Peopling of NYC 2012

Throughout the semester out class has been dividing neighborhoods and ethnicities and seeing the mixture between the two, and how the various ethnic groups came to transform their neighborhood into their own, and give it a certain ethnic flavor.  Through the two novels, we are given a different way as how one can define a neighborhood; specifically through religion

In Robert Orsi’s, “The Madonna of 115th Street,” religion dominates Italian Harlem to a point that it is impossible to discuss the neighborhood without discussing the importance of Catholicism to the inhabitants’ lives.  Orsi describes the Catholicism that the Italian’s practice as “religion of the streets.” This is a powerful term to use when describing religion.  It implies that the Catholic religion not only guided peoples behavior in the privacy of their own homes, but that religion dominated their every day life, no matter in public or private.

The Italian’s who came to Italian Harlem and were longing for the life they once knew in Italy found comfort in performing the religious acts they had performed in Italy. It was their reminder of who they were as a community, and maintained their unique identity. The most visual reminder of their identity was the Festa ritual, which was the outward devotion to the Madonna in the streets.  The entire community would flood the streets praising the Madonna and serving her with various rituals.  The Madonna appeared to them as a “universalization of the community’s inherited tradition.”  Madonna connected the Italian-Americans back to their native homeland.   It also created a strong community that might have appeared strange from the outside, but made the members feel connected to their roots.  This ritual in particular, and the general adherence to Catholicism insured that the members of Italian Harlem were thought of as distinctly Catholic Italian.  In this way, the Catholic Italian-Americans defined their neighborhood, but also defined themselves.  This self description made them feel connected and not alone in America.

Both Slyomovic’s article and Race and Religion Among the Chosen Peoples of Crown Heights illustrate how public places play a large role in aiding people in expressing themselves, their religion, and their cultures.  Starting with Slyomovic’s article, participants in the the Muslim World Day Parade proudly march down the New York City streets, the floats representing the three holiest mosques of Islam. It is interesting to note how on the outside, the streets may seem different from each other, but the mosques, on the inside, all embody the same teachings. The idea of public spaces being used to express one’s self can also be seen metaphorically. Many Guyanese Muslims have been seen singing a song relating to Islam, a song that uses the melody and some of the lyrics from a popular American song; in this case, the song is sung in a public place, and the song itself is derived from a song heard on New York streets, or heard in a public place.

Race and Religion also emphasizes the use of the public spaces to express one’s self, but also emphasizes the common separation of public spaces from private spaces. The Lubavitch Hasidic community is concentrated in an area of Crown Heights, but interaction of some sort between the Lubavitch and the Black community cannot be avoided. Both communities use the public space to celebrate holidays, be they cultural or religious, and to communicate and go about daily activities, such as shopping. The streets clearly reflect their values and teachings of both communities, some streets defining more of one community than the other..

Though the public space does, technically, belong to everyone, problems though not as often as one might think, can arise when the two communities collide, as seen in the aftermath of Gavin Cato’s death. Though interaction is inevitable, people are quick to distinguish boundaries, recalling Charles Price’s cry of “going up to the Jew Neighborhood”. Try as they might, a public space cannot truly belong to any one group, as seen in the fact that many Blacks and Jews do live right next to each other. The question is whether people ought to try to create spaces for themselves or not. As Jonathan said, people benefit by having places to congregate, as they can more easily follow their beliefs by interacting with and confiding in others who share the same values. However, how far should these centers of congregation stretch? Should a center be limited to a building used for worship and discussion, or be extended so that the community is tight-knit, with everyone sharing the same values and keeping to themselves (peoples similar to them). Earlier in the book, it was said that in 1969, the rebbe forbid Jews from sellsing or renting property to non-Jews “if there is a chance that this non-Jewish presence will damage the lifestyle or livelihood of a Jewish community.” In the end, people did end up living side-by-side with people of different faith.

As Goldschmidt concluded, the solution is not necessarily to have everyone interact and mix- doing so may just lead to more tension. Will mutual respect and understanding of the other keep the peace?

Being that the year is 2012, I think I was living in a naive little bubble, figuring that racism and religious persecution was behind us. Sadly, we are no where near achieving that, as the Gavin Cato case in the nineties (we grew up in the nineties, remember?) shows.

I think the problem is that each and every one of us still places ourselves in a specific group-and many of us shy away from integrating those groups with others. For example, the Gavin Cato case was specifically divided into two groups- African Americans and Jewish People. There were no people, just labels.

This goes back years and years. If we look at the Orsi, we see that the Italian immigrants didn’t like for their children to marry (nonetheless associate) with non-italians. If they did marry a polish person or the like, they would no longer be welcome in their family’s home because they had weakened the “Domus”. This segregation and pseudo racism was not only encouraged but taught and passed along; it was accepted as custom and not racism.

Why do we do this? Why do we encourage and force ourselves to draw lines between eachother? All it does, as in the case of Gavin Cato, is provide a source for persecution and hatred. When Gavin Cato died in that car accident, the outlash against the Jews (and the retaliating outlash against the african americans) was appalling. But really what reason did these people have to fight eachother other than their minor differences?

The Jewish man that was killed had nothing to do with the Gavin Cato death, he was not the man who was driving the car. He was innocent and stabbed for no other reason than living in the Jewish neighborhood and being Jewish, even though many people may disagree with that reasoning.

The Gavin Cato served as a scary reminder to me that racism is still out there, that these things never disappeared and that there is still so much progress to be made. To be honest, it disturbed me deeply.

It seems unnecessary to mention that both Harry Goldschmidt and Robert Orsi’s pieces focus on religion among other aspects that ultimately define the identity of a group of people. That much can be gathered from the titles of the respective works. However, what struck me throughout reading the Orsi’s piece was how crucial religion was to the lives and culture of the Italians of Italian Harlem from the late 19th century to around the middle of the 20th century. Likewise, how Crown Heights through a religious lens could be interpreted as the center of the world for a select group of Jewish people. In other words, religion in these scenarios is HUGE.

There was perhaps nothing more important to the lives of the Italians in Italian Harlem than the annual festa celebrating their mother, the Madonna. Italians flooded the streets day and night for days before the procession on July 16th and continued for days afterward carrying out meaningful rituals. Italians from all over flocked to East Harlem for the entire celebration, turning an already overcrowded area into a complete zoo. Even as Italians began their flight from East Harlem in the passing generations, many returned to celebrate the annual festa. The annual festa and their devotion to the Madonna defined Italians for better or worse. It may have constructed their morals, values, behavior, and ultimately their culture, but it created a negative perception towards them from outsiders who witnessed some of their bizarre rituals. Were they ‘good’ American Catholics? Did their flashiness and in some instances over the top practices create a problem? Neither should matter, because it is not likely Italians were hell bent on assimilating to the American version of a Catholic in the first place. In fact all they were concerned with was honoring the Madonna who played such a pivotal role in each of their individual lives whether it was through comforting them when they longed for Italy and home or when they needed a figure, a mother, to ask and thank for guidance, help, and good fortune.

Religion is a central aspect in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Crown Heights and along with race it significantly divides the residents of the area. These differences were thrust into the spotlight during the violence of August 1991 that began on August 19th when a Black child, Gavin Cato, was hit by a vehicle operated by a Jewish man and consequently died. Later that night in what some Jewish residents interpreted as retaliation, Yankel Rosenbaum was stabbed by a troubled black teenager, Lemrick Nelson. In the days that followed, depending on who you talked to about it, a riot or a pogrom ensued. In this context, it is clear that the people of Crown Heights, although they may share the same zip code, they are divided through these two defining aspects. It follows that the Jewish perception of Crown Heights is the southern area of the neighborhood that has a greater concentration of Jewish people. This perception of the area, although only held by the Jewish population is interesting in that it attempts to define Crown Heights through religious boundaries. Furthermore, this idea of Crown Heights is for the Lubavitch community as the religious center of the world. This speaks to the enormous influence religion has on any culture, especially the Lubavitch one in Crown Heights. Religion in essence through the decree of the Rebbe transformed this otherwise ordinary neighborhood that is equal home to the Jewish population as it is to the Black population into a transnational center for this select group of Jews to come and practice their beliefs.

Reading “The Madonna of 115th Street”, I was honestly surprised to see how deeply the devotion ritual mirrored not only the day-to-day experiences of the immigrant population of Italian Harlem, but their emotions as well. Their march through the streets represented their desire to make America their own. Their reverence of the Madonna paralleled their own respect for their mothers. And beneath it all, the constant in their lives that was the devotion assuaged any fears or guilt they may have had about ultimately venturing beyond the umbrella of their culture, whether in mindset or in physical distance. Since the devotion would always be there awaiting them, and they would faithfully return to participate, they could not really be doing anything so wrong in leaving. This tradition anchored them. I think that, above all, this latter emotion shows the true, deep importance of the devotion on a cultural level to the immigrants of Italian Harlem. The book makes a valid point in stating that the ritual allowed the people to play out their complex relationship to the domus, but I doubt that the people really consciously saw it that way. It seems more likely to me that this ritual gave them a chance to reaffirm not only their faith, which it undoubtedly did, but also, on some level, to reaffirm their commitment to the life they knew. As the book also explains, the people were exceptionally disoriented and even disillusioned when they came to America. Far from finding the paradise that they sought in coming, the immigrants encountered a culture that made difficult the practice of values that had kept them afloat for so long. This ritual let them know that their values, not only cultural but especially religious, were still with them—and that they could follow through in keeping them going. It was something concrete that could take their desire to be good Christians and good Italians beyond wishful thinking and into reality.

Until now, we have been examining communities based on ethnicity. Now, we begin to examine communities based on religion. Two great examples are the Lubavitch-Jewish community in Crown Heights and the Muslim communities throughout New York City. It is evident from both readings that each know how to maximize their religion to create a community where they feel comfortable. It is also interesting to note how each have a central religious center whereby their community functions and lives. In Crown Heights, that place is 770 Eastern Parkway, the old home of the Lubavitcher Rebbe and the modern Lubavitch World Headquarters. In the Muslim communities throughout New York City, this place is the mosque, which is the prayer, educational, and political center of their communities.

Viewing a community based on shared ethnicity/race is fine, but it doesn’t always emphasize the togetherness of the community . Based on previous readings, the major solidifying factor of their communities was their shared ethnicities. After reading these two excerpts on two different religious communities, it is evident that each have a center that is a central component of the lives of many individuals in their communities which contributes to their togetherness. I think it is very healthy for a community to have a physical place where they can congregate and engage in the values and beliefs that they believe in. It helps make those positive values that the religion imbues a part of the lives of its community members, something which American society today desperately needs. The center can be thought of as a nucleus of the community, with the surrounding “electrons”, i.e. members of the community, being influenced by its “positive” pull of values and morality. These centers are also excellent social gathering places which fosters a sense of unity and closeness in the community.

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.

Upon reading the two selections for this week, I was further reminded of some of the complications behind why stereotypes and racism exist.  Firstly, when immigrants come to America, they bring over customs and cultures from their homeland- which is probably either homo-ethnic or comprised of overlapping ethnicities (those which are different yet share similarities).  As any human being clings to the familiar when placed in unfamiliar and uncomfortable surroundings, these immigrants hold their culture closely because they feel that it is one of their few remaining identifiers.  (This is another common human trait- differentiating oneself from others; however, it is also common for individuals to feel close nationalistic ties with their homeland).  Because of these factors, it is inevitable that a clash occur.  The irony, though, is that since America can be considered a land of immigrants, should we not have more respect and understanding for our fellow citizens?

This is one of the unique problems facing America.  Since there has never been another country quite like ours, there are no tried-and-true guidelines for managing this microcosm of the global community.  Essentially, that is what America is growing toward more and more each day.  In addition to ethnic differences, even more complications are added to the mix when considering social developments of adult immigrants, child immigrants, native-born children of immigrants, descendants of immigrants, and natives.

Due to so many factors, it is difficult to determine and define “American culture.”  Living here certainly does add a different spin on more traditional world cultures, but does it affect each in the same manner?  Is there one common thread across our country that we can plainly nominate as a facet of strictly American culture?  A few weeks ago, my dad jokingly told me that I’m ethnically confused.  He is right.  In a society where the presence of a vast array of cultures is easily accessible, my everyday life is affected by cultures other than my own.  Then again, I’m American.  Maybe my culture is comprised by a sort of smorgasbord selection.

As Queens Changes, The Gardens Remain; Thursday, June 5, 1997; The New York Times

This article is about how the physical appearance of Jackson Heights has changed over the years, as of 1997.  In Manhattan, gardens are often contained within courtyards that are surrounded by buildings.  This same idea is used in Jackson Heights.  As more people continued to move into Jackson Heights, more gardens were taken over by buildings and high-rises.  Of course, the article points out that some gardens did remain, such as those surrounded by apartment buildings.  These gardens are important to the residents of Jackson Heights, as they “foster a sense of community” in the otherwise dense population.

Marshall to March in Gay Pride Parade; Wednesday, May 29, 2002; Daily News

This article discusses the fact that the borough president, Helen Marshall, was set to march in the annual gay pride parade in 2002 for the first time in over a decade.  The parade was started in 1990 when a gay bartender was beaten to death on 37th Avenue in Jackson Heights.  The previous borough president had supported the parade, but had never marched in it.  This was seen as a huge turning point for gay pride.

Ethnic Food?  It’s a Tour Thing; Tuesday, March 6, 2012; Daily News

Joe DiStefano, writer of the World’s Fare blog for the magazine Edible Queens, started offering walking tours about 1 1/2 years ago.  Today, he offers tours of Flushing, Jackson Heights, and Elmhurst, stopping at all the best restaurants and food carts in the areas.  Jeff Orlick, who also blogs about food online, began offering Jackson Heights tours as well.  He says that he’s merely trying to promote the area where he lives and the food spots that are not that well known.  Walking through Jackson Heights myself, I can definitely say that the food is ethnically unique and should be taken advantage of by tours such as these.