immigrants

Philadelphia is a major destination because of its booming ports which made it a very natural destination for Scottish immigrants. These immigrants were seeking a new place with new opportunities. Many were very poor and in need. The memorial shows the strides the Scottish have made. 

There are two sculptures facing each other, but from a distance. On one side there is a sculpture of a man sitting down and a woman on her knees. They are both extremely skinny and have on inadequate clothing. There is also an empty bowl sitting right beside them. The man doesn't have a shirt on and both figures look overall very rough. The woman is also on her knees with her hand in the air giving the impression that she is praying. On the opposite sculpture there is a man, a woman, and a child. All three are dressed very well and look very fit. Unlike the other sculpture, all three are walking. This contrasts depicts the struggling, anxious immigrant transforming to a new life in America with opportunity and freedom. This memorial is visited by over 3 million people per year.

This memorial is dedicated to remembering the hardships of the thousands of Japanese Americans that were sent to interment camps during WWII due to the racially-oriented suspicion that they were all spies.

Alison Saar's 1994 work, "Monument to the Great Northern Migration," honors the six million-odd African-Americans who traveled from the South to Chicago from 1910 to 1970.

This Historical Mile Marker commemorates Baron Christoph von Graffenried who founded New Bern in 1710 after migrating to America. He led Swiss and Palatine immigrants to the New World.