International Institute St. Louis

National Perspective - A Meeting Ground for all Peoples
International Institute St. Louis - History

	(The national perspective is excerpted from Out of Many, One - A History of the Immigration and Refugee Services of America * Network, 1998, IRSA, by Margi Dunlap and Nicholas Montalto). Immigration came to a virtual standstill in the difficult years between the two World Wars. At the same time, the millions who had arrived in the United States during the first 20 years of the century were taking steps to become American citizens. This great cohort of immigrants had been in the country from 10 to 20 years. Many had fought in the First World War. Now they were working, struggling to make ends meet, raising their families. The United States had become their home. They were ready to meet their neighbors.
Many programs of the IRSA network created opportunities for people from many different backgrounds to come together. The Institutes made space available for ethnic associations and organized hundreds of cultural groups. During the Depression, these groups focused on the basics such as cooking, sewing, and child care. There were also groups with the arts as a centerpiece. They focused on dance, plays, music, and literature. Participants often used their experience as immigrants as the stimulus for plays and songs. There were puppet-making classes for children and tap-dancing classes for Chinese girls in San Francisco who were determined to audition for the "Forbidden City" tap dance troupe. The Institutes supported the growth of mutual aid associations and ethnic leadership councils. In 1930, the Boston Council was established with 15 different ethnic associations represented. This "group work" had benefits both as social support systems and as an experience of representative democracy. USCRI’s partner agency in Cincinnati began New Citizens Day in 1932 and celebrated with at least seven nationalities showcasing cultural talents. Throughout the USCRI network, Swedes watched Mexicans dance and asked to join in. Yugoslavs and Poles learned Christmas carols together. Greeks and Chinese wrote a play together about waiting for their citizenship interviews. * IRSA changes its name to US Committee for Refugees & Immigrants (USCRI) in 2004
Americanization or Pluralism	Celebrations