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Making It In Maine: Stories Of Jewish Life In Small-Town America, David M. Freidenreich Jan 2015

Making It In Maine: Stories Of Jewish Life In Small-Town America, David M. Freidenreich

Maine History

A fundamental part of the experience of immigrants to the United States has been the tension between incorporating into a new country while maintaining one’s cultural roots. In this article, the author describes the experience of Jewish Americans in Maine, where climate, culture, and remoteness from larger Jewish populations contributed to a unique process of Americanization compared with Jewish populations in more urban areas of the country. After successfully “making it” over the course of two centuries, Jewish Mainers face a new set of challenges and opportunities. The author is the director of the Jewish studies program at Colby College …


A City Divided: Lewiston’S Acceptance And Resistance To The Somali Refugees In Lewiston, Maine From 2000 To 2011, Anna Chase Hogeland Jan 2015

A City Divided: Lewiston’S Acceptance And Resistance To The Somali Refugees In Lewiston, Maine From 2000 To 2011, Anna Chase Hogeland

Maine History

This article depicts the nature of the resettlement, acculturation, and reception of the Somali refugees in the city of Lewiston, Maine from their arrival in 2000 until 2011. As refugees from their war-torn country, Somalis faced a mixed welcome in their new home. Racial and religious tensions rose as the black, Muslim Somalis moved into the predominately white and Christian Lewiston community. In opposition to the cold reception, as this article argues, the vast majority of the Lewiston community greeted the Somalis with tolerance, adaptability, and embracement. This article chronicles the historical contexts of Lewiston and Somalis before and during …