NBC News Special: To Be an American

Immigrants have always been the heart and soul of America and they are not a new story. But they are a continuing story and a source of fascination for most of those whose ancestors came here some years back. As a national melting pot, America is one of them most interesting social experiments in history. Against that framework lies To Be an American, a story as old as comfortable shoes and as new as the day’s arrivals from far-off exotic lands. Tom Brokaw’s sensitive backgrounding and handling of the subject allows the personalities of the people with whom the special deals to come through with all their passion and travail. Each is unique and that is the quality in the continuing American tapestry that may be the most important. For a sensitive portrayal of who we are, how we got here, and what it means to become a new citizen, a Peabody Award to NBC Television News, New York, for To Be an American.