Executive Director's and Editor's Note

SEEING AMERICA FOR THE FIRST TIME

by Brenna Daugherty Gerhardt Executive Director

The reason I love great literature is because it affords me the privilege of looking at the world through someone else’s eyes. How amazing to try on another worldview for a while—to walk cobblestone streets with Charles Dickens in Victorian London or wander barefoot through the slums of Mumbai with Thrity Umrigar. A good author shows us the places they love, warts and all, in order to make us fall in love with the inhabitants of their worlds.

Like great literature, this issue of On Second Thought allows longtime American citizens the opportunity to experience their country through the fresh eyes of people who grew up outside of its borders. It reminds us of the precious value of the things we take for granted every day—freedom, justice, equality, safety, community—and challenges us to consider whether the image we project to the world is an accurate mirror of the reality on the ground here in the United States.

Are we still the America we think we are? Do the ideas and values we hold sacred in this country have the power to endure even during a time of so much turmoil, both at home and abroad? How do we strengthen our democracy and keep the American Dream alive for all of our citizens?

These aren’t always easy questions, but sometimes it takes a fresh perspective to truly see what is right in front of us.

EDITOR’S NOTE

by Ann Crews Melton

The stories and experiences of New Americans have become increasingly important as we learn to engage with each other in a pluralistic society. Since moving to Bismarck in 2014 from Queens, New York—a borough full of immigrants and refugees—I have tracked with interest the growing diversity in North Dakota, including the reactions of the public and the media to the state’s newcomers (of which I am a part, although privileged as a white American).

This region has a complex history unlike anywhere else I have lived in the United States. This history should be both celebrated and wrestled with, from acknowledging past and present prejudice against Native Americans to connecting the rugged spirit of European homesteaders to the plight of modern-day refugees. Here in North Dakota, refugees are often resettled by organizations rooted in the homesteaders’ religious traditions. Many of these traditions speak of the grace we may encounter by welcoming the stranger. With this issue of On Second Thought, we hope to illuminate the singular journeys of New Americans making a home in our state.

In editing the stories from New Americans themselves—particularly the ELL students at Fargo South High School—I tried to use a light touch, both to maintain their original voices and to convey the impressive mastery of the English language the authors have achieved. The humanities teach us what it means to be human. In engaging with these authors and their stories, I hope we have created a small window into the hopes, fears, and dreams shared by all of us.