Ellis Island

Yesterday while standing on a very long line to enter the ferry that would take me and a friend to Ellis Island, a street musician playing a steel drum asked in a very thick Caribbean accent "So, where are you all from?" He obviously set up to play for the usual throng of tourists from around the world and was amused when I said loudly "Brooklyn." He then told us an anecdote about a guy he saw once that lived 2 blocks away for 20 years that had never been to Ellis island either.

It is the fate of most New Yorkers that we never understand the beauty and history that surrounds us. As soon as the ferry left the dock and exposed lower Manhattan to the deck full of sightseers, a hundred cameras flew out of bags and coat pockets to document the New York skyline. Another amusing moment for 2 jaded locals. My friend who once lived in one of those waterfront buildings in Battery Park City, laughed and took note, "Huh...i wonder how many pictures there are of my old apartment?"

I had never been to Ellis Island or Liberty Island for that matter. I never saw the point. I don't know much of my heritage or my ancestors and I have never felt that pull from my past to find out where I come from. I was always the type of guy that worried about where our collective pasts have brought us, after all don't we all now live in what Robert Bly once called a Sibling Society? It is in that spirit, one interested in our shared past than that of my own, I went on the trip to Ellis Island.

It was a long afternoon. The ferry takes you to either Liberty Island to see the Statue Of Liberty or Ellis Island to see the immigration museum. The line at 1:30 p.m took us almost 2 hours to get through. The security was airport-like making many people remove belts and shoes and articles of clothing. In fact we spent more time on line and in transit than on the island itself. The boat ride was very fun. It was a beautiful fall day with a nice breeze, and the ferry took us right past the statue, although if this is what you want, take the free ride on the Staten Island Ferry instead.

Once on the island you can choose between a guided tour, a movie about the history of immigration and the island or take a look around yourself. We did the latter. Walking around the 3 floors of the museum. The pictures of the immigration lines and medical and mental checkpoints during the intake process line the rooms. You can walk the path of one of the 15 million people who had to go through the process. If you allow yourself to imagine what it would be like for a poor immigrant just off a long steamboat ride being asked in a foreign language all sorts of probing questions while being herded through the Ellis island maze, its all very strikingly sad.

Outside the main building is a wall with hundreds of thousands of names on it. It is assumed by most people that this is the list of all immigrants that passed through the island...it is not. It is a monument listing people who payed for their names to be listed! A very fitting metaphor for the plight of the poor throughout American history, I think: If you have money, you will be remembered.

Here are a few facts about Ellis Island:

• 90% of the island is a landfill artificially created to build the immigration facility.
• After years of dispute and lawsuits the island is held claim by both New York and New Jersey, although it is still run and maintained as federal property.
• Between 1892 and 1954 between 12 and 20 million people passed through the Island in hopes of being allowed to enter.
• At least 2% of all who came to the island were turned away after failing either a medical, mental or social interview...although the wealthy applicants were not subject to this process.
• After the 1924 "Quota Law" limited the amount of legal immigration, the facility was used mostly as a detention and deportation center.
• Some notable people who went through Ellis Island: Father Flanagan, Irving Berlin, Chef Boyardee, Charles Atlas, Isaac Asimov, Bob Hope, Bela Lugosi and Ezio Pinza.

I have very mixed feelings about immigration in the U.S., and I have very strong feelings about the dubious way in which history is written. However, I think the museum depiction of its history is a good representation of the cold and harsh reality of what our ancestors went through to get here. I strongly encourage everyone who reads this to do more digging into exactly how important immigration has been to the makeup of our communities of the past, especially those who were the poorest.

The trip to Ellis island is nice one, but not spectacular. As you may already have gathered, I find the history itself to be where the journey is, not the actual trip. But if you have 5 hours to spare and a healthy interest in the past, leave early in the day and take a camera with you.