West African Muslims who came to Harlem had “the racist stereotypes they had internalized prior to their migration…confirmed” when they arrived in Harlem and encountered poor black residents caught up in drugs and violence. These stereotypes were so “powerful” globally, that they had traveled all the way to West Africa. The question is, did the immigrants really find the majority of black people in Harlem in those lifestyles? There were definitely some. But perhaps this stereotype of low income black people being caught up in drugs and violence conditioned the immigrants to expect that to be the case. That made them look for black people caught up in that lifestyle. Maybe these immigrants were merely noticing what they had expected to find, not the whole picture of what was actually there. To what extent do stereotypes color our views of groups of people before we meet them? Is it easier for us to subjectively notice trends, (even trends that are not true for many members of that group) in those groups of people that confirm our preconceived stereotypes, rather than look at them objectively?

1. In the African “Soul brothers” reading it was mentioned that even though cultural differences existed between blacks living in “black harlem” and the West African Muslims the African muslims settled in this community because of racially similarities. How does preexisting stereotypes affect what neighborhoods emerge and which groups tend to locate in same area. Also, in One of three People’s two chapter reading it mentioned how enclaves were established with certain ethnic groups. How do enclaves societies disperse and move into integrated communities despite racial tensions and cultural differences. Like Queens for example, how and why do integrated communities emerge?

2. With white collard jobs emerging in the city and less manual labor jobs available what will happen to the influx of immigrants with few literacy skills who once worked the manual jobs? Will this affect immigration patterns in the future?

New York is a unique city of immigrants as it has no dominating groups, but what caused New York to develop into such a diverse place and could such a city be intentionally created somewhere else today?

The second reading states that “Clothing can operate as a symbol of identity the wearer and the observer can read,” but how often are we illiterate to such a vocabulary? Additionally, it claims that it can operate as a symbol of identity, but what transforms it into a symbol of identity or not. Is it based on differences between that individual’s identity and society’s, the intent to make it an identifying marker, or maybe something else? Do these same distinctions exist by food functioning as a symbol of identity?

Abdullah discusses how religion and economic forces were intertwined in the successes of West African immigrants and how the more active a participant in religion an immigrant was, the more economically successful they were. I wonder about other immigrant groups who didn’t have this religious bond and yet were still able to become successful. Is it the fact that they had a religious group to look to or rather the support group the West African immigrants had within their religion that helped them become successful? Is it even necessary to have a support group to be successful, after the initial immigration (after they learn the language and become accustomed to the culture)?

Samantha Chiu

The author stated that the eating habits of many Jewish people on the LES were unhealthy. The tendency to snack on pickles and candy by children after school presented the government with a challenge. Then the public school cafeteria and lunch were initiated. What threats (in general) did the habits place on the LES Jews? Were the people suffering from malnourishment?  Premature death?

The people living in the tenements were described as being quick to share and give to each other. As with the Rogarshevsky’s and the Baldizzi’s, this sharing could cross ethnic boundaries. The immigrants though, were very wary of government aid. What cultural factors created the anti-government mindset these had immigrants that forced them to seek neighborly aid rather than governmental aid? Why was there such a taboo on government aid, and why did people only utilize it as an almost “last resort?”

The author goes into a lot of detail about the specific food that the detained people ate on Ellis Island. In Chapter 4 about the The Rogarshevsky Family, Ziegelman specifies what the immigrants ate for each meal and how they adapted to the new foods they were served there, like cranberry and orange-fleshed potato. My question is, how did the immigrants feel about the new foods they were being served? Did they enjoy these and consider them delicacies or try to avoid them as much as possible?