Skip to content
Call Us Today! 212-533-4646 | MON-FRI 12PM - 4PM (EST)
DONATE
SUBSCRIBE
Search for:
About Us
UNWLA 100
Publications
FAQ
Annual Report 2024
Annual Report 2023
Annual Report 2022
Annual Report 2021
Initiatives
Advocate
Educate
Cultivate
Care
News
Newsletters
Sign Up For Our Newsletter
Join UNWLA
Become a Member
Volunteer With Us
Donate to UNWLA
Members Portal
Shop to Support Ukraine
Search for:
Print
Print Page
Download
Download Page
Download Right Page
Open
1
2-3
4-5
6-7
8-9
10-11
12-13
14-15
16-17
18-19
20-21
22-23
24-25
26-27
28-29
30-31
32-33
34-35
36-37
38-39
40
THE WHITE HOUSE, UKRAINIAN - AMERICANS AND UNWLA In cooperation with the Ukrainian Bicentennial Committee, the Office of Public Liaison sponsored a White House Meeting on June 24, 1976. Representatives of Ukrainian youth organizations and Ukrainian women's organizations participated in a very thorough and well-planned program prepared by Dr. Myron Kuropas, Special Assistant to the President on Ethnic Affairs. The group was welcomed by the Hon. William J. Baroody, Jr., Assistant to the President, and the Hon. John B. Shlaes, Director of the White House Conferences. The Director of Youth Affairs, the Hon. Pamela Powell, addressed the group, calling for more cooperation among ethnic youth organizations and asking that they feel free to contact her at any time. Speaking to the women's organizations, General Jeanne M. Holm, Special Assistant to the President, explained how her office works and what it is planning to do for women, especially in the area of business. Dr. Myron Kuropas presented an overview of his work at the White House and of his plans to benefit all ethnic groups. He specified several areas of concern: 1. Survival and preservation of the ethnic neighborhoods 2. Ethnic heritage studies 3. 1980 Census 4. Affirmative action in overcoming discrimination against ethnic groups 5. Ethnicity and mental health He stressed that a coalition of ethnic groups is needed in order to deal with these concerns successfully. Following his talk, a very interesting panel on East-West Relations was moderated by Mr. Michael Terpak, Chief of Ukrainian Service, Voice of America. The panelists, the Hon. Martha Mautner, Office of Research and Analysis for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, the State Dept, and the Hon. Robert L. Barry, Deputy Director, Office of Soviet Union Affairs, Bureau of European Affairs, the State Dept., spoke about U.S. approach toward achieving any positive action by the Soviet Union with respect to the situation of political prisoners and problems which the Ukrainian people face in the Soviet Union. They stressed the importance of patience and a peaceful approach. Following a brief lunch break there was a VIP White House Tour. Dr. Myron Kuropas arranged a special meeting between Gen. Jeanne Holm and the representatives of the Ukrainian women's organizations. Representing UNWLA were vice- presidents Alexandra Riznyk, Christine Nawrocky and Olga Stawnychy; from the Ukrainian Gold Cross — Mrs. Maria Kwitkowsky; from the Ukrainian Orthodox Sisterhood — Mrs. Helene Petrenko; and from OFFU — Mrs. Ulana Celewych. Gen. Holm greeted the group and offered coffee and sweets. She was was interested in learning about any problems we Ukrainian women face and any particular requests we may have. All the representatives agreed that we need to be included in the activities of her office in order to be involved in the mainstream of events, especially women's affairs, in our country. The organization of an ethnic women's conference was requested for the purpose of discussing common problems and finding solutions. Gen. Holm seemed sympathetic and understanding and said that she will be in contact with us. We were extremely pleased to have had this opportunity to meet with General Holm and Dr. Kuropas. Among the immigrants from Austro-Hungary were the Ruthenians — later called Ukrainians. Emigration from demographically Ukrainian territory began in 1865 as people left the impoverished villages of Galicia and Transcarpathia. By 1890, Ruthenians were also leaving Romanian-ruled Bukovina. The exact number of Ruthenian immigrants to the United States, however, is not known. The Ruthenians were considered a part of the immigration from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Only in 1899 did the U.S. Bureau of Immigration begin to record nationality as well as country of origin. The Annual Reports of the Commissioner General of Immigration reveal that over 250.000 Ruthenians entered between 1899-1914, giving rise to the estimate that by 1914 there were some 500.000 first and second generation Ruthenians- Ukrainians living in the United States. IN THE LAND OF PROMISE Eighty percent of all the immigrants who entered the United States between 1880 and 1930 settled in the northeastern section of this country that is, east of the Mississippi and north of the Washington D.C. - St. Louis Line. Although Ruthenians settled almost everywhere in the United States, eighty-five percent followed the immigrant trend to settle in the states of Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey. In fact, fifty percent of the Ruthenians gravitated to the anthracite coal-mining areas of Pennsylvania, where Slavs and Italians quickly replaced the British, Irish and German workers in the mines; the frequent use of Ruthenians as "strike breakers" put them at odds with the Irish. Those Ruthenians who could still find cheap homestead land in America farmed, but most, being unskilled workers, were drawn to mining. Diverse mining drew them in smaller numbers to Illinois, Texas, Wyoming and North Dakota, but the majority of Ruthenians were to be found in small isolated communities in Pennsylvania where they lived and worked together. Because they rarely came in contact with Americans, they learned English slowly, handicapped also by a fifty percent rate of illiteracy. The Church was the immigrants' primary source of solace and comfort. The people living in Transcarpathia and Galicia prior to World War I were Uniate Catholics (i.e. Catholics of the Byzantine Rite). Therefore, except for a small number of Orthodox immigrants from Bukovina, the overwhelming majority of the immigrants to America were Uniate Catholics. Upon immigrating to НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ, ЛИПЕНЬ-СЕРПЕНЬ 1976 23
Page load link
Go to Top
1 
2-3 
4-5 
6-7 
8-9 
10-11 
12-13 
14-15 
16-17 
18-19 
20-21 
22-23 
24-25 
26-27 
28-29 
30-31 
32-33 
34-35 
36-37 
38-39 
40 
