A common theme among the three readings this week was racial identities among different immigrant groups. Bobb’s readings focused on the West Indian community and their perception of Unites States in terms of race and class. Lessinger talked about the American-Indian (Asian) immigrants and how they identify themselves among American society. Finally Foner tied these two readings together by discussing many ethnic groups such as Hispanic, Indian, Pacific Islanders, White etc and relating their American experience to issues of race, class, and status.
Bobb interviewed and researched the West Indian perception of race and class in America. There were a wide range of responses regarding whether or not West Indians felt discriminated in America and how they dealt with it. Racial slurs didn’t affect many West Indians until they came to America. I thought that this finding was surprising yet understandable. In their homeland the majority of people were West Indian and very few were White. However in terms of how people saw one another, the major distinction amongst them was money-related. Even though Whites held high positions in their countries, so did many black West Indians. However, when many of these people came to America, they felt shocked at how divided the county was in terms of race. As a result, many West Indians tried to avoid racial tension by staying in their communities, which created a network for them. It was interesting to see that the children of the immigrants felt a lot more discrimination than the immigrants themselves. The first generation responded to this by saying because they were in contact with a larger community in schools, social events, etc. unlike their parents who went straight to work, they noticed racial divisions more frequently. In Lessingers reading, Indian immigrants also went through a process of assimilation like the West Indians.
Lessinger talks about how the Indian community incorporated themselves in the American life. Many of the Indian immigrants succeeded in getting a professional job and actually created a pretty good standard of living for themselves. However there was always this fear that some Indians had which was being associated with the blacks. This was also seen amongst many other immigrant groups because they were struggling to create their own identities in the United States. Furthermore a lot of people immigrated here and stayed with their own communities and also created a sort of network similar to that of West Indians. I think that wherever we go, we see that neighborhoods are divided (to an extent) by ethnic means. Even when we walked around East Harlem we saw this nationalistic pride on different blocks. There were Italian stores and flags hanging on one street while a whole different Mexican theme was erupting on another. It just goes to show that humans like to group together with those they have the most similarities with. Especially for immigrants this was an important tool they could use for their advantage. When I asked my family about where and why they immigrated to in New York the answer was Woodside because the community there consisted of people who had similar religious and cultural values that they were accustomed to back home. This theme runs through almost all immigrant groups that have come to America throughout history.
I enjoyed reading Foner’s chapter on race because it addresses the issue of race and class among various populations, making it easy to see a common ground among all immigrants. “The Sting of Prejudice,” the name of the chapter itself fits in perfectly with the subject matter, as it relates to each immigrant group who faces hardship and discrimination while trying to create a new life for themselves and their family. Its pretty interesting to see how the definition of “white” has changed over the course of history. As Foner explains there was a huge amount of racism towards the Jews and Italians when they were first coming in. For instance when she talks about how there were signs saying “No Jews or Dogs allowed,” it struck me because such slurs were openly expressed and accepted. Today almost any Jew or Italian is considered to be white in the eyes of many people. However we see discrimination against other groups today instead of the Jews and Italians (To an extent of course. Unfortunately, there are still cases of racism against all groups among some people). It seems as if any group who tried or are trying to assimilate into American society had to or is going through a similar “prejudice sting.”
The hopes are that discrimination and prejudice doesn’t affect future generations. As Lessinger talked about there have been groups started to remove common misconceptions about Indians. For instance in Columbia University a group called “Indian Youth Against Racism” rose when there were recurring instances of racism among the Indian community in the late 1980’s. With the efforts from all people from different various ethnicities I think it is possible to create equal opportunities for everyone. Obviously it’s definitely going to be a challenge but I think equal access to resources among different groups is a must for any change to occur. I think that this change has to start from the government down.
Finally, I think that the issue of race and class is a sensitive one and has been affecting immigrants since the first wave of immigration. People have a choice to comply with the standards put on them or to rise up and make a change and fight for what they truly believe in. By looking at the similarities rather than differences among our society, all groups of people can overcome the pressures of society and create peaceful and humane communities that are willing to accept and understand each other for a common cause (A little cheesy, I know but I still believe it can happen!).
