Define American Chapters were student-led initiatives that brought the conversation on immigrants and identity home to their college communities. Students received the tools to reach out to people who have different opinions and backgrounds and create opportunities for mutual understanding.
Chapters
Immigrad 2020 Graduation
Watch Define American’s massive online Immigrad commencement ceremony to honor first, second, and third generation immigrant grads and supporters on campuses across the nation.
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Chapter
Principles
Chapter
Principles
We Use the Power of Our Intersectional Stories to Create Change
The power of storytelling to create meaningful change is at the core of our movement. Define American was established in 2011, after our founder Jose Antonio Vargas came out as an undocumented immigrant in an essay published in The New York Times Magazine. Its publishing has inspired hundreds of people to share their immigrant and ally stories publicly and online. We commit to telling stories that fully represent our communities and our country.
We Elevate The Conversation About American Identity
At Define American we use stories, art and culture to encourage our audience to think critically about American identity, and in the process inspire new ideas and conversations about our nation’s current immigration system.
We Believe in Making The United States A More Welcoming Nation
Our ideals remind us that we are all created equal and that our strength lies in the forging of a nation based on shared values and common purpose. We support a vision in which all people, including immigrants, have the opportunity to reach their greatest potential, engage with their community and fully contribute their talents — expanding prosperity and wellbeing for all.
We Bring and Include Everyone in The Conversation
At Define American, we realize that to create meaningful change, we must engage beyond our core base of supporters. This means that we avoid polarizing language and actions, and instead focus on finding common ground and putting forth relatable stories and messages in an effort to create understanding outside our typical audience. It also means, that we are not solely storytellers, we are also listeners.
We Believe in Equity of Education for Everyone Regardless of Status
Together at the first ever Define American Chapters Summit in 2017, 13 of our chapters voted to add this to our chapters principle. We believe that education from kindergarten to university and everything in between should be available to everyone, regardless of immigration status. This means equal access to tuition rates, scholarships, and campus resources. We have the power and commitment to ensure that students don’t have a less fulfilling educational experience just because they weren’t born in this country.
We All Define American
“How do YOU define American?” — this one question opens up infinite possibilities to accomplish innovative systemic change. We believe through being proactive, and not reactive, we can shift conversations about immigrants in the United States. Through provocative and uncomfortable conversations we create teachable moments, and we also use them to learn more about the point of view of others. Using this approach we aim to be trailblazers, and create a one-of-a-kind student movement.