On April 5th, the City of Boston and the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA) are holding MIRA Immigrants’ Day 2017, marking the 21st annual celebration. This day recognizes, celebrates, and promotes Boston’s diverse past, and the people from around the world who have, and who continue, to contribute to the city’s culture.
MIRA Immigrants’ Day | Boston’s History – A Cultural Melting Pot
Boston immigration has played a huge role in shaping the city’s culture and progress. Partly because of its location by the sea, Boston has always been one of the main ports and immigrant receiving cities in the United States. Founded in 1630 by English Puritans, it quickly became a port commercial city that revolved around the business that took place between the colonies and other countries. Boston immigration history begins with the first ethnic group to dominate the city. Known as the Brahmins, the peoples were a community of English descendant Protestants.
Around 1845, forced by several events happening in their country such as the Potato Famine, people from Ireland began moving to the US in search of a better life. As they were undergoing financial hardship when they arrived in Boston, it was difficult for many to continue travelling to other states in the country. Thus, the Irish established a big community within the City of Boston. The community had, and continues to have, a huge influence on the city’s culture, religion and politics. Today, roughly 23% of Boston’s population is of Irish descent – the biggest ethnic group in the city. Important public figures, like John F. Kennedy, are Bostonians of Irish heritage.
By the end of the 19th century, other non-English speaking European groups arrived in Boston. Italians and Jewish peoples from Poland and Russia came to the city, contributing to its ever-growing cultural diversity. In the second half of the 20th century, after the 1924 National Origins Act restrictive quotas were lifted, Boston reemerged as a receptacle for immigrants. People from several Hispanic countries, Haitians, Asians, and Africans flocked to a city known for educational opportunities and business development.
The MIRA Immigrants’ Day looks to continue promoting and celebrating this diverse history of Boston immigration.
MIRA Immigrants’ Day | The Diverse Demographics of Boston
Within a registered population of 667,137 just in the city alone, around 140 different languages are spoken. 66% of Boston’s population speaks English as a first language, while 21% of the population of Boston 5 years or older speaks a mother tongue other than English at home. Apart from that, a big number of adult residents have limited English proficiently. Among the foreign languages that are spoken in Massachusetts, Spanish ranks the highest, accounting for 57% of the non-English speaking population. It is followed by Portuguese, Chinese and French.
Celebrating The Contributions of Boston Immigration – MIRA Immigrants’ Day 2017
To a great extent, immigrants are to thank for cultural diversity, and advances in education and business in Boston. As such today, April 5th, MIRA will host its 21st annual Immigrants’ Day at the State House in Boston. For this event the organization celebrates the progress and contributions immigrants and refugees have made, and continue making, to Massachusetts. The MIRA Immigrants’ Day 2017 event will consist of talks with state legislators, guest speakers including members of local government, and promotion of the Safe Communities Act in Boston.
We at Language Connections have been providing translation services in Boston for over 20 years. We work closely with local immigration law firms as well as the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Organization to provide professional linguistic services, from immigration document translation to interpreting services during legal business meetings. We also celebrate our own, very diverse backgrounds ranging from Russian, Spanish, Austrian, Greek, French, and almost everywhere in between! Today we would like to commemorate our diverse heritages, alongside giving our appreciation to the immigrant and multicultural populations that reside in Boston, Massachusetts, and the United States, for their contributions to our society! You can find out more about the MIRA Immigrants’ Day here.
About Language Connections:
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