Entering the Doorway

The history of refugees in the United States is a diverse cultural tapestry that provides insights into the institutional oppression and the liminal space created by the American society that necessitates yet ostracizes the immigrant community. Immigrants and refugees share an overlapping challenging experience of simply getting the "foot in the door" to their host country before even facing extreme difficulties in establishing their new home. Nonprofit organizations and other legal aid resources, despite the complex social and legal realms they operate in, offer a crucial lifeline to refugees and asylum-seekers as well as play a fundamental role in shaping the communal narrative of self-identity.

This exhibit analyzes newsletters from the Political Asylum Project of Austin (PAPA), the predecessor (or grandPAPA) of the organization American Gateways, a nonprofit legal office that offers pro-bono and reduced services to the Austin immigrant community. These newsletters show a fascinating inside perspective of the organization’s development from 1989 until 2001. The five items highlighted in the exhibit demonstrate the focus of the audience at the forefront of PAPA’s goals in order to empower their community with the tools they needed to build their new home.