Beginning in April 2015, The Gables will hold a series of community conversations on the topic of immigration and immigration reform. Community partners planning to contribute to this initiative include Historic New England, The Salem Award Foundation, Catholic Charities of the North Shore, and the North Shore Community Development Corporation.
A few of the topics & speakers include:
- May 13th – How Immigration Became Illegal – Aviva Chomsky, Professor of History and Coordinator of Latin American, Latino, and Caribbean Studies at Salem State University in MA.
- June 3rd – Community Roundtable Discussion: Why Can’t These Immigrants Be More Like Us? – Dawn C. Slaven, Community Relations Officer, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), will be a panel participant.
- June 24th – Immigrants as Assets, Economic and Social Contributions to the Present Day – Denzil Mohammed, Assistant Director, The Immigrant Learning Center, Public Education Institute, Malden, MA.
Additional topics to be scheduled include:
- The French Canadian Legacy of Salem’s Point Neighborhood – Elizabeth Duclos-Orsello, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Interdisciplinary Studies and Coordinator, American Studies Concentration at Salem State University
- Trauma of Immigration and its Impact on Children – Elsabel Rincón, Migrant Advocacy Project and Marjean Perholt, Catholic Charities Refugee and Immigration Services
- Community Roundtable Discussion: Where Do We Go From Here? – Community solutions to address the needs of growing immigration populations on a local level – nationwide overview.