immigration | The Port Rail

Browsing All posts tagged under »immigration«

Things were always better back when….

December 2, 2018

We’ve heard old timers say frequently that things were always better long ago in their youth. Music, morality, mothers and just about any category you can think about are remembered fondly and with great longing for the past. But, was it all that great? Well, some would say–definitely. Today we even have a word for […]

The New Hispanic America

December 2, 2018

A few years ago, I discovered a Hispanic in my home. Awkkk, what’s happening here? The invasion of the Mexican gardeners? Confession: when I first came to Tuscaloosa in 1972 to teach Latin American history at UA, there were hardly any Spanish speakers in town, other than a few odd balls like me and the […]

Immigration, Redux

February 11, 2017

It is time to visit immigration-land once again, especially to correct many absurd and patently wrong assumptions about this hot button issue. The first immigrants to North America were, of course, the ancestors of the American Indians who arrived maybe fifteen or twenty thousand years ago. The second wave of immigrants were your ancestors and […]

On Walls

February 11, 2017

You know, as an historian, one can get cynical about the human condition. A short sampling of modern “wall” phrase making might include the following: Ronald Reagan: “Tear down this wall!” Donald Trump: “Build the wall!” Robert Frost: “Something there is that doesn’t love a wall” And we could add the more memorable line in […]

What Are You Made of?

November 5, 2016

We all know that little boys are made of “snips and snails and puppy dog tails,” while little girls are made of “sugar and spice and everything nice.” In today’s progressive, politically correct world those stereotypes are of course sexist, demeaning, and probably misogynist as well. How dare we characterize male and females so differently? […]

Solving the Immigration Conundrum, or Lining Up the Present with the Past

May 31, 2010

Not too long ago I was in Miami, often called the “cultural capital” of Latin America because it is a city of immigrants who have poured into southwestern Florida from all across Latin America. The flavor of Latin America is stamped everywhere. I hardly ever speak English when I’m in Miami since I am bilingual, […]