7:00 pm, the community is invited to the Century Center for a discussion about the social, cultural, and political issues surrounding the growth of the state's Hispanic immigrant population as viewed through the context of Esmeralda Santiago's memoir When I Was Puerto Rican .

Latinos living in North Carolina face both tangible struggles involving language and education and more intangible questions of cultural identity and authenticity. The complexities of the immigrant experience are at the heart of Esmeralda Santiago's memoir When I Was Puerto Rican and are the focus of Carrboro's next Community Book Forum. On Wednesday, February 1 at 7:00 pm, the community is invited to the Century Center for a discussion about the social, cultural, and political issues surrounding the growth of the state's Hispanic immigrant population. The discussion will touch on Santiago's book, the current debate surrounding immigrants in the state's higher education system, and the experience of Latinos in our own communities.

You do not need to have read the book to come to the forum!

February's discussion will be the first for the 2006 Community Book Forum, an ongoing series sponsored by the Carrboro Cybrary and the Carrboro Recreation and Parks Department. The forum is an occasional series of discussions that aims to bring people together to discuss books and ideas that are important our community. 2005 was the inaugural year for the series, with forums focused on civil rights, economic development, and mental health awareness. The subject of February's program grew out of discussions at last year's Hispanic Literary Festival, another joint project of the Cybrary and the Recreation and Parks Department. Margot Malachowski, a librarian at the Cybrary and one of the event coordinators, notes that out of all the discussions at the literary festival, the ones about immigrant education were the most spirited. She goes on the comment that, "Education and immigration are core interests within the Carrboro community. In creating this program, we want to give people an opportunity to talk about the complicated barriers that immigrants face in our educational systems."

Santiago's 1993 memoir celebrates a childhood full of learning and survival. After an early childhood spent in the poor, rural barrios of Puerto Rico, the author emigrated to the poor, urban barrios of Brooklyn. While she struggled with language and cultural barriers, Santiago began to excel in the city's educational system, eventually winning at spot at the prestigious New York City High School of the Performing Arts. This poignant memoir is both a touching coming of age tale and a story of the American dream told from an immigrant's point of view. While the discussion will use Santiago's book as a starting point, reading the book is not required for participation in the event. For those interested, copies of the book in both English and Spanish are available at the Cybrary and at local bookstores and libraries.

The event is open to the public but space is limited. Please call the Cybrary at 918-7387 to register in advance. For more information about this and other library programs, please stop by the Cybrary, call 918-7387, or email cybrary@co.orange.nc.us