According to the 2010 U.S. Census, there were 1,227 Bolivian immigrants living in Alexandria, Virginia with 31,333 Bolivian immigrants in the entire state. Virginia has the largest number of Bolivian immigrants in the nation, the majority living within the Washington-metro region.[i]

 

These Bolivian immigrants have encountered various hardships, including navigating the American education system as non-English speakers or English language learners (ELL).  According to a 1995 article titled “A New Accent on Education,” there are more than 20,000 public school students in the region who either were born abroad or are studying English as a second language, about seventy-five percent being Latinos.[ii] Among these students was Heidi Flores, who attended T.C. Williams in Alexandria, Virginia. Flores states, “We have a good ESL program, but the students can feel very isolated over in the ESL hall.” At T.C. Williams, 470 of the 1,800 students were not native English speakers. The school is nearly forty percent Hispanic, creating a level of many students who may not speak English well. The school allocates many resources toward its ELL homeless education programs.[iii] Flores, who came here from Bolivia seven years ago and is now totally fluent in English, says that various issues including her accent, and the poverty levels of the kids around her influence the type of education she has encountered and experienced.[vi]

 

Additionally, the impoverished nature of many students’ and families that attend T.C. Williams creates additional obstacles for a successful education. The struggle of students to keep up with the learning gap between themselves and native English speakers becomes too great, with some finding the draw of gang and crime as a possible escape. The difficulty of learning for the ELL students can cause interest in learning to be inherently lost, while leading to even greater problems because of the gangs.[vii]

According to the Washington Post article, “Lure of the Latino Gang”, a gang composed mostly of Central American immigrants although it possibly included Bolivians, had engaged in violent crimes across the region. As the number of Latino students in Virginia suburban schools, so does the gang activity and membership. According to the article, the relationship with parents is one common key between immigrants partaking in gang life or not. The long hours Latino immigrant parents have to work is a problem.[viii]

Alexandria Bar Foundation, Beat The Odds, awards scholarships to students who have overcome obstacles in the school environment. In 2014 The Foundation of the Alexandria Bar Association awarded twelve Alexandria students with scholarships, totaling more than $23,000. The program recognizes the achievement and determination of local youth who are succeeding despite barriers and hardships. For example, Nancy Martinez won this year’s grand prize award. A senior at T.C. Williams High School, Martinez has survived periods of homelessness and extraordinarily difficult family circumstances but has confronted expectations through her determination. Much like Heidi Flores, Nancy Martinez encountered and overcame many of the same situations.[ix]

 

i.  United States Census Bureau / American FactFinder. “Hispanic or Latino by Type.” 2010 Census.U.S. Census Bureau, 2010.Web. 7, November 2016; U.S. Census, 2010: Bolivian Americans. Washington: Government Printing Office, 2010.

ii. Pamela Constable, “A New Accent on Education: Rise of Immigrants Means Schools Must Navigate a Sea of Diversity,” Washington Post, April 2, 1995, B1.

iii. “T.C. Williams High School,” last modified September 20, 2015, http://www.acps.k12.va.us/profiles/tcw.php.

vi. Patrick Welsh, “Lure of the Latino Gang,” Washington Post, March 26, 1995.

v. Pamela Constable, “A New Accent on Education: Rise of Immigrants Means Schools Must Navigate a Sea of Diversity,” Washington Post, April 2, 1995, B1.

vi. Patrick Welsh, “Lure of the Latino Gang,” Washington Post, March 26, 1995.

vii. “Alexandria Bar Foundation Awards,” last modified April 18, 2014,  http://www.alexandrianews.org/2014/alexandria-bar-foundation-awards-2014-beat-the

Ethiopia’s immigration patterns have been greatly affected by political and economic struggles. According to Professor Solomon Addis Getabun of the University of Central Michigan, “The majority of the African refugees of the past decade have come from the Horn of Africa, an area that has been in permanent emergency for decades.” Ethiopia has accounted for 1,743,800 of these refugees, mostly caused by the misfortune of the Red Terror.[i]

An article from the Washington Post from June 1982 cited a skyrocketing rate of 1,457 Ethiopians applying for asylum in the United States. The first wave of the Ethiopian exiles in the United states arrived in 1974, following an increase in violence related to the Marxist takeover and assassination of Haile Selaisse. United States government policy shifted in reaction to the violence, allowing more Ethiopians to apply and become approved for asylum in the early 1980s.[ii]

Between 1976 and 1978, the Marxist government of Ethiopia executed as many as 500,000 citizens in a conflict called the Red Terror. The Marxist government abolished the parliament, suspended the constitution and arrested the emperor, who died in custody.[iii]  Just as so many Ethiopians escaped Ethiopia to the sound of gunfire, so did Aida Abdul-Wali. In a 2015 interview with Apasrin Suvanasai, Abdul-Wali discusses leaving Ethiopia and arriving Alexandria, Virginia around 1980.[iv] Abdul-Wali recalled: the Red Terror: “What I remember from that is it was a peaceful time, and the next thing you know, it was like a military takeover. And I remember one day—like the next day, there were just like bodies outside, like we’d never seen it before. But it was just like literally blood coming down the hill because they had just taken and killed so many people.”[v]

For some families at the time, the Marxist government takeover was a dangerous time. The Abdul-Wali family, like many others, attempted to leave Ethiopia in reaction to these events.  And–many settled in the Washington Metropolitan Area, especially Alexandria, Virginia.

[i] Solomon Addis Getabun, The History of Ethiopian Immigrants and Refugees in America, 1900-2000 (New York: LFB Scholarly Publishing, 2007), 48-53.

[ii]Joanne Omang, “Policy Change Will Let Exiled Ethiopians Stay in U.S., ” Washington Post, Jul 8, 1982.

[iii]Tom McGhee, “Red Terror in Ethiopia killed thousands between 1976 and 1978,” Washington Post, July 11, 2013.

[iv]  Aida Abdul-Wali, interview by Apasrin Suvanasai, Aida Abdul-Wali’s Home in Alexandria, Virginia, Immigrant Alexandria: Past, Present and Future, August 25, 2015.

[v] Aida Abdul-Wali , interview by Apasrin Suvanasai, August 25, 2015.

The residents of the Italian peninsula have been among the most migratory peoples on the earth.[i] According to Donna R. Gabaccia’s, Italy’s Many Diasporas, 16.6 million peoples departed Italy from 1871 to 1921.[ii] This departure was part of a much larger global population shift tied to industrialization and transportation improvements. The majority of Italians came to the United States to fill the jobs in factories, mines, and railroad industries.[iii]

Arriving in the United States in 1908, Anthony Ciuffreda was part of this large immigration trend. According to the New York passenger manifest, Anthony departed from Napoli (Naples) on the passenger ship S.S. Conte Rosso and arrived in New York City a few weeks later.[iv]  Previously residing in Monte San Angelo, Anthony settled in Alexandria, Virginia. Anthony married Helen Orndorff, an eighteen year old from Colorado, on March 20, 1918 in Washington D.C.[v] In December 1925, Anthony petitioned and became a naturalized citizen.[vi] The 1940 U.S. Census shows that once settled in Alexandria, Anthony became the proprietor of a garage, and owned property worth $8,400.[vii]

Once arriving in the U.S., Anthony immediately attempted to immerse himself in the experience,  getting married, applying for naturalization, and becoming the proprietor of a business.

 

 

 

 

With the outbreak of World War I, Anthony registered himself for the draft. However, it is interesting that Anthony did not register for the draft until June 5^th, 1918.[viii] According to the national archives military records, the U.S. government did not apply a draft for the third registration, which was held on September 12, 1918, for men age 18 through 45 until much later in the war. This registration would have included Anthony.[ix]

 

 

[i] Donna R. Gabaccia, Italy’s Many Diasporas. (Seattle: U of Washington, 2000.), 1.

[ii] Ibid., 58.

[iii]  Ibid., 59.

[iv] New York Passenger List, 1820-1957, accessed October 10, 2016, http://www.ancestry.com.

[v] Select Marriages, 1830-1921, accessed October 10, 2016, http://www.ancestry.com.

[vi] U.S., Naturalization Records, 1840-1957, accessed October 11, 2016, http://www.ancestry.com.

[vii] 1940 United States Federal Census, accessed October 7, 2016, http://www.ancestry.com.

[viii] U.S. World War One Draft registration cards, 1917-1918, accessed October 10, 2016, http://www.ancestry.com.

[ix]  “World War I Draft Registration Cards”, The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, accessed October 14^th, 2016, https://www.archives.gov/research/military/ww1/draft-registration.

While combing through both the 1860 and 1870 U.S. Census, I came across various pieces of information about William Cogan. In the 1860 U.S. Census, I was able to locate him, a then twenty-nine-year-old gas fitter. Cogan’s combined value of property in 1860 was $4,500.[1] In Alexandria’s local newspaper, The Alexandria Gazette, I was able to locate an advertisement for Cogan’s gas fitting enterprise dated January 24, 1862, which meant that he continued working throughout the Civil War in Union-occupied Alexandria.[2] Additionally, according to the Voting Viva Voce website, I located Cogan’s home in Alexandria and other personal information. According to the site, Cogan did not own or rent slaves.[3] The 1860 census also lists William’s wife, Virginia, who was born in the United States.[4]

 

To track possible changes, I also looked at the 1870 U.S. Census. When looking at the 1870 U.S. census in Alexandria, William Cogan was listed again. His job is now listed as Gas & Steam fitter. Where in 1860 his property value was $4,500, in 1870 that value was risen to $10,000.[5]

Cogan was born in the year 1828 in London. The gravestone at Presbyterian Cemetery in Alexandria, Virginia reads, “In memory of/my husband/William Cogan…aged 60 years/native of London/England.”[6] Virginia passed away on December 22nd, 1912 in her house on 1012 Prince Street in Alexandria.[7]

 

[1] 1860 U. S. Census (Population Schedule), Alexandria, Virginia, William Cogan, digital image, accessed September 20, 2016, http://www.ancestry.com/.

[2] “The Local news,” The Alexandria Gazette, 24 Jan. 1862.

[3] Voting Viva Voce. University of Virginia. http://sociallogic.iath.virginia.edu/.

[4] 1860 U. S. Census (Population Schedule),   Alexandria, Virginia, William Cogan, digital image, accessed September 20, 2016, http://www.ancestry.com/.

[5] 1870 U. S. Census (Population Schedule), Alexandria, Virginia, William Cogan, digital image, accessed September 20, 2016, http://www.ancestry.com/.

[6] Ancestry.com. U.S., Find a Grave Index, 1600s-Current [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.

[7] “Mrs. Virginia Cogan Dead,” The Washington Post Dec. 22, 1912.