What Does It Mean to Be an American?

That’s the question we will explore in our immigration and employment class on Monday. 

A recent survey asked Americans about what makes us Americans. For some, being Christian is important: 30 percent of Democrats say so, 56 percent of Republicans say so, and 63 percent of Trump primary voters considered this fairly or very important. 

Another dimension is explored: civic values. 

Along these lines, click on the Chobani story (a minute-and-a-half), 
http://www.chobani.com/story (Scroll down for a brief video).

Hamdi Ulukaya founded Chobani in 2005 when he bought a closed Kraft plant and hired Kraft “yogurt masters” who had been laid off. Today, his company is worth $1.3 billion. In 2012, he opened the largest yogurt plant in the world in Twin Falls, Idaho.

Hamdi was born in Turkey and is of Kurdish ancestry. He came to America in 1994 to study English and business.

That is my conception of being an American.

What's your conception? Birth in America? Living here and being productive, regardless of legal status? Does race or ethnicity matter? If yes, why? These questions are on tap for Monday. We welcome all views. To join the discussion, share yours at mhl@illinois.edu.