Photo credit: Tom Jenz
"Coming to America"
Muhammed manages Anmol, a Pakistani restaurant, and he also cooks the food when called upon. Muhammed told me, “I left Pakistan when I was 21 and landed at O’Hare airport in Chicago. I knew one word of English … Shit. I had a dollar bill but it wouldn’t fit the pay phone. A Black man gave me enough coins to make a call. Americans have been nice to me ever since.”
I said, “But you are an American now.” He said, “I suppose we Americans are all immigrants in some way or other.”
Under the veil of so much criticism, the United States has been brought to its knees. Yet, the country is still a nation of immigrants, a vast collection of ethnic varieties. Somehow, its citizens have always adapted.
Central City Stories is a collection of visual narratives from Milwaukee's central city by writer and fine arts photographer Tom Jenz. You can see more of his work at TomJenzAmerica.com.
