Conscious Immigrant: An Awakening for Those Emerging from an Unprecedented Period in America

By Furah Kimani

This book offers a refreshing perspective on immigration and makes a great case of how and why conscious immigrants are living the American dream, and raising America's next influential generation. No matter one's immigration status, state or nation of origin, this book will restore hope and empower readers to live a colorful and fulfilling life in their immediate communities.
As immigrants emerge from this unprecedented period in America, this thought provoking perspective will inspire conscious immigrants to forge forward boldly and purposefully.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Jan 10, 2023
• ISBN: 9781667880976

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© 2022 Furah Kimani

ISBN: 978-1-66-788097-6

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Through the Pandemic

Coming to America

Contrast in Time

Merging Signs

Welcome Home

New America?

The Trail

The Blend

Politics or None of it?

Family Merge

Appraise your struggle

America *1700s

The bosom of America is open to receive not only the Opulent and respectable Stranger, but the oppressed and persecuted of all Nations and Religions; whom we shall welcome to a participation of all our rights and privileges, if by decency and propriety of conduct they appear to merit the enjoyment.

—George Washington

Introduction

It is my sincere hope that this book will serve both as an encouragement and a challenge to all immigrants, especially those on the path to becoming America’s most influential generation.

The content in Conscious Immigrant nudges readers to merge by first taking ownership of their immigrant journey, integrating themselves into local communities, and then merging in a way that uplifts and empowers them while enriching their community. I believe this book will inspire hope and offer essential nuggets of information to a demographic of people that has for so long been the subject of many negative debates.

The book challenges narratives, most of them centuries old, used by different generations to keep immigrant groups sidelined or trumped upon. There are countless narratives that immigrants in every century either silently believed or fought hard to overcome. These narratives are often about their place or class in society, culture, origin, and even their physical appearance.

Defining, embracing, and understanding one’s truth based on origin, physical appearance, culture, known perceptions by others, and their place in the evolution of their specific community can be a catalyst that leads to greater consciousness. It is an audacious goal for any person to embrace who they truly are, intentionally pursue their goals, know rights, and then proceed to boldly live life merged in a community of their choice. It is a simple goal that is not always within reach for immigrants.

The title Conscious Immigrant, I believe, is a fitting way to describe immigrants who consciously choose to educate themselves on their place in history while seeking to understand and follow the laws of the land. They purposely pursue a path to becoming citizens while seeking opportunities to merge into the community and advance the cause for justice and civil rights whenever possible.

Immigrants have woken up to the fact that there are no guarantees of freedom or democracy. The history of the United States is constantly getting shaped by new immigrants, and the current generation of immigrants is no different. They have woken up to their power to influence elections and changing demographics in America’s cities and suburbs.

They also now have a deeper understanding of racism and xenophobia. Many of them come from nations where discrimination based on tribe, caste, religion, and social and economic status is normalized and entrenched in the community as a social norm. Many of them had never thought about it or considered the morality of the notion until they migrated to the United States.

By migrating, many immigrants from parts of the world other than the European countries become awakened to the reality of themselves as minorities of color or an immigrant designation that led them to discover their place in the unspoken American caste system.

Many immigrants are burdened by words, actions, or beliefs passed down from their elders and community against other tribes, religions, or cultures that somehow left a residue of mistrust and guilt that they are still working to set right. Others were at the receiving end of discrimination or even violence, which led them to migrate only to find another steep mountain of scrutiny to climb.

Migrating to America can be a rude awakening for non-Caucasians. One’s identity analysis starts from those first forms you fill out on arrival and then continues into a slow descent of what I call being put into your category through physical or cultural scrutiny that has nothing to do with one’s character, intellect, or potential. One’s color, language, and American accent can be a good predictor of how one can be perceived or received in America. We are still far away from Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream of a time when one can only be judged by the content of their character. It is evident when immigrants meet Black Americans, the first friends most immigrants make, who, no matter how authentically American they are, it is impossible to miss the inequality in the system that has kept them down for generations. It is simply impossible to overlook or excuse.

Becoming a US citizen is misunderstood by many around the world and by Americans especially. Some tend to think that living in the US for a certain number of years automatically earns one citizenship status, while others argue that getting a citizenship certificate entirely takes care of whatever migrating and settling in America entails. Both ideas leave out a big part of what is true about coming alive as a true American citizen. This book tries to convey that becoming an American citizen is about growing roots and establishing a new merge into a new kind of a village that becomes a true home for the individual and their future kin. It is also mastering ways to forge forward, ignoring the negative chatter and noise, and concentrating one’s effort and time into becoming catalysts of meaningful change on a personal level while living life with unblurred focus.

Becoming a citizen in any nation really is about finding one’s place along with their culture and traditions while intentionally pursuing a healthy merge and creating a new place to be home. American culture is uniquely diverse and embellished with flavors from every part of the world. This makes merging achievable for anyone from any part of the world when done with true intent, love for the community, and commitment to an organic cultural fusion.

Becoming a conscious migrant also means becoming the first in a new branch of a family tree to embark on a merge journey that will shape and impact one’s lineage for generations away from their place of origin. Unlike new immigrants who sometimes find themselves at a random school or living in a random state, conscious migrants choose not just this nation but make informed choices down to the city, neighborhood, and even schools that their children attend.

Today, the population we view as more conscious are mostly descendants of immigrants from two to three generations ago. These immigrants came to this country from different parts of the world seeking a better life and conquering the challenge of finding their place or part to play within the communities they now call home. Conscious immigrants pursue this path because they are very much aware of their place in history and can simply live their hard-earned American dream while positively impacting their communities. This entails tuning out many opposing notions and choosing to focus on the community around them. It is worth noting that conscious citizens do this relentlessly without apology, often having endured some challenges undeterred. They can retrace their roots far off the shores of the United States, one can often recognize them by their compassion and understanding of difficult immigration matters. Many are known to be fearless advocates of fairness and equality. In the past, they have fought for undocumented immigrants to be afforded rights and protections under the law while engaging organizations such as the ACLU in giving legal representation in matters that affect immigrants and their kin.

Conscious immigrants are often responsible for creating world-class communities that have the potential to impact the future of America and the entire world. They prepare their future generations for an emerging world that is more diverse and inclusive. We recently had a first lady who, like many immigrants, did whatever was required of her according to the immigration law to earn her citizenship. Her journey from Slovenia to the US ought to make immigrants feel proud and validated. She is what immigrants would identify as a fresh-off-the-boat (FOB) immigrant who went on to become the First Lady of the United States. When tabloids printed photos of her parents getting sworn in to become US citizens, many immigrants identified with the moment because, in our recent family histories, we have been there, trying to keep our families together while navigating the complex immigration system as we merged into our communities.

When President Obama got elected as president of the United States, or more recently, when Kamala Harris rose from being a California senator to become the first female vice president,