Presidential Naturalization Speeches and the Politics of Belonging
6 min readApr 9, 2020
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I have never once heard my mother refer to herself as an “American.” Instead, it’s: “The Americans across the street are hosting a party tonight.”
Or: “Why do Americans like turkey so much?”
My mother’s been a U.S. citizen since 1996. And yet, she almost always uses the word “American” to refer to people who are native-born…