A theme I picked up on in this week’s readings is that immigrants tend to behave in a similar fashion to what they did over one hundred years ago. Specifically, a feature common to immigrants both new and old is “ethnic clustering.” In the 1850’s, people from the same communities often lived in the United States with the community members from their home nation. It was almost as if whole villages were implanted into New York City tenements. As Anbinder notes, ethnic bands were held together on a tenement by tenement basis. Other characteristics common among 19th century immigrants was the tendency of immigrants to help each other in times of need. In the Five Points tenements, people would provide their needy neighbors with blankets and food during cold winters, regardless of race or ethnicity. Some would go so far as to babysit their neighbor’s children while the parents were out shopping or interviewing for a job. Racial segregation was also prevalent among immigrants in New York City. African Americans were often forced to live in all black tenements whose conditions were far inferior to those in white tenements. Finally, a new phenomenon of “intraethnic clustering,” in which different sects of the same ethnicity join together to form an enclave, was beginning to take form in the 1850’s. The Irish were the pioneers of this behavior, coordinating mini enclaves of different Irish sects.
Nowadays, immigrant conduct is strikingly similar to the actions of their ancestors. Ethnic clustering is still a feature common amongst immigrants from all corners of the world. The ultra Hasidic Jews have taken over the neighborhood of Williamsburg, Brooklyn and turned it into an exclusively Jewish community. Even in Long Island, immigrant groups are showing patterns of clustering, like the Iranians in Great Neck on the north shore of Long Island. Furthermore, racial segregation still exists even in modern day society, as many African Americans are still confined to neighborhoods like Jamaica and Harlem. Foner illustrates how immigrants still try to help out their neighbors in times of need, aiding them in their search for jobs and housing. Finally, the innovative “intraethnic clustering” of years ago has become extremely prevalent for immigrants of today. With the increasing number of immigrants from a variety of locations within the same country, immigrants may find it difficult to live specifically with people from the same community or ethnicity. As a result, they will try to live with people who have fairly similar customs and habits. This is most clearly seen in the neighborhood of Flushing, where both Koreans and Chinese have lived harmoniously for years. It is truly incredible to see that even 150 years later, immigrants still engage in behavior that we are able to identify as distinctly immigrant.
