Holland, MI

This small southern Michigan city on the waters of Lake Michigan was settled by Dutch immigrants in the mid-19th century and became famous in recent times as “The Tulip City” where six million bulbs bloom each spring during one of the country’s largest festivals.  It is also the major city in Ottawa County, one of Michigan’s leading producers of agricultural products.

In recent years, seasonal agricultural workers have settled into Holland with their families as year-round residents.  Almost one-quarter of the city is now Hispanic, and more than 70 percent of births in the city are to Hispanic residents, thus dramatically changing the local educational system.  With the influx of Hispanics, the city’s large Vietnamese population has moved into the surrounding townships of Ottawa County.

In this program, Tomorrow’s America examines mainly how the city copes with the cultural and educational implications of its fast-changing population.