The face of America is changing daily – and
dramatically. Immigrants are entering the country in greater
numbers than ever before and settling in “new gateway” communities,
many of which are unaccustomed to newcomers. The New Americans is a landmark PBS miniseries that reveals the remarkable sweep
of immigrant experience today through the experiences of a diverse
group of immigrants and refugees, who leave their homes and families
behind and come to live in America.
Active Voice used these compelling stories to help longtime
residents and immigrants understand and address issues arising
from these
recent unprecedented demographic changes. Working with immigration
experts and organizations, we identified pilot sites in Greensboro,
North Carolina; Ft. Wayne, Indiana; Kansas City, Kansas and Missouri;
Twin Cities, Minnesota; the Central Valley and Bay Area of California
and Des Moines, Iowa. We helped partners in these sites customize
their use of the programs: some engaged elected officials, others
held press conferences to announce new coalitions, still others
launched year-long statewide initiatives to pave the way for “receiving” immigrants
more effectively. When the participants identified particularly
helpful scenes, we edited them into VHS and DVD modules and provided
Discussion Guides that guided them in using the material.
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