Meet a few of Tulsa’s new citizens
Few things are as American as the drive-in movie theater, so it was fitting that Tulsa’s historic Admiral Twin Drive-in was the site of the city’s most recent naturalization ceremony. On October 8th, 50 new U.S. citizens swore the oath of allegiance at the theater, a location chosen so that the ceremony could be conducted safely due to concerns over the spread of COVID-19.
“Tulsa has always been a welcoming and resilient community – that was best shown when our theater burned down and our friends in Tulsa rallied behind us and helped us build it back better,” said Blake Smith, Owner of Admiral Twin Drive-in. “We’re incredibly thankful to be able to have the environment that we do that can allow this sort of thing, especially in a time where we have to put some space in between ourselves and others to help prevent the spread of this virus.”
La Semana spoke with five proud new Americans whose journeys began as far away as Latin America, Africa, and Asia. In total, 22 countries were represented: Burma, Cambodia, Cameroon, China, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Syria, Tunisia, United Kingdom, Vietnam, and Zambia.
Mary Kakubo was born in the Republic of Zambia, a country in South-central Africa. Kakubo said gaining her citizenship will make it possible for her to pursue her educational and career goals.
“I’ve been wanting this for a long time,” Kakubo said. “I’m grateful that I got my citizenship, this will help me a lot. I want to study to be a nurse and get my BSN [Bachelor of Science in Nursing].”
Anh Pham came to the Unites States from Vietnam five years ago, and said she is “very happy to become a U.S. citizen. Now I can vote.”
Among them was Nicolas Capolari, from Peru, who became a proud citizen of the USA.
“I feel great pretty excited”, he said to La Semana. His mother, who witnessed the ceremony added, “He was the last one of the family to go, now we are all citizens.”
Antonio Sosa, from Mexico DF, also took the oath. “This is a great step for me and my family, now we will all have the rights we deserve, and we will finally fit in the society,” he said, saying proudly that he could not wait to cast his ballot.
Becoming a citizen today is an unprecedented responsibility. In pandemic times and with a historical election looming, La Semana welcomes the new citizens of the United States, hoping that their voices may help America become even greater.