Sunday, December 1, 2013
Don't kvetch. Head to KlezKamp instead.
Each December, KlezKamp manifests in a hotel in the Catskill Mountains of New York State. It's a week long program dedicated to keeping alive the traditional Yiddish language and culture. Participants immerse themselves in the culture and language that were almost decimated by Hilter.
Before World War II, Yiddish was the lingua franca among Central and Eastern European Jews. Klez Camp was founded by musician and scholoar Henry Sapoznik. Now in it's 29th year, KlezKamp attracts some 500 participants, ensuring that Yiddish folk traditions are passed to the next generation.
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Boston's Polish Triangle
Boston's Polish Triangle is no exception. The neighborhood is situated in a triangle between Boston Street and Dorchester Avenue, hence the name.
It once teemed with Polish immigrants. But younger Polish-Americans are moving to the suburbs, and new immigrants from Asia and Latin America are moving in their place. The neighborhood's population is now barely half Polish, and locals wonder about the future of the struggling Polish American Citizen Club.
We can't stop the impact of immigration, gentrification, and suburbanization. Each generation strives to do better than the one before it. Certainly the children of Polish immigrants worked hard to get an education, earn a decent living, and afford a nicer house with a yard in the suburbs. That's not necessarily a bad thing. Most people don't strive to remain in a multi family triple decker without a driveway if they can afford better.
It's possible for the ethnic flavor that made the Polish Triangle special to remain even if the identity of those moving in is different. Polish-Americans can continue to support the neighborhood's businesses, its' social club, and its Polish Catholic parish, even if they now live in places like Quincy and Braintree. The Polish Triangle remains the symbolic heart of a community that can't be duplicated in a suburban strip mall.
Home of the Polish American Citizen Club
Euromart, specializes in Polish and European groceries.
DJ's Super Market, specializing in Polish food products
Storefront of the closed Boston Street Deli & Market, damaged from a fire in 2010.
Saturday, July 13, 2013
The Egyptian American Population
As political unrest develops in Egypt, we take a look at the largest Egyptian communities in the United States:
|
|
Egyptian
Population |
|
|
Egyptians,
as a Percent of Total Population |
|
United States
|
190,078
|
1
|
New Jersey |
0.34%
|
1
|
California
|
39,436
|
2
|
New York
|
0.13%
|
2
|
New
Jersey
|
29,889
|
3
|
Virginia
|
0.11%
|
3
|
New York
|
25,978
|
4
|
California
|
0.11%
|
4
|
Florida
|
11,616
|
5
|
Maryland
|
0.08%
|
5
|
Pennsylvania
|
9,298
|
6
|
Tennessee
|
0.08%
|
6
|
Virginia
|
8,827
|
7
|
Pennsylvania
|
0.07%
|
7
|
Texas
|
7,244
|
8
|
Massachusetts
|
0.07%
|
8
|
Illinois
|
7,219
|
9
|
Florida
|
0.06%
|
9
|
Tennessee
|
4,829
|
|
United States
|
0.06%
|
10
|
North
Carolina
|
4,792
|
10
|
Illinois
|
0.06%
|
11
|
Maryland
|
4,713
|
11
|
District
of Columbia
|
0.06%
|
12
|
Massachusetts
|
4,713
|
12
|
Minnesota
|
0.05%
|
13
|
Ohio
|
4,383
|
13
|
North
Carolina
|
0.05%
|
14
|
Michigan
|
3,008
|
14
|
South
Carolina
|
0.04%
|
15
|
Minnesota
|
2,919
|
15
|
West
Virginia
|
0.04%
|
16
|
Washington
|
2,790
|
16
|
Washington
|
0.04%
|
17
|
Georgia
|
2,490
|
17
|
Rhode
Island
|
0.04%
|
18
|
South
Carolina
|
2,044
|
18
|
Connecticut
|
0.04%
|
19
|
Indiana
|
1,513
|
19
|
Ohio
|
0.04%
|
20
|
Arizona
|
1,425
|
20
|
Oregon
|
0.03%
|
21
|
Connecticut
|
1,361
|
21
|
Michigan
|
0.03%
|
22
|
Oregon
|
1,280
|
22
|
Texas
|
0.03%
|
23
|
West
Virginia
|
807
|
23
|
Nevada
|
0.03%
|
24
|
Iowa
|
790
|
24
|
Iowa
|
0.03%
|
25
|
Colorado
|
728
|
25
|
Georgia
|
0.03%
|
26
|
Missouri
|
719
|
26
|
Indiana
|
0.02%
|
27
|
Nevada
|
710
|
27
|
Arizona
|
0.02%
|
28
|
Wisconsin
|
701
|
28
|
New
Hampshire
|
0.02%
|
29
|
Kansas
|
472
|
29
|
Kansas
|
0.02%
|
30
|
Rhode
Island
|
409
|
30
|
Colorado
|
0.01%
|
31
|
Alabama
|
342
|
31
|
Wisconsin
|
0.01%
|
32
|
District
of Columbia
|
334
|
32
|
Missouri
|
0.01%
|
33
|
Arkansas
|
312
|
33
|
Arkansas
|
0.01%
|
34
|
New
Hampshire
|
280
|
34
|
New
Mexico
|
0.01%
|
35
|
Louisiana
|
221
|
35
|
Alabama
|
0.01%
|
36
|
Oklahoma
|
220
|
36
|
Alaska
|
0.01%
|
37
|
New
Mexico
|
209
|
37
|
Oklahoma
|
0.01%
|
38
|
Kentucky
|
91
|
38
|
Delaware
|
0.01%
|
39
|
Utah
|
53
|
39
|
Louisiana
|
0.00%
|
40
|
Delaware
|
52
|
40
|
Maine
|
0.00%
|
41
|
Alaska
|
49
|
41
|
Kentucky
|
0.00%
|
42
|
Maine
|
38
|
42
|
Utah
|
0.00%
|
43
|
Nebraska
|
28
|
43
|
Nebraska
|
0.00%
|
44
|
Idaho
|
0
|
44
|
Hawaii
|
0.00%
|
45
|
Hawaii
|
NA
|
45
|
Idaho
|
0.00%
|
46
|
Mississippi
|
NA |
46
|
Mississippi
|
0.00%
|
47
|
Montana
|
NA
|
47
|
Montana
|
0.00%
|
48
|
North
Dakota
|
NA
|
48
|
North
Dakota
|
0.00%
|
49
|
South
Dakota
|
NA
|
49
|
South
Dakota
|
0.00%
|
50
|
Vermont
|
NA
|
50
|
Vermont
|
0.00%
|
51
|
Wyoming
|
NA
|
51
|
Wyoming
|
0.00%
|
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 American Community Survey
B04006 People Reporting Ancestry, 1 year estimates
C04006 People Reporting Ancestry, 1 year estimates
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