This book is a collection of digital narratives and personal essays written by thirty immigrant and refugee high school students from thirteen countries who reside in Minneapolis.

The shores of Lake Michigan might seem a far cry from the coastline of the Mediterranean, even for a country famous for its opera singers. Nevertheless, enough Italians responded to the calland returned home to repeat it confidently to brothers, brides and strangersto create a thriving community in Milwaukee. Historians often emphasize Milwaukees German heritage, content to relegate the story of Italian migration to New York or Chicago, but Anthony Zignego passionately explores the ways in which Italians shaped the Brew City and were shaped by it in turn. From the Gardetto family to the enterprising women of the Third Ward to Festa Italiana, Zignego presents a portrait of the immigrant experience with personal stories and interviews with ordinary immigrants and Milwaukeeans, explaining the communitys traditions and dispelling some of its myths. Milwaukees Italian Heritage highlights the struggles and triumphs that have always made immigration an opening clause and concluding question in the American story.

"I didn't know there were Latinos in Wisconsin" is one of the more frequently heard comments when visiting outside of the state. In fact, more than 100,000 Latinos live in Milwaukee, and the continued growth of this community is visible in every segment of the city. Milwaukee's Latino community began humbly as a "Colonia Mexicana" in the 1920s, when Mexicans were recruited to work in the city's tanneries. Subsequent waves of workers came from Texas to work in Wisconsin's agricultural fields. In the early 1950s, Puerto Ricans began arriving to the area, and the population doubled in the 1990s.