| The Skanner
(Portland, OR)
February 1, 2006
IMMIGRANT CLASS AIMS FOR UNDERSTANDING
RISE workshop looks to eliminate some common misconceptions
By Abe Proctor
It's a story as old as humanity itself. Newcomers arrive in
town. Perhaps they look different, talk differently, worship
in a different way. The locals look at them askance, and a
line is drawn: We belong here, you don't. We are part of the
group — you are the others.
It's a story that is being retold even in 21st-century Portland.
The newcomers are immigrants from all over the world — Africa,
Asia, Latin America, the Pacific, Eastern Europe. The locals
are Americans of all colors and backgrounds. Some welcome
the newcomers warmly; others look at them and wonder: Are
they a threat? Will they take my job?
Closing this gap — between ignorance and understanding, between
welcoming and fearing — is the goal of the Refugee
and Immigrant Solidarity Education Workshop, or RISE.
The workshop is being led by the Center for Intercultural
Organizing, an immigrant and refugee advocacy group.
The four-week course is designed to build a common understanding
in the community about the history and politics of U.S. immigration
policy. The course also will "inform community members
on how they can become good allies in the struggle for immigrant
and refugee rights," according to the center.
The Centerfor Intercultural Organizing — formerly the Community
Language and Culture Bank — was formed in response to the
anti-immigrant backlash that swept much of the nation in the
wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, said Stephanie
Stephens, the center's communications director. The group
works on four fronts: community education, which includes
such things as the RISE workshop; civic engagement; community
organizing and mobilization; and intergenerational leadership
development.
"We recognized the need of cross-cultural community
organizing to address the issue that immigrants and refugees
are facing," Stephens said.
The RISE workshop arose out of a program run by the center
at Portland State University. After consistently receiving
high praise from PSU students, the center decided to take
a version of the program to the general public.
"We thought we should take what we had been teaching
for three years, put it into the community and use it to build
support for immigrant and refugee rights," Stephens said.
Immigrants are often used as unfair scapegoats by Americans
who are dissatisfied with their prospects for economicadvancement,
Stephens added. This sentiment is fueled by common erroneous
assumptions: People may think immigrants represent a disproportionate
drain on public resources — they don't — or that most immigrants
are here illegally — most aren't.
"I think you're beginning to see that (anti-immigrant)
hostility really boiling to the surface, with mid-term elections
coming," Stephens said.
"Immigration is becoming a really big wedge issue.
… These sorts of misconceptions from the public are very difficult
and very damaging, especially for kids."
Correcting these misconceptions is the goal of the RISE
workshop. By the end of the course, students will be expected
to convey a personal perspective on immigration, understand
the history of immigration in the United States, be aware
of specific needs and challenges of immigrants and refugees,
be able to evaluate public immigration policy and develop
the skills needed to participate in discussions about immigration
in their neighborhoods.
Students will research their own ancestries, talk about
the racial and cultural components of anti-immigrant sentiment
and discuss the political and economic interests that shape
public immigration policy, Stephens said.
Stephens said that over the course of the PSU courses, about
half of the students have been immigrants and half have been
American citizens — a ratio that she said is an encouraging
sign: It is the misconceptions of longtime Americans that
need to be corrected, after all.
"It is very encouraging," she said of the number
of Americans who have shown an interest in the courses. "We
didn't expect it. There are very few places where people from
different cultures can get together and talk about this, and
that's what we try to provide."
The next course, taking place this month, is full, Stephens
said. However, more workshops are in the works for the spring
and summer months. For more information, visit www.interculturalorganizing.org.
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