By Jamie Brian
This National Immigrant Heritage Month, we recognize the more than one million people who leave their home countries each year to begin a new life on American soil. Some flee conflict or persecution, some come for education or a new career, and some arrive in America to reunite with family. But they all have one thing in common: they dream of new opportunities, and they leave an enduring impact on our nation. America is a nation made stronger by its immigrants and refugees, who have inspired others through contributions to their professions and their communities.
Here are ten immigrants and refugees who have shaped America in their own way:
Pramila Jayapal, U.S. senator
Pramila Jayapal is the first Indian American woman to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. Jayapal was born in India and moved to the United States at age 16 to attend Georgetown University. Prior to becoming a congresswoman in 2016, she spent 20 years working in global public health and development as an advocate for human rights. Jayapal represents Washington’s 7th District and is a member of the House Judiciary Committee. Throughout her career, she has been an advocate for immigrant rights, income inequality, and health care.
Stokely Carmichael, civil rights activist
Stokely Carmichael was a civil rights activist who played a key role in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the Black Panther Party of the 1960s. Born in Trinidad, he became a naturalized American citizen in 1954. Carmichael graduated from Howard University with a philosophy degree and joined the 1964 “Freedom Summer” campaign to register black voters in the Deep South. In 1967, after visiting with revolutionary leaders abroad, Carmichael became Prime Minister of the Black Panther Party. He devoted his life to writing articles on Pan-Africanism and building a community of black unity.
Irving Berlin, musician
Irving Berlin was a prolific 20th century songwriter who penned over 1,000 songs, including “White Christmas” and “Cheek to Cheek.” Berlin was born in present day Belarus and fled the country with his family in 1893 to escape religious persecution. He arrived in New York City as a refugee, and he worked as a street singer to support his family. Berlin was later employed as a lyricist for Waterson & Snyder, a successful sheet music publishing company. Aside from his work on popular songs, Berlin also wrote the scores for Broadway musicals. His credits include Annie Get Your Gun, Call Me Madam, and Face the Music.
Ming-Na Wen, actress
Ming Na is a Chinese American actress who is best known for playing Dr. Deb Chen in the drama TV series ER. She was born in Macao, China and immigrated to the United States, where she became a successful actress and the first Asian American woman to land a contract role in a daytime soap opera with ER. Na’s other notable roles include June in the film adaptation of Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club, Fennec Shand in the Star Wars series, and Mulan in the Disney animated film. Recently, she played Melinda May in Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Ocean Vuong, writer
Ocean Vuong is a New York Times bestselling author and poet who was born in Vietnam and raised in Hartford, Connecticut. Vuong and his family lived in a refugee camp in the Philippines prior to gaining citizenship in the United States. He has channeled his experiences as a refugee into his work, winning the T.S. Eliot prize for the poetry collection Night Sky with Exit Wounds. Vuong’s other titles include Time Is a Mother and On Earth, We’re Briefly Gorgeous. He currently teaches in the M.F.A. Program for Poets and Writers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Gloria Estefan, musician
Gloria Estefan is a seven-time Grammy Award winner and the former frontwoman of the chart-topping band Miami Sound Machine. When Fidel Castro rose to power, Estefan and her family fled their home in Cuba and arrived in Florida as refugees. Estefan was granted citizenship in 1974. As a member of Miami Sound Machine, she became an international star and recorded four Spanish-language albums. Estefan also has a successful solo career, and she has channeled her creativity into writing two children’s books.
Ayn Rand, writer
Ayn Rand was the bestselling author of the novels The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. When Rand was a child, Bolshevik soldiers seized her father’s pharmacy shop in St. Petersburg, Russia. The family fled to Crimea, where they lived in poverty and dreamt of a better life. She applied for a visa to the United States and established roots in Hollywood to become a screenwriter. During her lifetime, she wrote both fiction and nonfiction and developed the “objectivism” system of philosophy.
Madeleine Albright, diplomat
Madeleine Albright was the first woman to serve as U.S. Secretary of State. Under President Clinton, she also served as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Albright and her family fled their home in Czechoslovakia twice: once to escape Nazi occupation during World War II, and once to seek exile from the 1948 communist coup. When she was 11 years old, she arrived in Colorado as a refugee. This experience sparked her lifelong devotion to human rights and democracy.
Yao Ming, basketball player
Yao Ming is a Chinese American basketball player who became internationally recognized as a center player with the NBA team the Houston Rockets. Prior to moving to the United States, Ming played for the Chinese basketball team the Shanghai Sharks. Between 2003 and 2009, Ming earned six all-star honors and guided the Houston Rockets to five playoff games. He retired from professional basketball in 2011 and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016. Ming bridged the gap between the United States and China and proved that immigrants could be successful both on and off the court.
Albert Einstein, physicist
Albert Einstein was a ground-breaking physicist and Nobel Laureate best known for developing the theories of relativity and quantum mechanics. He was also a refugee who escaped Nazi persecution in Germany and sought asylum in the United States. In addition to his work as a physicist, Einstein left his mark as a humanitarian. In 1933, he urged the creation of an organization to support refugees. The International Relief Association was formed, which would become the modern-day International Rescue Committee.