Illinois enacted a law on June 20, 1977, to celebrate the birthday of Casimir Pulaski and held the first official Pulaski Day celebrations in 1978. Photo taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casimir_Pulaski_Day.
By Magdalena I. García
Today was a school holiday, Pulaski Day. You’d think we know what this means since we live in Chicago, where we have a street with the same name. But it seems like every year we look this up and then forget the details again. So here is the scoop according to Wikipedia.org:
“Casimir Pulaski Day is a holiday observed in Illinois on the first Monday of every March in memory of Casimir Pulaski (March 6, 1745 – October 11, 1779), a Revolutionary War cavalry officer born in Poland as Kazimierz Pułaski. He is known for his contributions to the U.S. military in the American Revolution by training its soldiers and cavalry. The day is celebrated mainly in areas that have large Polish populations, such as Chicago...”
My neighbor D. is of Polish descent; my friend S. is of Polish descent; my son’s school mate R. is of Polish descent. So how come we still don’t know who Pulaski is, or was? That’s not a whole lot better than the majority of the US population believing that all cinnamon-skin Hispanics are from Mexico and eat tacos. It goes to show you that although in a city like Chicago we are surrounded by ethnic neighborhoods with immigrants from around the world, most of us stay within our comfort zone. And that’s because being a multicultural person takes more than openness and curiosity; it takes effort.
Lucky for us, after Warsaw—the capital of Poland—Chicago has the largest Polish population. And Poles in Chicago are the largest White American ethnic group in the city, making up 7.3% of the total population. So opportunities for learning about Polish culture are all around us. They are as close as a nearby delicatessen market, the Jefferson Park community on the north side, or the Polish Museum of America near downtown. Who knows, with a little effort, next year I might not only be able to explain who Pulaski was; I might be able to say: “Mówię po polsku” and a few more Polish phrases.
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