On the day of broadcast, we share with you a video extra featuring Patchogue Mayor Paul Pontieri.
Patchogue, New York Mayor Paul Pontieri reflects on his family's history of immigration, his love of his hometown, and how his life has influenced his policy of inclusion for all Patchogue residents.
Blog
September 19, 2011 - 4:42pm
The students of Newcomers High School, a school for newly arrived immigrants in Queens, N.Y., reached out to Joselo Lucero with letters of sympathy when his brother Marcelo was killed in 2008. Two years later, Joselo visits the school to speak to the students about what he learned from the loss of his brother, his experiences as an immigrant, and the difficult process of forgiveness.
"He's telling his story," said Newcomers teacher Julie Mann. "And even though it's a difficult and painful story, he's not afraid to do that, and I think that's a big lesson for my students."
The Lucero family is in no way associated with the Lucero de America Foundation. Joselo Lucero now makes school visits promoting respect for diversity and non-violence. He is available at joselolucero@yahoo.com.
September 19, 2011 - 3:09pm
There is a moment in the documentary, Light in the Darkness, that has lingered with West Virginia resident Paul Sheridan.
In the film, Patchogue, N.Y. mayor Paul Pontieri returns to the intersection where Ecuadorian immigrant Marcelo Lucero was murdered. Pontieri meets a man, he discovers, who has been a neighbor to Pontieri’s family for 25 years.
“I didn’t know who he was,” Pontieri says. “Do they make themselves invisible, or do we make them invisible by not seeing them?”
It’s a relevant question for many communities with changing demographics. Sheridan, a community leader who cares about safety and inclusion, asks, “What are the communities that we are blind to? That’s the question that hangs in the air a little bit, and we haven’t really thought through how we’re reaching out.”
September 19, 2011 - 2:44pm
Known to most as the “Music City” of the United States, Nashville, Tenn., is the heart of a vibrant country music scene and a mecca for those who hope to break into the industry. In recent years, however, Nashville has also been known by a different name. Since early 1990, the Southern state has gained over 200,000 foreign-born residents. With almost half of this population settling into the Nashville area, the U.S. State Department has designated Nashville as a “Destination City” for refugees.
Today, the city is home to a colorful mix of Kurdish, Somali, Ethiopian, Burmese, Sudanese, Iranian, Iraqi, and Bhutanese communities attempting to integrate into the traditional culture of Nashville.