The point that came across very strongly for me in reading the fifth chapter of From Ellis Island to JFK was the clearly defined power of pure rhetoric. The majority of stereotypes and preconceived notions about immigrants, from the Jews and the Italians to the wave of “Hispanics” and West Indians of today, are not based in fact. Starting with the ridiculous physiognomy of the early 20th century, much of the contemporary rhetoric has been just that – trumped up so-called science about the inferiority of a race based on head size. I found it shocking that is was acceptable to oppose immigration use terminology and ideology that was blatantly racist, such as the fear that intermarriage between Jews or Italians and “Nordic American stock” would dilute the blood of the colonialists. The limitations that were eventually imposed upon this type of rhetoric were reluctant at best, and it was only after the civil rights movement, Foner writes, that it became taboo for public officials to either use these words themselves or condone the use by others.
Even now, Foner writes, there is only a thin veil of civility between the public discourse and the racist tendencies that are behind it. The recognition that most New Yorkers make no effort to distinguish between “blacks” and that there are varying degrees of “whiteness” was really dreadful. I think that it is very telling that the racist air in present-day New York City is so strongly felt that even the immigrants themselves feel the need to disassociate themselves with their “darker” counterparts.
From the clear distinctions drawn along color lines, it makes it easier for me to see how in a case such as the Crown Heights Riot of 1991 could be thrown directly into the spotlight of racial discord and preferential treatment, given the clear bias of New York City – in both the public and private spheres – towards whites in general.
