Just before one of the biggest events of her young life, 6-year-old Olayinka Olayande waved a miniature American flag in the air Saturday like a conductor directing an orchestra.
The youngster and her family immigrated to San Antonio from London in 2011. Earlier Saturday, Olayinka nodded as her mother explained that she wouldn’t lose her Caribbean and Nigerian background and would receive a document that would declare her as a citizen of the United States of America.
“Especially coming from our own heritage means she now has opportunities that weren’t presented to us when we were her age,” Laseason Olayande said, her husband, Babatunde Olayande, at her side. “I think that’s paramount.”
Olayinka was one of 50 children from 20 countries who became U.S. citizens Saturday at the DoSeum, San Antonio’s children museum. The naturalization ceremony was the second collaboration between the DoSeum and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
The ceremony was one of Saturday’s many events for DreamWeek, a citywide summit of events that aim to promote equality, tolerance and diversity, leading up to the city’s MLK March on Monday.
After the national anthem and the Pledge of Allegiance, Senior Immigration Services Officer Juanita G. Reyes called each of the children’s names as they threaded their way through aisles to receive their certificates of citizenship. CIS branch chief Harvey B. Lugo handed the children their documents beneath an image of a large, American flag rippling in the wind, with the Statue of Liberty in the foreground.
Camera flashes and cellphone snapshots greeted San Antonio’s newest American citizens, who included the Martinez sisters — Lorena, 9, and Paola, 11 — born in Mexico.
They smiled as they showed their certificates to their parents, Enrique and Magda Martinez.
“They were waiting for this service a year ago,” Magda Martinez said.
Enrique Martinez said he and his wife were thrilled when they heard that their daughters could take part in the special naturalization ceremony.
“We felt with this citizenship, they can take advantage of the opportunities in the United States and Mexico,” he said. “They are very aware of the process because of my orientation to become a U.S. citizen. They were very excited to know they were going to become United States citizens.”
Shokare Nakpodia, founder of DreamWeek, said the young citizens fulfill the idea of America.
“What was actually done was to unite and strengthen families that have decided to make this their home,” Nakpodia said, “where they can flourish and bring all of their cultural talents. It doesn’t get much better than that.”
Keynote speaker Shahrzad Dowlatshahi, the city’s chief of protocol, told the children about her own immigrant experience of being born in Iran and of having a mother from England and an Iranian father. She encouraged the children to embrace this special moment and to be proud of their roots.
“You are a window of the world for many of your friends at school,” Dowlatshahi said. “You know what the world looks like.”
After the ceremony, Ziyad Aljumaili, 40, told his 9-year-old son, Abdullah, how proud he was of his accomplishment.
Aljumaili, who worked with U.S. military forces in Iraq, said living in America had been his dream since he was a child. Now, he’s happy to share his dream with his son.
“He’s ready, he’s looking for a bright future,” Aljumaili said. “I want my sons to grow up in a safe environment.”
