SPEAKING OF CHANGE LEVINE MUSEUM OF THE NEW SOUTH Profiling UNCC/Community Partnerships

Speaking of Change in a New Immigrant Gateway: Community Receptivity in Charlotte

Receptivity in a New Gateway  New immigrant destinations, such as Charlotte NC, are at a crossroads at which they may become more or less receptive to newcomers.  Receptivity is a continuum viewed most commonly as context shaped by political, economic, and co-ethnic interests (Portes and Rumbaut 1996; Conner 2010).  Position on continuum is fluid not static. As such can be influenced and changed.  Cultural institutions can play a critical role in guiding a city’s position along receptivity continuum.  Levine Museum’s Changing Places and Speaking of Change programs illustrative of positive and proactive response to immigration in new gateway – an important counterbalance to increasingly reactive and negative responses.

Basic View of Receptivity Continuum Inclusive: High Receptivity Exclusive: Low Receptivity Initiatives, institutions, actions, and policies affecting proactive or positive change at the individual, organizational, or community level. Initiatives, institutions, actions, and policies affecting reactive or negative change at the individual, organizational, or community level. Crossroads Cities Mixed Receptivity (i.e. New Gateways)

Charlotte’s Continuum of Receptivity Charlotte is at the crossroads – a city with mixed receptivity that is deciding which way ultimately it wishes to go.  A function of the recent and large scale arrival of immigrants in the city with little or no previous experience and an absence of significant pre-existing co-immigrant / co-ethnic community.  Key elements of the city’s leadership have embraced opposing responses.  Many individuals, communities and organizations are still trying to figure out what their response is and how they should articulate and operationalize that response. Receptivity of host community is a moving target, impacted by among other things.  Federal and State level debate about immigration reform.  Regional awareness (concern) about the South as a new immigrant destination.  Local media coverage and public discourse.  Reactionary response to the growing visibility of immigrants.  AND ALSO … by proactive efforts to educate about the dynamics and impacts of cultural change in the city.

Levine Museum of the New South  In response to migration and associated cultural change in Charlotte, LMNS developed Changing Places exhibit and Speaking of Change dialogue programs. Didactic and proactive response grounded in the mission of the organization.  Response beyond the government and economic realms, but one embraced by them s as they sought guidance about how to understand, manage and respond to change.  Mecklenburg County required managers to participate.  Chamber of Commerce Diversity Council.  Designed as safe for open dialogue and as catalyst for engagement.

Speaking of Change Evaluation UNC Charlotte evaluation team focused on:  Relationship between exhibit and dialogues.  How participants in the Speaking of Change program reflected, articulated, connected, and acted upon multicultural change as a result of newcomer arrival in Charlotte.  Capturing and measuring one element of community response. 12 observed dialogues (~12 percent of total 98 dialogues). Dialogues were 2.5 hours (~10-15 participants each) Post-dialogue paper survey (N=1,285) Two follow-up (long-term) dialogues observed (~10-15 participants each) Follow-up online survey to capture long-term impressions, impacts, and outcomes (N=63)

Museum as Shaper of Receptivity  Prior to Speaking of Change experience, respondents referenced acting in ways that were intolerant, closed-minded, passive, or apathetic.  “(I was) unaware of growth of diversity within Meck (sic) County.”  “I knew that our community was diverse but generally thought about the traditional immigrant population, i.e. Latino, I had no idea of the scale of diversity.”  However, participants came away from the exhibit and dialogues with:  new awareness or knowledge about the changing demographics of the city.  the reasons behind these changes.  broader cultural understanding.  increased awareness, tolerance and empathy with regard to cultural difference.  appreciation of Museum’s effort to expose them to fact- and experientially-based information.

 Beyond the role of enhanced education and awareness, participants also articulated tangible changes in behavior as a result of participation in the program that were more receptive and inclusive. “I am intentional in greeting and reaching out to newcomers.” “I’ve been a more vocal advocate in discussions with people who are opposed to immigration.” “We brought a group from church. Church…is exploring other ways to enhance involvement with different cultures in the community. Having conversations together in Levine setting helped spark this initiative.” Museum as Shaper of Receptivity

Conclusions  Our work points to the critical but overlooked role of cultural leadership in helping to guide organizational, community and individual positions along that continuum.  Levine Museum of the New South plays a critical role in shaping and reshaping receptivity among the host community (personal and possibly government, economic, and co-ethnic contexts of receptivity).  Reveals a proactive and positive response to immigrant arrival in a new gateway location.  Illustrates that the context of receptivity is fluid as well as broader and more complex than previous research indicates.  Provides important counterbalance to reactive and negative local responses increasingly associated with the changing geography of immigrant settlement.