Author: Michaile G

The 1619 project brought so much to light that I didn’t know before about racism. As an African American myself I am well aware of the racism epidemic in America. I remember just waiting at the bus stop with my mom and the Bronx with a few other black people and this white guy came up towards us and kept spitting at us and saying I spit on black people. Thankfully they were some really good white folks to help us out and hold the guy until the police arrived. When I watched the 1619 project it pointed out how the blood of African Americans runs through the Nation. African Americans are the ones that were the ones that built America. They’re hard work on the plantations that help make America one of if not the richest country in America. What really surprised me was that former President Abraham Lincoln tried to convince black people to leave America if he emancipated them. I was even prouder to hear how the 5 black people in the church at that meeting stood their ground and would not let Lincoln run them out of America. As quoted “ We came over here with y’all and we will stay here with y’all.(The 1619 Project) This reminds me of the book “Citizen” by Claudia Rankine. Rankine talks about her experience being African American.  Funny how the book called “Citizen” was written years after Lincoln asked black people to leave. Nickole Hannah-Jones, one of the writers of the 1619 project mentioned how since she was in her 40s  she was among one of the first black people ever to be born with citizenship in America. It’s sad that even today people don’t make an effort to know about black history.  In fact they wanted to stop the 1619 project from being taught in schools and have it banned in Texas and Florida. In Citizen there were two men who talked about black people as if they were aliens,  “You hear one say to the other that being around black people is like watching a foreign film without translation” (Ranking, 50). It’s upsetting that 50 some years later black people are still trying to belong in a country that obviously doesn’t want them. They are still fighting for their lives against white supremacy, and still experience voting inequality. I really loved that Hannah-Jones and the other amazing writers had the courage to write this show and bring it to life. To shed a light on our history and the shortcomings of this Nation.

In the chapter the Western Palace by Maxine Hong Kingston, it shows the arrival of Moon Orchid to America also known or referred to as the Western Palace. America is in the western part of the world. In the book, Brave Orchid mentions the story of the four empresses. She says how the Empress West would “connive for power” (Kingston,345) and how the Empress of the East was “ good and kind and full of light.”(Kingston, 345) From the very beginning of the book, the word immigrant keeps coming up. It came up twice during the chapter “No Woman” (Kingston, 35-36, 45-46), Once during the chapter “Shaman”(Kingston 289-290) and 6 times during the chapter “The Western Palace.” (Kingston 301-303, 331- 333). It clearly plays a major role in this chapter. An Immigrant is when someone from a different country comes to live in another one. Brave Orchid is an immigrant and so is her sister Moon Orchid. In the chapter Moon Orchid’s husband was also an immigrant that came to America, had married another woman and had kids with her. Brave Orchid also sent for Moon Orchid’s daughter to live in the US. While at the airport when Brave Orchid and her niece were waiting for Moon orchid to arrive they were looking at the Chinese passengers when brave Orchid began to talk about immigrants. “These new immigrants had it easy. On Ellis Island the people were thin after forty days at sea and had no fancy luggage.” (Kingston, 301) Traveling to a new country back in the day was very gruesome compared to now. Now the Chinese people are traveling by plane which only takes a few hours instead of days. Ellis Island is the Island of the United States.Once on US soil according to Brave Orchid “Here everything was new plastic, a ghost trick to lure immigrants into feeling safe and spilling their sercrets. Then the Alien Office could send them right back.”(Kingston, 302) It’s clear Brave Orchid doesn’t  like being an immigrant in America. As an immigrant myself, there are certain rights I need to know even though I have my green card. I have to know that no one, not even ICE, has the right to ask me about my status when I’m out on the street. According to Brave Orchid “ At Ellis Island when the ghost asked her what year her husband cut off his pigtail, a Chinese who was crouching on the floor motioned her not to talk “I don’t know” she said. If It wasn’t for that Chinese man, she might not be here today, or her husband either.”(Kingston, 302) Many People come here because they want to achieve the American Dream. They want the white picket fence, the nice home, the nice car, and a stable job. However truth be told, it’s not a straight line to the American dream. What they don’t tell you is how hard it is to get a job once on American soil. If you can’t get a job you can’t make money, and if you can’t buy a house or a car or put food on the table. It is very hard to provide for immigrants to provide for their family. Which is why some immigrants end up on the streets or in jail or even worse they end up getting deported. Sometimes  parents get separated from their children because the children were born in America. Even if immigrants find a job to start out with in the beginning, that job would barely be enough to make ends meet. According to Brave Orchid when she was talking to her sister Moon Orchid about getting a job as a maid, “ A lot of immigrants start that way nowadays. And the maids get to bring home all the leftover clothes people left behind.” (Kingston, 333) Brave Orchid however was still relentless with her sister in finding a job, she then went on to say “ Immigrants also work in canneries where it’s so noisy it doesn’t matter if they speak Chinese or what. The easiest way to find a job, though, is to work in Chinatown. You get twenty five cents an hour and all your meals if you are working in a restaurant.(Kingston, 333) The minimum wage per hour now is roughly fifteen dollars, so working 8 hours a day would be one hundred and twenty dollars.. Working 8 hours  a day for twenty five cents is only two dollars. When Immigrants come to the US to find refuge and to get a better life, sometimes it does more harm than good. They have to fight harder to achieve the American dream. Some are still fighting and some may have it worse in the US than the country they left.

I’m a sophomore here at SUNY Cortland. My major is Biology and I’m on the pre-med track. My dream is to become a pediatric surgeon. When I’m not in school or doing my homework I spend majority of my time at SUNY Cortland EMS working as an EMT and responding to on campus emergencies. A fun fact about me is that I’m a triplet! My sister Michelle Graham is also a student her. She’s also taking ENG 252 but it’s the 11:40 class. My brother attends culinary school. Also we turn 20 this upcoming Monday on January 30!