In Nancy Foner, “The Sting of Prejudice”, race “is a social and cultural construction, and what is important is how physical characteristics or traits are interpreted within particular social contexts and are used to define categories of people as inferior or superior,”(Foner,pg.142). When the Italians and Jews first immigrated to the United States, they had an ambiguous racial status because they were not considered as “white” but yet they weren’t “black”. Thus, they were referred to as an inferior “mongrel” race. They were not identified as whites due to their physiognomies and moral standards. The Jews were known as money lovers and Italians were known for their “volatility, instability, and unreliability”(Foner,pg.144). They were racially discriminated and their “inferior ‘‘mongrel’’ races were [considered to be] polluting the country’s Anglo-Saxon or Nordic stock.”(pg.143). In “A People’s Art History of the United States” Nicholas Lampert even wrote that Jacob Riis who was a social reformer “described Russian and Polish Jews as those who “carry their slums with them wherever they go, if allowed to do,” ( Lampert,pg.65). However, Riis also used the fact that these immigrants are considered “inferior” to the superior whites in order to appeal to his wealthier white audience to be involved in the tenement reforms. But, today Italians, Europeans, and incoming Europeans are generally considered white. This shows how the idea of race is an interchangeable perception.
However, the black-white cleavage continues to affect the lives of many incoming immigrants. For instance, many West Indian immigrants are usually racially discredited due to the fact that they have a darker skin tone thus many people considered them as “blacks” rather than their ethnicity. Furthermore, different colored Hispanic immigrants were treated differently based on the lightness of their skin. Foner talks about how “a recent study found that Dominicans who are perceived as white have much lower poverty levels than, and enjoy advantages in the labor market over, their darker-skinned compatriots,”(Foner,pg.158). Furthermore, lightness of the skin tone are not the only factors that affect the lives of new immigrants. Wealth, manners, education, and fluency in English can also improve the way light-toned immigrants are treated. This can also be seen when “Riis consistently criticized immigrant communities for not assimilating fast enough into American”( Lampert, pg.65). Thus it can be seen that one’s ability to adapt to the American culture will affect the way they are treated as well.
On the other hand, “West Indians find that race remains a barrier whatever their class status [are, however] for white or light-skinned Hispanics, income, education, and occupation enhance and solidify the advantages they already enjoy,”(pg.154). Contrary to lighter toned Hispanics, darker tones Hispanics are usually just referred to as black and often confused as African Americans. Due to this, they are racially discriminated and attacked because “blacks” are inferior to “white”.
When the Asian immigrants arrived in America, they were a separate racial category which was known as ” ‘‘slanty- eyed’’ and… the ‘‘yellow race.’’(Foner pg.161). They were discriminated in many ways especially when the “Chinese Exclusion Act specifically defined Chinese as ‘‘aliens ineligible to citizenship’’”(Foner, pg.161). Furthermore, “Riis portrayed Chinese men as impossible to assimilate. To Riis, they were opium addicts and individuals who would “rather gamble than eat any day ” (Lampert, pg. 65). Thus, Chinatown became a place where most Chinese people love because they are afraid to be racially targeted. However today, as China, Japan, and Korea became major players in the economic and political world, there is a new perception of race. They are usually considered more white nowadays especially if they have higher education however in many cases, they still face some sort of discrimination although not as much compared to the Hispanics and blacks.
Overall it can be seen that race is considered an interchange perception and the “race” of an immigrant can affect their lives in the United States. People are considered whiter if they have positive aspects that don’t “pollute” what “white” Americans are known for. However, it can be seen that the black-white cleavage still remain an issue today that effects immigrants with darker skin tones. Dark- toned immigrants have to face racial discriminations that are against blacks. Furthermore, due to the fact that race is generally defined as white or black, new immigrants are not known for their nationality and according to Lampert, Riis “painted all people within an ethnic group with the same broad strokes.” However, hopefully, one day in the future, people are defined by their ethnicity and nationality rather than the color of their skin and how “American” they are.
L.G
