Toledo Mayor Mike Bell is African-American.

Police Chief Mike Navarre is Irish.
 
Lucas County Treasurer Wade Kapszukiewicz is Polish.
 
Lucas County administrator Peter Ujvagi is Hungarian.
 
When Mayor Bell goes to China this week to meet with the Dashing Pacific Group he can assure the Chinese that Toledo is an accepting community, not the xenophobic one some have portrayed us to be. These chest-thumpers are loud, but few. They want the Marina District, the City of Toledo owned riverfront land, sold to Americans. They see China as our enemy, Communists intent on world domination, instead of an evolving communist-capitalistic society.

Yes, the Bell administration should do its due diligence, but it should also assure the Chinese that, just as their country experiences discrimination as evidenced by the recent Uighur riots, we too have our bigots. But, that does not mean that we as a society don’t respect Chinese culture.
 
I would like to see the dreams to create an International Village at the Marina District come true. I welcome the foreign investment and the infusion of another culture into our community.
 
It may take time, but once our kids meet their kids on the athletic field, once we break bread together, once we work together, we will realize we are more alike, than different. But, we first need to overcome the demonization of “them” by the few bigots among “us”.
 
We have a long history of doing that. Here’s a synopsis, with apologies to the ethnic groups I missed:
 
The Irish came to Northwest Ohio in the mid 1800s, according to the book The Irish in Toledo by Seamus Metress and Molly Schiever. They fled a great famine and built the canals with picks, shovels and axes. In 1875, Father Patrick O’Brien came to East Toledo and Good Shepherd Catholic Church. Less than 2,000 people lived in East Toledo at the time, but under Fr. O’Brien’s leadership, an ethnic neighborhood grew up around the church, the third such Irish neighborhood in Toledo. By 1902, the parish had more than 2,000 members and Irish owned businesses prospered.
 
Acceptance was slow. There was discrimination in housing and the workplace and it was common to see signs that shouted, “No Irish need apply.” However, over time, we’ve grown to love Irish music, dance, limericks and green beer.
 
The Poles came in two waves from 1880 to 1914, according to the book Toledo’s Nineteenth Century Polonia by David Gwidon Chelminski. They fled poverty, starvation and military conscription into the Austro-Hungarian army. According to the 1920 census, Toledo was among the top 12 American cities with the largest number of Polish immigrants. The Poles settled in Toledo’s north end, now called Lagrinka. They tended to be butchers, laborers and craftsmen. They too suffered discrimination and became the butt of dumb Polack jokes. Those jokes are politically incorrect today and you will find all ethnic groups enjoying the Polish American Festival, kielbasa and paczkis.
 
The Greeks came here in numbers from 1899 to 1906, according to the book, The Greeks of Toledo by Michael Vassiliou. Most sought to work, save and could return to Greece to support their families. They settled in East Toledo around Vinal and Ironwood Streets. Many started small businesses because that was the fastest way to make money. By 1930, Greeks owned some 130 restaurants. We have all learned to love gyros and shout opa.
 
The Hungarians came around 1890, according to the book, Hungarian American Toledo edited by Thomas E. Barden and John Ahern. They fled a semi-feudal land system and horrendous working conditions in their home country. The big move was when National Malleable Castings transferred 200 Hungarian workers from its Cleveland factory to a new factory in the Birmingham neighborhood. They too suffered discrimination, but today, we all celebrate Hungarian culture at the annual Birmingham Festival and eat Hunky Turkey or a Hungarian hot dog at Tony Packo’s.
 
Arabs, mainly Christians from what is now Lebanon, Syria and Iraq, also arrived around the turn of the 20th century. They came to avoid religious persecution or military conscription, according to the book Arab Americans in Toledo edited by Samir Abu-Absi. Many went into the food or restaurant business. You recognize the surnames — Saba, Bassett, Nasser, Haddad and Joseph.
 
Arabs who practice Islam are also welcome. The Islamic Center of Greater Toledo in Perrysburg is one of only 1,200 mosques in the United States. And, Buckeye Cablevision is one of only three service providers in the country to air Al Jazeera English, the Arab broadcast news channel.
 
Mix in the Hispanics, Germans and the other ethnic and racial groups I’ve failed to mention and Toledo is the rare small city with a big city tenor. Most of us welcome and celebrate this symphonic diversity. We are enriched by what each ethnic group contributes to our culture. The Bell administration should assure the Chinese that council’s call for due diligence is just that and not a sign of disrespect. And, the loud few who decry foreign investment just because it is foreign are just that — the loud few. They too were once foreign.

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