So I Come to America: Detroit Pre-WWI Immigrants by Robert Gordon
On Display until December 31st, 2026
Created by photographer and oral historian Robert Gordon in the 1980s, So I Come to America documents the experiences of immigrants who came to Detroit from Eastern Europe before World War I.
Between 1980 and 1983, Gordon visited the homes of 50 individuals, photographing them and recording their oral histories. Fifteen of those individuals are featured in this exhibition, offering personal accounts of immigration, family, work, and the pursuit of a new life in the United States.
The period from 1890 to 1914 marked the greatest wave of immigration to the United States. For the individuals Gordon interviewed, the decision to leave their homelands was shaped by circumstances including poverty and the threat of war. In the United States, they saw the possibility of greater opportunity and a different future.
Through Gordon’s photographs and the voices of those he interviewed, So I Come to America offers an intimate look at the people behind the larger story of immigration and preserves their experiences for future generations.