Trachtenberg Office Attends Talk on Immigrant Families in America by Best Selling Author Steven V. Roberts

Naomi Bloch attended Monday evening’s talk by Steven V. Roberts, best selling author, professor, TV and Radio Analyst that was hosted by the Montgomery County Committee for Ethnic Affairs (CEA) that took place at the Rockville Library from 7:00 to 9:00.

Mr. Roberts spoke about his recent book: “From Every End of This Earth: 13 Families and the New Lives They Made in America”, that profiles 13 families who immigrated to America. Mr. Roberts shared his own family’s immigrant experiences and discussed that even though the immigrant experience is different for each family, the one common thread is what Mr. Roberts described as the sacrifice generation, the ones that face "the pain of dislocation, of missing home, of living in two worlds and never feeling completely comfortable in either one." For many immigrants, this sacrifice is made for the sake of their children.

After Mr. Roberts’ remarks, he opened up the discussion and asked people in the audience to share their own stories concerning their personal immigrant experiences. The issue of intolerance toward new immigrants was discussed extensively and Mr. Roberts pointed out the long history of intolerance in America and how each of the various groups that were at first opposed have gone on to make invaluable contributions to this country and have also ultimately accepted into the society.

Mr. Roberts' talk is the first in a series under a pilot program developed by the Committee on Ethnic Affairs (CEA) to encourage communication among the diverse ethnic communities of Montgomery County. The CEA is under the umbrella of the Office of the County Executive, Office of Community Partnerships. Its purpose is to bridge the cultural diversity of all ethnic groups in Montgomery County and its mission is to advise the County Executive and the County Council on public policy that relates to ethnic affairs and to promote maximum involvement of all ethnic groups in the County government and other County services and programs.

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Community Bridges: Montgomery County Council Recognizes Ana Lopez

Ana Lopez, executive director of the Community Bridges program that works with girls ages eight to 15 from low-income, predominantly immigrant families in Silver Spring and Takoma Park, was recently recognized by the Montgomery County Council after she was named winner of the Agnes Meyer Foundation Exponent Award. The award celebrates visionary nonprofit leaders and presents a $100,000 grant to the recipient’s organization for leadership development.

At the ceremonies in Rockville on November 24 were, left to right: Councilmembers Valerie Ervin and Nancy Floreen, Ms. Lopez, and Councilmembers Nancy Navarro and Duchy Trachtenberg.