[1]Screenshot of the video “Immigrants, We Get the Job Done”.
This post was originally written by Marlena Fitzpatrick [2] and published on Enclave [3]. It is re-edited and re-published on Global Voices with Enclave's permission.
The end of June saw the release of a music video for the song “Immigrants, We Get The Job Done” from “The Hamilton Mixtape” [4] album of songs from the Broadway musical “Hamilton,” based on the life of Alexander Hamilton [5], who played a prominent role [6] in the founding of the United States in the late 18th century.
The critically acclaimed show, which is inspired by the biography written by Ron Chernow [7], gives the history a twist with music in various styles, from hip-hop and rhythm and blues to pop, and actors of a wide variety of backgrounds playing figures who were white. “Immigrants, we get the job done” is a lyric sung in the musical by Hamilton, who immigrated to the American colonies as a teenager, and the Marquis de Lafayette, a French aristocrat who fought in the American Revolutionary War.
The version of the song that appears on “The Hamilton Mixtape” features Somali-Canadian poet K’naan Warsame, [8]Puerto Rican rapper and writer Residente, [9]British Pakistani actor, rapper and activist Riz Ahmed, [10] Mexican American hip-hop recording artist and actress Snow Tha Product, [11]and American actor, rapper and singer Daveed Diggs. [12] All of them are artists known in the United States for being vocal against racism and discrimination.
The song and video was produced by Lin-Manuel Miranda, [13]who also wrote the musical. It depicts an ignored working class who are living in the shadows and who are often victims of war crimes, police brutality, labor exploitation, anti-immigrant violence and senseless death. The timing of its release is especially significant, coming at a moment when the country is fiercely debating immigration law reform [14] and hostility against minority groups has become more visible. Part of the lyrics read:
I been scoping ya dudes, ya’ll ain't been working like I do
I'll outwork you, it hurts you
You claim I’m stealing jobs though
Peter Piper claimed he picked them, he just underpaid Pablo
But there ain't a paper trail when you living in the shadows
We're America's ghost writers, the credit's only borrowed
In fact, Miranda has lent his support to the Immigrants: We Get the Job Done Coalition, convened by the Hispanic Federation [15]. The coalition includes 12 partner organizations that work on the ground throughout the United States to provide life-changing services – legal representation, advocacy, and “know your rights” awareness campaigns, and much more – to immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers who come to us in search of the American Dream.