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This chapter situates the rising prominence of Bangladeshi and Yemeni Americans in Hamtramck within an account of the city’s development since its founding as a township in 1798. Beginning with a history of African Americans, who have the most enduring presence in Hamtramck of the groups included in the chapter, the chapter then analyzes the experiences of Polish Americans in Hamtramck, who were the dominant majority for many years. The chapter considers how institutional racism, aimed most directly against African Americans—but also affecting all immigrant groups who were not “white on arrival”—has influenced power structures at municipal, state, and national levels and impacted the development of social relations in Hamtramck. It considers how changes in Hamtramck connect to national socioeconomic fluctuations, internal migration, and immigration reform, as well as regional patterns of Muslim American incorporation found throughout the metro Detroit area.

This chapter looks at the expanding business of Paryski Publishing at the time of significant changes in both American and Polish American press and publishing. As Paryski's empire prospered, its owner found himself torn between his idealism and the principles of American capitalism, which he wholeheartedly embraced. When faced with difficult choices, Paryski acted like a business owner: he crushed his sales agents' attempt at establishing a labor union. He also tried to discredit and break the strike of his typesetters, condemned strikes in general, and irrevocably distanced himself from socialism. In the context of World War I, he also spied on the immigrant workers for the institution that was a precursor of the FBI to protect his own newspaper.

This epilogue comments on the changes within the Polish American community and the Polish-language press during the most recent decades, including the impact of the Internet and social media on the practice of letter-writing. It also poses questions about the legacy and memory of Paryski in Toledo, Ohio, and in Polonia scholarship. Paryski's life and career were based on his intelligence, determination, and energy. He believed that Poles in the United States, as in Poland, must benefit from education, and that education was not necessarily the same as formal schooling. Anybody could embark on the path to self-improvement if they read and wrote. Long before the Internet changed the way we communicate, Paryski and other ethnic editors effectively adopted and practiced the concept of debate within the public sphere in the media. Ameryka-Echo's “Corner for Everybody” was an embodiment of this concept and allowed all to express themselves in their own language and to write what was on their minds.

This chapter presents an obituary for Professor Stanislaus A. Blejwas, one of the foremost scholars of Polish and Polish American history in the United States. Blejwas was the most important historian of the Polish immigrant experience in New England, producing a steady stream of articles and monographs on the subject. He was among those who pioneered the study of immigrants through literature and music. Through his involvement in the United States Holocaust Memorial Council and the National Polish American–Jewish American Council, Blejwas worked tirelessly to improve Polish–Jewish relations in the United States. He strongly opposed both antisemitism and anti-Polonism. Thanks in part to his work, the portrayal of the victimization of Polish Christians by the Nazis was improved at the Holocaust Museum, a task which took gradual and patient work. Despite obstacles from all sides and the fact that many in his own community could not or would not understand what he was doing on their behalf, he knew far better than most that there was no real future in endless Polish–Jewish dispute and that despite claims to the contrary, Poles and Jews had far more in common than they had in conflict.

This chapter places Ameryka-Echo within the context of other Polish American and ethnic newspapers, which adopted the letter-writing culture, and explores the different ways in which the editors used letters from readers, facilitating the creation of communities of readers-writers. Through the maintenance of the close connection between the newspaper and its readers, and the inclusion of the content provided by them, the press created a national as well as diasporic community of Polish immigrants, formed readers' networks loyal to a particular newspaper, and guided the immigrants in their adaptation to the new country through the adoption of personal service journalism and advice sections. Ameryka-Echo remained at the forefront of the Polish-language newspapers, engaging its readers in the process of direct communication and featuring long-lasting and popular sections based on correspondence from readers.