The Madonna of 115th Street begins with a description of a festival started Italian immigrants in Harlem (an an introduction). It then goes on to explain the history of the immigration of Southern Italians to the northern part of Manhattan and the development of Italian Harlem. I found this an interesting structure because it seems to me the “festa” was largely a response to the conflicts described in chapter 2. In the initial stages of the development of Italian Harlem, much of the community was separated and filled with hardships. A good deal of family members, friends, and neighbors were separated; many left behind in Southern Italy (while those who immigrated tried to find work). They were plagued with economic difficulties and diseases, as well as conflicts with neighboring enclaves. The celebration is described by Orsi as a unifying experience: residents from all over Harlem (and further) would come out to partake in the deeply religious festival; it was both an attachment to their devout religious past in Italy and a compensation for their difficulties. It played a role of strengthening both morale and community, which begs the question of what purpose religion served in the development of Italian Harlem, and what role it plays in general. Certainly in this case we see how religion has had a unifying effect, where busy, hard-working immigrants could take time to come together annually to pray, cry, and rejoice. On the other hand, it has created some problems as well. Specifically, Italian immigrants had problems with Jews and Irish immigrants who lived nearby. The Irish resented the Italian religious form of expression, and conflicts between them fostered discrimination, which led to separated neighborhoods and enclaves. As the Italian community grew, it displaced the Irish community, who (along with the Jews living there) moved to areas like the South Bank. I do think there are benefits of religious practice, but there must be tolerance as well.
