When you go to New York City, of course you visit the Statue of Liberty. In Lady Liberty’s shadow, however, lies the Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration. To visit one without visiting the other is to miss the point.
To get to the Statue of Liberty, a visitor must maneuver through roped queues along with crowds of others. Once you step onto the ferry, there’s no turning back, because people are crowding on behind you. All you can do is move to a spot that you hope will yield a good look at the harbor as you depart and a good view of the Statue as you arrive. I couldn’t help thinking that this was a small-scale version of what the more than 12 million immigrants would have gone through as they left for the United States: the decision, the anticipation, being “managed” as part of a crowd.
The Ellis Island Museum focuses on the management. Someone had to consider the question, “How shall we manage and process large groups of people arriving every day?” How do we make sure people are healthy, literate, and able to support themselves? The result is this building with tiled walls; a large, open hall; and a window that looks out on Lady Liberty standing in the harbor.
The Museum today holds quiet echoes of those who passed through. The joy of people who were reunited with family, the pain of those who were separated, the frustration of those who had to wait, and above it all, the anticipation and hope – they hang in the air.
The Museum presents an extensive exhibit about immigration in America – a difficult subject handled as diplomatically as possible. Slavery is addressed unflinchingly. The impact on Native Americans is mentioned but not explored. Most of the exhibit focuses on the arrival of Eastern Europeans, who formed the largest group during the height of immigration. A stylized tree presents the impact of other languages on English. Exhibits show clothing from Old Countries abandoned as people worked to assimilate. Posters and videos record the words of those who made the trip. Students on school field trips – bless their teachers and chaperones! – walked through a living textbook.
The window in the Great Hall looks out to the island where Lady Liberty lifts her light. Without the events that took place on Ellis Island, though, the Lady is just a statue, a generous gift. The souls that dreamed of something different and came to America make her the symbol that enlightens the world.
