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Home , Azerbaijani Americans, Bosnian Americans, Bulgarian Americans, Macedonian Americans, Rusyn Americans, Swiss Americans

October 1, 2015

The Honorable Barack Obama President of the The White House 1600 Avenue, NW , DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

On October 3rd, our nation will mark the 50th Anniversary of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 that opened the door to millions of new and their descendants. To help build on the legacy of that landmark law, we urge you to create a bipartisan commission to study establishment of the National of the American People.

The museum will relate the history of the making of the American People, a story which embodies our original national motto: E Pluribus Unum. This museum will celebrate every group from every land who have become Americans—“We the People.” It will show how people from every place on Earth helped make this country the world’s economic, military, scientific and cultural leader.

The National Museum of the American People will showcase how, when, why and from where we arrived in this land, our movements across the plains and mountains of the country, what each group encountered and how each helped to transform our nation.

The narrative begins in the prehistoric period and progresses through waves of migration and immigration until today. We expect it to be the best storytelling museum in the world as it depicts one of the world’s greatest stories.

The museum will shine a bright light on our founding documents, the Declaration of Independence and our Constitution, and show how they helped to shape the American character and infuse the values that bind us— especially important now when so much of the world is riven by sectarian strife.

The National Museum of the American People will become a lasting cultural legacy. All Americans will come to learn the story of their own ethnic, national or minority groups, and to learn about all of the others. Foreign visitors will come to better understand our incredibly diverse nation.

We seek no appropriated funds to plan, design, build or operate the museum. We envision a commission like the one that led to the creation of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. We look forward to working with you to realize the National Museum of the American People.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

(list of 187 organization and scholar signatures begins on next page)

AFRICAN AMERICANS BELARUSAN-AMERICANS Michael A. Grant, President Hanna Surmach, President National Bankers Association The Belarusan-American Association

Fr. Kenneth Taylor, President National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus Ajla Delkic, Executive Director

Advisory Council for Julia L. Black, Esq., President Albanian American National Organization Stanimir Alexandrov, Esq., President Dr. Anna Kohen, President The Bulgarian-American Society Albanian American Women's Organization CARPATHO- Mark Kosmo, Chair Patricia A. Krafcik, Ph.D., Chair Albanian American Society Carpatho-Rusyn Consortium of North America

AMERICAN INDIANS Jackie Pata, Executive Director Ed Gor, National President National Congress of American Indians Chinese American Citizens Alliance--National Fredericka Joseph, Chair Gary Matles, Co-President Society of American Indian Government Employees Mary Child Co-President Brian Patterson, President Families With Children From China United South & Eastern Tribes of Greater

ARAB AMERICANS Sarab Al-Jijakli, National President Thomas A. Dine, President Network of Arab-American Professionals American Friends of the Czech Republic

ARMENIAN AMERICANS Rita Balian, President Nestor Montilla, Sr., Chairman Armenian American Cultural Association Dominican American National Roundtable

Anita Anserian, Director Armenian General Benevolent Union Karen Karpowich, CEO Aram Suren Hamparian, Executive Director St. George's Society of New York Armenian National Committee of America ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICANS Marju Rink-Abel, President Hon. Ruby G. Moy, President and CEO Estonian American National Council Asian American & Pacific Islander Association of Colleges and Universities J.T.S. Mallonga, Esq., National Chair Lan Le Bangasser, Chair National Federation of Filipino American Asian Pacific American Cultural Arts Foundation Associations

Bonnie Wong, President Asian Women In Business Ossi Rahkonen, President Dan Lam, Board Chair Finlandia Foundation National Conference on Asian Pacific American Leadership Julie Badel, President Fabian J. De Rozario, National President & CEO Finnish American Chamber of Commerce Midwest National Association of Asian American Professionals Rhea Côté Robbins, Founder and Director Franco-American Women's Institute Javid Huseynov, Ph.D., Executive Director Azerbaijani American Council GEORGIAN AMERICANS Society of America Mamuka Tsereteli, President Georgian Association in the USA

GERMAN AMERICANS Dr. Don Heinrich Tolzmann, President Anasone Silivongxay, Chairwoman German-American Citizens League Sourichanh Chanthyasak, CEO Laotian American National Alliance Beverly A. Pochatko, National President German American National Congress (DANK) Howard Phengsomphone, Executive Director Lao Association of George L. Glotzbach, Archivist The Hermann Monument Society LATINO AMERICANS Robert Land, National Chairman Dr. Maria Teresa Montilla, President Steuben Society of America Latino Leadership Alliance of

GREEK AMERICANS Basil N. Mossaidis, Executive Director Sigita Simkuviene-Rosen, President, National Executive American Hellenic Educational Progressive Committee Association Lithuanian-American Community

Nick Larigakis, President & COO American Hellenic Institute Pavlina Proevska, Executive Director Macedonian Arts Council HISPANIC AMERICANS Antonio R. Flores, President & CEO Metodija A. Koloski, President Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities United Macedonian

INDIAN AMERICANS Lal K. Motwani, Past President Frank J. Spula, President National Federation of Indian American Associations Polish American Congress

Grazyna Kozaczka, President Polish American Historical Association Leila Austin, Executive Director Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans M. B. B. Biskupski, President Polish Institute of Arts & Sciences of America Thomas J. Burke, Jr., National President Irish American Unity Conference Francisco Semião, Executive Director National Organization of Portuguese Americans Fr. Sean McManus, President Irish National Caucus Fernando G. Rosa, Chairman Portuguese American Leadership Council of the United States John M. Viola, President and COO The National Italian American Foundation PUERTO RICANS Justin Velez-Hagan, Founder Aileen Riotto Sirey, Ph.D., Founder, Chair Emerita National Puerto Rican Chamber of Commerce National Organization of Italian American Women

Dr. Philip R. Piccigallo, CEO/National Executive Director Order Sons of Italy in America/Sons of Italy Natalie Sabelnik, Foundation President, Congress of Russian Americans Chair, Coordinating Council of Russian Compatriots of US Susan Uyemura, President and Oral Historian Dr. Regina Khidekel, AICA, SHERA, Executive Director Japanese American Living Legacy The Russian American Cultural Center

JEWISH AMERICANS Olga Zatsepina, Ph.D, President Stosh Cotler, Chief Executive Officer Russian American Cultural Heritage Center

Bend the Arc: A Jewish Partnership for Justice Elena Branson, President Allan J. Jacobs, President Russian Center New York B’nai B’rith International Mark Hetfield, President & CEO Alan L. Bain, President Emeritus Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society American-Scottish Foundation

Martha J. Walls, President St. Andrews Society of the Eastern Shore

SIKH AMERICANS Jasjit Singh, Executive Director Jacqui Wu, President Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund Taiwanese American Citizens League

SLOVAK AMERICANS Chung-nan Shih, Ph.D., Ex-President Taiwanese Association of America Brian Belensky, Vice-President Slovak American Society of Washington, DC Daniel D. Tanzone, President Dr. Mehmet Toy, President Slovak League of America Assembly of Turkish American Associations

SWEDISH AMERICANS G. Lincoln McCurdy, President Turkish Coalition of America Philip J. Anderson, President

Swedish-American Historical Society () Tore Kellgren, Grand Master Nguyen Dinh Thang, Ph.D., President & CEO Vasa Order of America Boat People SOS

SWISS AMERICANS Quyen Dinh, Executive Director Southeast Asia Resource Action Center Ally Gunduz, President

Swiss American Council of Women Dr. Megan Williams, Executive Director Welsh North American Association

Scholar Signatories

Arturo J. Aldama Charlotte Brooks Associate Professor of Ethnic and Latina/o Studies, Professor of History and Chair of the Program in Asian Associate Chair and Asian American Studies Department of Ethnic Studies Baruch College, City University of New York University of , Boulder John J. Bukowczyk Frederick Luis Aldama Professor of History & Editor, Journal of American Ethnic University Distinguished Scholar & Arts and Humanities History Distinguished Professor Wayne State University The State University Jon Butler Eiichiro Azuma Howard R. Lamar Professor Emeritus of American Alan Charles Kors Term Chair Associate Professor of Studies, History, and Religious Studies History Yale University Director, Asian American Studies University of Pennsylvania Geraldo Luján Cadava Associate Professor of History Carl L. Bankston III Northwestern University Professor, Department of Sociology Tulane University Albert M. Camarillo Professor of History and Ronald H. Bayor Leon Sloss Jr. Memorial Professor Professor Emeritus of History Special Assistant to the Provost for Faculty Diversity Tech Stanford University

John Bieter Bianet Castellanos Professor Associate Professor Boise State University Department of American Studies University of John Bodnar Distinguished Professor, History Stephen Castles University Professor, Research Chair in Sociology University of Sydney Carl J. Bon Tempo Associate Professor of History Cindy I-Fen Cheng SUNY Albany Associate Professor of History and the Program in Asian American Studies Caroline B. Brettell University of – Madison University Distinguished Professor of Anthropology Southern Methodist University

Charles L. Cohen Maria Cristina Garcia E. Gordon Fox Professor of American Institutions Howard A. Newman Professor of American Studies University of Wisconsin Cornell University

Robin Cohen Ervan Garrison Professor Emeritus Professor of Anthropology and Department Head University of Oxford University of Georgia

Roger Daniels C. Joseph Genetin-Pilawa Charles Phelps Taft Professor Emeritus of History Assistant Professor of History University of Department of History and Art History George Mason University Ian Delahanty Assistant Professor of History Cheryl L. Greenberg Springfield College Paul E. Raether Distinguished Professor of History Trinity College Grace Peña Delgado Associate Professor of History Tanya Golash-Boza University of , Santa Cruz Associate Professor, Department of Sociology University of California, Merced Sir Tom Devine Professor Emeritus of Scottish History and Paleography Patrick Griffin The University of Edinburgh Madden-Hennebry Professor Department of History Tom D. Dillehay University of Notre Dame Rebecca Webb Wilson University Distinguished Professor of Anthropology, Religion, and Culture Gwendolyn Midlo Hall and Professor of Anthropology and Latin American Professor of History Studies State University Vanderbilt University Marilyn Halter Hasia R. Diner Professor of History and American Studies, Research Professor of American Jewish History and Director of the Associate, Institute on Culture, Religion and World Center for American Jewish History Affairs New York University University

Leonard Dinnerstein Hidetaka Hirota Professor Emeritus Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow, Society of Fellows in the University of Humanities Lecturer, History Department and the Century for the Thomas Dublin Study of Ethnicity and Race Bartle Distinguished Professor of History Columbia University State University of New York at Binghamton Dirk Hoerder Ellen Eisenberg Professor Emeritus Dwight & Margaret Lear Professor of American History Arizona State University Willamette University Michael Innis-Jimenez Patricia Fernández-Kelly Associate Professor of American Studies Senior Lecturer in Sociology University of Alabama Princeton University Maurice Jackson, David Fitzpatrick Associate Professor of History and African-American Professor of Modern History Studies Trinity College, Dublin Georgetown University

Kathleen Flake Ely Janis Richard Lyman Bushman Professor of Mormon Studies Associate Professor of History University of Virginia Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts

Lori Flores Anna Jaroszyńska-Kirchman Assistant Professor of History Distinguished Professor of History SUNY Stony Brook Eastern Connecticut State University

Nancy Foner Marilynn S. Johnson Distinguished Professor of Sociology Professor of History Hunter College and Graduate Center of the City Boston College University of New York Michael Jones-Correa Donna Gabaccia Robert J. Katz Chair of the Department of Government Professor of History Professor of Government University of Toronto Cornell University

Philip Kasinitz Kerby A. Miller Presidential Professor and Executive Officer, Doctoral Curators’ Professor Emeritus of History Program in Sociology University of City University of New York, Graduate Center José C. Moya Ryan W. Keating Professor of History Assistant Professor of History Barnard College/Columbia University California State University, San Bernardino John Nieto-Phillips Thomas Kessner Associate Professor, Department of History & Latino Distinguished Professor of History Studies Program Graduate Center of the City University of New York Indiana University

Peter Kivisto erin Khuê Ninh Richard A. Swanson Professor of Social Thought Associate Professor, Dept of Asian American Studies Augustana College UC Santa Barbara

Rachel Kranson Arissa Oh Assistant Professor of Religious Studies Assistant Professor, History University of Boston College

Alan M. Kraut Gary Y. Okihiro University Professor & Professor of History Professor of International and Public Affairs American University Columbia University

Erika Lee Fernando Orejuela Rudolph J. Vecoli Chair in Immigration History, Director, Senior Lecturer of Folklore and Ethnomusicology Immigration History Research Center Indiana University University of Minnesota Mark Overmyer-Velázquez Peggy Levitt Director, El Instituto: Institute of Latina/o, Caribbean & Chair and Professor of Sociology Latin American Studies Wellesley College University of Connecticut

Wei Li Josh Perelman Professor, Asian Pacific American Studies Chief Curator & Director of Exhibitions and Collections Arizona State University National Museum of American Jewish History

Ed Linenthal James Pula Professor of History Professor of History Indiana University

Huping Ling David Reimers Changjiang Scholar Chair Professor, Professor of Professor Emeritus History New York University Truman State University Vicki L. Ruiz Daryl Joji Maeda Distinguished Professor of History of /Latino Associate Professor of Ethnic Studies Studies University of Colorado, Boulder University of California, Irvine

Andrae Marak Cathy J. Schlund-Vials Chair, Division of Humanities and Social Sciences Associate Professor, English and Asian/Asian American Professor of History and Political Science Studies and Director, Asian and Asian American Studies Governors State University Institute University of Connecticut Maddalena Marinari Assistant Professor of History Leah Schmalzbauer Gustavus Adolphus College Associate Professor of Sociology and American Studies Amherst College José Antonio Mazzotti Professor of Romance Languages and Latin American Nitasha Tamar Sharma Studies& Director, Revista de Crítica Literaria Associate Professor Latinoamericana, African American Studies, Asian American Studies Tufts University Northwestern University

Cecilia Menjivar Tobin Miller Shearer Professor Associate Professor, History Department University of Kansas African-American Studies Director University of Montana David S. Meyer Professor of Sociology and Political Science University of California, Irvine Seema Sohi Zaragosa Vargas Assistant Professor, Department of Ethnic Studies Kenan Distinguished Professor of Latino Studies University of Colorado, Boulder University of , Chapel Hill

Werner Max Sollors Diane Vecchio Henry B. and Anne M. Cabot Professor of English and of Professor of History African American Studies Furman University Harvard University Linda Trinh Vo Jordan Stanger-Ross Professor of Asian American Studies & Director of the Associate Professor, History Vietnamese American Oral History Project Project Director, Landscapes of Injustice University of California, Irvine University of Victoria, British Columbia Kyle G. Volk M. Mark Stolarik Associate Professor of History Professor of History and Chairholder, Chair in Slovak University of Montana History & Culture University of Ottawa Priscilla Wald R. Florence Brinkley Professor of English and Margaret Thomas J. Sugrue Smith Taylor Director of Women's Studies Professor of Social and Cultural Analysis and History Duke University New York University Wang Gungwu Daniel J. Tichenor University Professor Philip H. Knight Professor of Social Science National University of Singapore Senior Scholar and Program Director, Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics Mary C. Waters University of M.E. Zukerman Professor of Sociology

Don Heinrich Tolzmann Harvard University

Curator Peter J. Way German Heritage Museum of Cincinnati Professor of History Thomas A. Tweed University of Windsor (Ontario) W. Harold and Martha Welch Professor of American Jace Weaver Studies and Professor of History Franklin Professor of Religion and Native American University of Notre Dame Studies Reed Ueda University of Georgia Professor of History Michael Zuckerman Tufts University Professor Emeritus of History Co-Chair, Inter-University Committee on International University of Pennsylvania Migration MIT Center for International Studies