GAME: Engages Students in Immigration, Labor movement, and Cultural Identity

[Frank W. Baker]

"City of Immigrants" debuted on February 11, 2015 and supports the study of immigration, the labor movement, and cultural identity in the American History curriculum. Players take on the role of Lena Brodsky, a Russian Jewish teen who has recently immigrated to New York City in 1907. As Lena makes the Lower East Side her home, she struggles to help support her family and finds herself in the middle of the growing labor movement.

As young people play the game, they gain important insights into the struggle for safe working conditions, fair wages, and the right to bargain collectively. At the same time, they experience the challenges of cultural differences, assimilation, and prejudice. Players will interact with a variety of characters, from factory supervisors to family and religious leaders, who all had roles in creating America's labor movement and strong communities in New York. As they assume the role of Lena, players must decide: Does she dare speak up and stand up for workers' rights? Can she continue to support her family? Players will make choices and experience the consequences of those choices - the same choices immigrants grappled with as they made their way in the "land of opportunity."

Accompanying curriculum activities and rich supplemental resources including maps, personal narratives, cultural artifacts and more will help students understand the historical context of the period. Educators and players at home can access Mission US "City of Immigrants" via streaming and download at mission-us.org.