Introduction

While the community of Tucker was not recognized until 1892, the area was settled years prior by the Muscogees and later the Creek Nation, then named by Greenville Henderson, a war veteran who owned two enslaved people before his death in 1869. Since then, the community has grown due to its close proximity to Atlanta, Georgia, and the railroad that runs through the city. For much of its existence, Tucker has been a space curated for its white population, the same population that the city’s founder was a part of. Before, Tucker was a relic of a monoracial and unchanging past. But, the Tucker known to us now is ever-evolving and reliant on people not originally from the United States, a population whose experiences are rarely considered, whose lives are not seen as their own. In an effort to disperse stereotypes surrounding those from other countries and make clear to some of the common threads that bind people from all walks of life, the Linguistic Justice Collaborative gathered stories from members of the Tucker community.

Allison Gilmore

What do you do when you notice a lacking within yourself? How does one become aware of this problem? Allison Gilmore grew up in a small town in Alabama during the 1950s. She eventually followed the path of education and on it became aware of a deficit she faced, the deficit of diversity. “That was my…first whack on the side of the head as they say…how am I going to deal with this? It’s not fair to the… [students] that I don’t understand how to communicate with their parents.” (Gilmore). Sometimes, it’s an event that propels the mental change. In this instance, “…it wasn’t an intentional change…” (Gilmore), but it was the way in which the problem was addressed, with an open mind.

Family interview

I sat in the chair getting ready to begin the interview. My friends stayed behind as they were scared to be sent into the unknown. The fear that they’ll have awkward silence or that their questions won’t be understood. My interview partner, Samira, looked at her mother and asked her to introduce herself. Her mother answered back in Bangla. I looked at her wondering how I should respond to the unfamiliar dance of her tongue. Barely comprehending any of the dance, I laughed when she did and nodded when she said something matter of factly.

“Do you guys need me to translate that?” Samira asked, willing to interpret the dance for those of us without rhythm.

I immediately nodded my head, feeling ashamed that I reacted as if I could understand her.

The interview continued. Her son began to talk, and I tried to stop myself from zoning out. I found myself repeating the words in my mind so I could comprehend them. I watched as Sabina wrote notes quickly. Thinking to myself, What could she be writing about? He’s just talking about something simple? Is it really that important?

The minutes passed as I retreated into my mind. I quickly straightened, waking up from my thoughts, realizing his mother was crying. What did I miss?

The issues my team went through when interviewing can be an analogy of what immigrants go through when moving to America. The nervousness of going into the unknown, scared that people may not understand your questions, or feeling unprepared. The same goes for hearing different languages, not knowing how to respond. Trying to be respectful of the words they are saying without knowing exactly what they are saying. Trying to listen without getting distracted, because you aren’t familiar with the accent being spoken to you.

“Because people give up, right? Because it’s harder to listen.” (Panther)

Conclusion

From those stories come these themes that attempt to embody the diverse perspectives that exist today:

Changed Setting, Changed Self

Many interviewees experienced a period of physical movement in which they left their homes in search of something new. In their quest for a new home, they found another version of themselves, one more developed than any before had been. One example of this lasting impact appears in the life of Ms. Allison Gillmore, a retired teacher originally from an extremely small town in Alabama. In her hometown, Ms. Allison lived in a perpetual cultural bubble, with very little contact with those from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds. “I didn’t have anybody from another country that I ever knew until I moved away…” It was the experience of living outside of that small town in Alabama that exposed Gillmore to an entirely unexplored world of diversity. In her time on a Navy base in Mississippi, and later her experience in the Atlanta Metropolitan area, Ms. Allison saw herself blossom into a brand new, more informed version of herself. She began to look at the world in a new light and consider the plights of others with clearer vision. Ms. Allison’s story shows that sometimes all that are needed for one to evolve mentally are the new experiences brought by a change in location.

Changed Mindset, Changed Self

“There is no growth without diversity.” – Shaila Thomas.

At times it takes a look within to grow away from oneself and into a new person. Those interviewed, including Lasha Lalana, the owner of Tucker’s own Math Depot, found themselves growing into new people after being introduced to new ways of thinking. Ms. Lasha in particular moved to the United States in her teenage years, experiencing a level of difficulty with the shift to a new culture. During her interview, Lalana discussed the hardships she faced moving from the Philippines to the United States and how she often pushed those difficult feelings aside in favor of assimilating to the new culture surrounding her:

“It’s like a level of homesickness now. It’s just like push that out and block it out and it’s like fully American… having moved here as a teenager like that was rough.”

Now, though, Lasha Lalana approaches life from a new angle, moving towards accepting the heartache that she has experienced as someone forced to form a new home in an unfamiliar place. She does this while also taking time to appreciate all that she has been able to do with the life she built in the US, the life that gave Ms. Lasha her two children and that allows her to live out her life’s goal of helping those in need everyday through her business. In changing her mindset, Ms. Lasha has been able to accept all parts of her journey, even those that might bring pain, and come out on the other side a fuller, happier person.

Changed Self, Changed Life

In the LJC’s interview with the Ahsan family, twenty-one year old Saad Ahsan offered a unique and impactful perspective on immigration. As a son, a brother, and a business owner who moved to the United States from Bangladesh at nine years old, Saad has had his fair share of experience with choosing whether to embrace or reject newness. What his story points to is the idea that in choosing to embrace these novelties, one’s sense of identity may change, but so will the very fabric of their life. A changed person who commits themselves to taking those new experiences, that new culture, that new mindset, and applying it to their very being will begin to approach the world in a completely new way, creating an entirely new way of living.

For Saad, moving to the United States was a jarring experience. He had already lived nine years in Bangladesh, his life full of comfort and luxury, “Growing up back home, I would say I was sheltered. I grew up in a life of luxury, and we had mates, we had drivers, I never had to make my own bed, I would just wake up in the morning, I had somebody who would have my clothes ready, someone was bringing me my breakfast…” Coming to the US as someone who was now in a situation that mirrors that of the average American while also being forced to grapple with a new culture caused a complete shift in Saad’s world. What he may have had in common with his peers in Bangladesh was no longer universal in this new setting. It was maybe for this reason that Saad found himself compelled to hide his true self in his teenage years, adapting to all the change by forcefully changing himself.

But, it can be difficult to live a lie. Saad was forced to move away from the persona created to garner acceptance and popularity, and towards a Saad who accepts his differences and uses them to create the life he wants for himself and his family. The reality of moving to an unfamiliar country changed Saad into someone who is influenced by his family, his complicated early childhood, his business endeavors, and by the strange diversity found in the United States all at once. And this new Saad lives a life influenced by, but far different from, the one he lived as a little boy in Bangladesh or as a scared teen in New York. A life full of hard lessons, bittersweet tears, and an ever-present family, all of which motivate Saad to push onward.

Conclusion

As a group, Americans are often taught to see immigrants as others. But, when listening to these stories and exploring these themes, it’s easy to see how the internal conflicts that people new to the United States experience are, yes steeped in cultural background that is unique to each person’s place of origin, but are also similar to the hardships someone born in the US might experience. What this research aims to prove is that, yes, we are all different and yes those differences matter, but they should be seen as a way to expand our horizons, not used as a way to create division. There is this strange desire within so many of us to keep the world the same, no matter the costs. But there can be no development, no changed self, no changed life without change. By opening our hearts to the stories of those from elsewhere, we invite the diversity, the growth, and the movement that comes with them. It is now our turn to leave the places we know to form not just a better self, but a better world.

By: Akosua