Today we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. But I also celebrate my Irish heritage. My great-grandmother immigrated to the U.S. from Ireland in 1896. She was one of the many seemingly nameless, faceless souls that passed through Ellis Island, hoping to leave a life of strife behind to live the American Dream.
The Death of a Dream
But like so many, her life was far from the dream she had imagined for herself. And her story, though over 100 years old, is sadly still relevant to what is going on today.
As an immigrant, she endured prejudice and limited job options. As a woman, she was a victim of sexual harassment by her rich employer who forced himself upon her in the home where she worked as a maid. Eventually, she found herself pregnant with no husband to support her. But since there was no Planned Parenthood, or it could have been because of her strong faith, she gave birth to a son and gave him her own last name.
Not Much Has Changed
Over a hundred years before Immigration Reform and the #MeToo, Black Lives Matter and #TimesUp movements, my great-grandmother was going through some of the same things that immigrants, minorities and women are still dealing with in this country today. We look at the 1800s as a time that is only remembered in the history books. But since then not much has actually changed.
Returning to My Roots
I don’t have a picture of my great-grandmother, but I carry her story with me. She is my namesake. I am proud to say that I am the great-granddaughter of an immigrant who made her own way in the world, raised her son, my wonderful Uncle, on her own, eventually married and had two more children, one of whom became my Nana.
And though she wasn’t remembered for being a particularly kind or warm woman, she was a woman of strength and courage. And those are qualities that we all need to stand up to those who try to deport the Dreamers, those who stormed the Capitol Building in January as lawmakers were counting votes for the presidential election that named Joe Biden and Kamala Harris (the daughter of Indian and Jamaican immigrants) the victors, and to speak out against those who don’t understand that “no” means NO.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all of the dreamers and the doers.
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