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19th Century New York City
A Kaleidoscope of Cultures
We are a country of immigrants.
Everyone here has
roots in other countries.
Maybe it was your grandparents,
maybe it was someone
hundreds of years ago, but, someone
in your family, for some reason,
was uprooted from a familiar
culture and transplanted to this
country to make a new home.
Even if you are a full-blood
American Indian, your ancestors
journeyed here from another place.
Fleeing from persecution, escaping famine, or seeking
new economic opportunity, European immigrants left
their homelands by the millions, while thousands from
Africa and the Caribbean were brought here against their
will as slaves to fuel the agrarian economy. The vast
majority of free immigrants landed at New York City.
New-comers often found solace in ethnic neighborhoods,
where they could converse in their native tongues,
practice their religion, and maintain a degree of their
cultural dimension.
This new and unique tour is the grand narrative of
the heart and soul of America, not just the story of a
single event. This country would be a poorer place without
the contributions of immigrants. Exploring the immigrant
experience from their perspective will reveal not
only the celebration, but the complexities and challenges
that distinguish the American experience.
Leading this tour is Latifa Chinnery. Native New Yorker
and renowned expert guide, she has done doctoral studies
at New York University and has been on the faculty of The
City College and City University of New York.
TOUR INCLUDES
8 DAYS / 7 NIGHTS
- Historian Guide: Latifah Chinnery
- Services of a professional tour director
- Deluxe motorcoach transportation
- All admissions to included features
- Seven nights hotel accommodations
- Seven breakfasts, four dinners, and two lunches
- Welcome briefing
- All taxes, baggage handling, & gratuities on included features
- Suggested reading list
COST:
Per person double occupancy - $2,595
Per person single occupancy - $2,995
Click to request a 2010 printed Travel Guide.
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ITINERARY
Sunday, September 5
Gather at
the Novotel Hotel in Times Square for
a briefing and welcome dinner
hosted by Latifah Chinnery and
HistoryAmerica TOURS.
Monday, September 6
First stop
today is Battery Park and Castle Clinton
National Monument, America's first
immigrant receiving center, welcoming
more than 8 million immigrants by
1890. We will take a ferry to Ellis
Island, gateway to the New World for
the next 12 million immigrants, and
also visit the Statue of Liberty, a National Monument, World
Heritage site, and the universal symbol of freedom.
Tuesday,September 7
We study the continuity of Native
American cultures at the National Museum of the American
Indian this morning. Next we will visit the Lower East Side
National Historic Site, a tenement building that was once
home to 7,000 people from more than 20 nations, and take a walking
tour of the surrounding East Side neighborhood monuments
to Jewish immigrant society.
Wednesday, September 8
The 1850s brought the Irish to
New York City fleeing a devastating famine and frustration
under British rule. Today’s focus is a study of their journey with
visits to St. Patrick’s Cathedral and the enclaves of Five Points,
“Little Dublin," and Hell’s Kitchen.
Thursday, September 9
Fearing constant political turmoil in
Germany during the 1840s, a million people, intellectuals,
impoverished farmers, and socialist radicals, left Germany and
settled in New York. From the Bowery to the Brooklyn Bridge,
we’ll hear how the Germans made their mark on the Big Apple.
Friday, September 10
After the Chinese originally immigrated
to the west coast to work in the gold mines and building
the railroads, mob violence and discrimination forced them
east. Rather than eventually assimilating, Chinatown became
the largest population of Chinese in the western hemisphere.
Near by is Little Italy, where we learn of the “Birds of Passage”,
Italians migrant laborers who came for the relatively high
wages, not to reject their homeland, and who had the highest
number of all immigrants returning to the old country.
Saturday, September 11
We cap the week with a visit to
Harlem. Malcom X, Count Basie, and Thurgood Marshall
are associated with Harlem, and the NAACP was founded
here. Today it is the epi-center for African-American
culture and the most famous Black neighborhood in the
world. This evening we will enjoy a special reception and
dinner at the Cotton Club.
Sunday, September 12
Depart at your leisure after breakfast. |
