Children’s Citizenship Ceremony at Los Angeles Central Library

By Yago Cura, NewsTaco

What with all the starched white dress shirts and itchy pants, at first I thought I was at a spelling bee; but, then I realized that although the kids were dressed in their Sunday best, fauxhawks moussed to perfection—shoes shined to a high gloss, it was the parents that were resplendent with pride.

What might cause these parents to outshine their effervescent children? What might induce them to beam with such peacock fervor? In a word: citizenship. On September 19, 2012 roughly 250 people gathered in the Mark Taper auditorium of the Central Library for the Children’s Citizenship Ceremony courtesy of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

The event celebrated the induction of our youngest citizens, and ushered them into the habits of our particular type of democracy. Many city and federal employees and organizations helped add much pomp and circumstance to a pretty solemn event. There were introductory remarks by Phyllis Coven, the District Director, District 23, of the U.S.C.I.S.; and, John Szabo, the new City Librarian, delivered the opening remarks which centered on the link between libraries and a healthy democracy.

There were 53 applicants from 17 countries, and Nancy J. Alby, Field Office Director of District 23 for the USCIS and Dawn Evans, Supervisory Immigration Services Officer for the USCIS, read the names of each of the applicants and their country of origin. The list was varied and dynamic; there were applicants from New Zealand and Vietnam, applicants from Guatemala and Poland. As each of the names of the applicants were called, they stood up to be recognized; many of the applicants were barely tall enough to ride the chairs they were sitting in, but they stood proud despite their limited statures.
Then, Alejandro Mayorkas, the Director of the U.S.C.I.S., administered the Oath of Allegience, a remarkable mumbling ensued, and five minutes later, 53 of our country’s newest citizens emerged from the Taper.

Libraries have always held a special place in our democracy. They are more than just brick-and-mortar kiosks for tax forms and passport applications; libraries are also laboratories that allow citizens to assess a menu of ideas, many contradictory to their lifestyle, and pick a corresponding narrative to help them subtract truth from fiction. The library is a laboratory of personal betterment and social education, dare I say personal evolution.

From this event, one thing was very evident. Libraries are as essential to democracy as polling stations and jury duty; at the local level, in fact, the clerk or librarian at the library may be the only face-to-face interaction you have with your local government. Libraries may not be an American invention, but their ubiquity is a fact of American life. Libraries have always sought to inform and educate, but lately they’ve also been tasked with upholding the behaviors of an informed, educated citizenry.