Background
Immigration is the cornerstone of America. Every citizen, except Native Americans, can trace their roots to immigration. Every ethnicity has made the choice to come to America and chase the American Dream except for African-Americans, who were bought here against their will to be free labor for the southern agricultural system. Italian Americans came during the late 19 th and early 20 th century. Hispanic Americans are the most recent group to make mass migration to America.
Africans
The first Africans landed in America in 1619 in the colony of Jamestown to work as indentured servants to help the newly discovered cash crop of tobacco. There were some accounts of Africans being in the Americas earlier, but this is the first documented time recognized by most scholars. The Africans labored hard in the fields of Jamestown growing tobacco. As time went on the slaves began to take on other forms of labor at Jamestown such as cooks, carpenters, and any jobs that needed to be done at Jamestown.
Webster's defines the term slave as a person held in servitude to the chattel of another, or one that is completely subservient to a dominating tool, or a device directly responsive to another. All three of these definitions apply to Africans because this is the way they were treated by the ruling white class. Slaves to most owners were pieces of property, not even humans in the eyes of most Southerners. This idea was supported by the Supreme Court in 1857 Dred Scott V Sanford case in which Chief Justice Roger Taney wrote that blacks "had no rights which the white man was bound to respect; and that the negro might justly and lawfully be reduced to slavery for his benefit. He was bought and sold and treated as an ordinary article of merchandise and traffic, whenever profit could be made by it."Other scholars suggest that, "Slave owners had to regard blacks as their inferior- how else could they go calling themselves Christians and professing democracy?..They felt called upon to house, clothe, and feed their slaves only efficiently enough to work (Schneider and Schneider 2007)".
The treatment was harsh, work was tough, and violation of a slave owners order usually led to whippings or other cruelties. "The punishments inflicted on slaved testified to the worse of human nature. Slave owners inflicted not only commonplace beating with lashes designed to hurt but also horrifyingly inventive tortures. They were often tinged with perverted sexuality and sadism" (Schneider and Schneider 2007). Some of these punishments included physical mutilation such as the cutting off one ones foot. Other examples include rape, starvation, castration, and in some cases murder.
The worst thing about slavery was the dismantling of family. "Slave mothers could not count on watching their children grow" (Schneider and Schneider 2007). Slave Jennie Hill recounts "How well I would remember how I would sit in my room with the little ones on my lap and the tears would roll down my cheeks as I ponder the right and wrong of bringing them into this world for? To be slaves and go from morning to night. They couldn't be educated and maybe they couldn't live with their families. They would just be slaves. All the time I wasn't even living with my own husband. He belonged to another man. He had to stay on his farm and I on mine. That wasn't living—that was slavery" (Schneider and Schneider 2007).
Slaves were sold and bought often because slaves represented numerical value more often than they represented a human being. "In the South – slaveholders increasingly regarded their slaves as their major capitol – even more so than their land. Few plantation owners or farmers worried about depleting their holdings; with so much new land available…their slaves however were a renewable resource, fresh supplies always available. They were mobile, capable of moving on. What was more, they were a cash crop" (Schneider and Schneider 2007). Slave owners had no regard for human relationships among slaves because their chief concern was economic.
Being sold in a lot of cases was the result of some kind of punishment. Slaves who were resistant or rebellious to the rules of slavery were often the first ones to be sold. At slave auctions, buyers would inspect the slaves for whip marks as a sign of a rebelliousness which would cause them not to buy. Some slave owners would try to hide these marks to make a quick profit while riding themselves of a problem slave.
Some slaves would mutilate or kill themselves rather than continue being a slave. In the early days of slavery some slaves would commit suicide because they believed upon their death they would be returned to Africa. Slaves would often suffocate themselves, poison themselves, or mutilate themselves to avoid the everyday drudgery of slavery. One slave Lewis Clarke in 1846 told of a friend of his who "took a broad ax, and cut one hand off; then contrived to lift the axe, with his arm pressing it to his body cut off the other hand" (Schneider and Schneider 2007).
Italians
"Migration was a way of life for Italians throughout the 19 th century" (Scarpaci 2008). During the years between 1970-1920, nearly 3.5 million Italians choose to leave Italy and settle in America. Limited job and economic opportunities in Italy led to the migration out of the country. "Overpopulation, changes in agricultural tenure and cultivation, plus increased industrialization acted as a stimulus to their departure" (Scarpaci 2008). The American landscape created an opportunity for immigrants from Italy to work in the same businesses and industries that were in Italy. "Laboring in the mines and factories of industrial areas, they provided the artisan skills needed to construct and embellish expanding cities" (Scarpaci 2008).
America could use the skills of these new immigrants and these immigrants desperately needed the opportunity to make some money. Americans often think of their land as a place everyone wanted to be but some Italians did not want to leave Italy. Some Italians "did not want to leave at all. They were sent by their family to shore up (economic) security" (Scarpaci 2008). Most were nervous about leaving their family behind to seek economic opportunities in a new land. A lot of them "longed for the life they left behind and suffered a sense of loss that did not diminish over time" (Scarpaci 2008).
Almost all immigrants from Europe arrived and had their citizenship processed at Ellis Island. Ellis Island was an immigrant processing center in New York City. At Ellis Island, immigrants had to fill out paperwork to get their "green card" for citizenship. The hardest part of citizenship was to pass the physical examination. The physical exam looked for contagious diseases and infirmities. This point created a lot of adversity among Italian families because the family could be broken up if everyone did not pass inspection. One Italian family recalled, "for Maria, the examination went smoothly but not for her youngest sister Rose who was born with a slight limp. Weakened by the long, arduous journey, Rose seemed unfit for entry…While Rose remained in the infirmary, her brothers and sisters stayed at her side. Although impressed by this devotion, port authorities stood by their decision and ordered Rose to return to the Italian orphanage" (Scarpaci 2008).
The Italians maintained a connection to their homeland and relatives in Italy because "letters and exchange of photos enabled transatlantic communication" (Scarpaci 2008). Most Italians visited home often to share time with relatives and for vacations. Immigrant travel agents frequently sold tickets and created a business for leisure travel to Italy.
Italian immigrants faced a level of discrimination and intimidation in America. Some had trouble maintaining jobs due to this discrimination. In order to keep their job, they had to suffer unfair treatment, low wages, violence and intimidation in America. When word of the problems facing these immigrants got back to Italy, the Italian government got involved to help their native sons assimilate into America. They sent officials to America whose job was to "investigate the treatment of immigrants in America and condemned violence, exploitation, and discrimination" (Scarpaci 2008). They created reports for Italian citizens who were contemplating moving to America. These officials also lobbied the American government for protection for these immigrants. Newspapers in Rome and New York polled Italian immigrants to understand their main concerns. The immigrants listed their main concerns as the "military draft, understanding of the district courts operation (in America), protections of the jobs and the earnings of workers and the teaching of the Italian language" (Scarpaci 2008). The United States Labor Department also requested copies of these polls and reports to help provide protection and fair treatment for immigrants.
Italians survived mainly by moving into neighborhoods of other Italians. These areas became known as ethnic neighborhoods. "Italian immigrants tended to cluster together on the same street, the same section of town or rural area. They filled their homes with the objects they used to work, cook, and recreate" (Scarpaci 2008) that they used back in Italy. The family and neighborhood became the backbone of Italian society in America.
As these neighborhoods began to grow, the problems from back home in Italy arrived on these shores. Due to lack of protection from local law enforcement, the mafia families from Italy were able to infiltrate these neighborhoods. Thugs from Italy saw a chance to move to America and expand their criminal activities. Crime, poverty, and deplorable living conditions became just as much a part of these neighborhoods as the Italian foods and customs that made them a part of America. "Despite the contrasts between old and new, Italians chose the American customs they found useful and ignored the suggestions that threatened to undermine their basic values of family and tradition" (Scarpaci 2008).
Hispanics
Over 10 million illegal immigrants of Mexican descent have entered America between the years of 1990-2010. These immigrants have made immigration a hot button political issue. This is mainly due to the fact that they have entered the country illegally and are considered a drain on taxpayer resources. Although there are millions of legal immigrants the majority are immigrants risking life and limb for their chance at the American Dream.
The main image associated with illegal immigration in America is of the immigrant sneaking across the border in the middle of the night avoiding border patrols to illegally enter this country. For many immigrants this is a dangerous journey during which they often risk their life for a chance at the American Dream. The University of Houston counted almost 3,000 deaths of immigrants crossing the southern border in the years between 1995-2000. Most researchers agree that number is much higher because most of the bodies "will never be found. The bones of migrants are hidden in the sludge of the Rio Grande and scattered across the open desert" (Martinez 2001).
The journey is an extremely dangerous one for those trying to cross the border. Although most of them make a successful cross, there is still nervousness for the families in Mexico knowing that they have relatives attempting this journey. "Each time a crew of wetbacks heads out on the local bus for the first leg of its journey…(the family) collectively holds its breath and waits on word for a successful crossing—or tragedy" (Martinez 2001).
The reason people are willing to risk their life is the same as the Italians: jobs. "Jobs – typically in hotels and restaurants- along with thousand of seasonal agricultural jobs are filled by a vast pool of illegal, unskilled migrant workers" (Martinez 2001) are the reason for the risks. Jobs in Mexico are hard to come by thanks to a struggling Mexican economy.
The Mexicans call it "la crisis". La crisis is the state of Mexico that includes streets riddled with crime. The Mexican currency called the peso is continuously falling in value. These events have led to an extremely high crime rate that makes it dangerous to go outside. Political assassinations, corruption, and wars between local drug cartels put the Mexican immigrant in a position of stay and deal with the everyday struggle and misery of life in Mexico or attempt to head for a better future in America.
The American Dream is what these immigrants are chasing. They see opportunity to take care of their families and become upwardly mobile in America. They know it will be full of hard work and hardships, but they are willing to face that struggle. The risk is "an acceptable price to pay for a better future. The future is an American education for his daughter, Yeni, a nice apartment in St. Louis, or perhaps Chicago, a new car for himself" (Martinez 2001) says one Mexican immigrant who wished to cross the border.
Life in America is a very hard life for illegal immigrants. They have to be aware of all law enforcements because they are here illegal. Any incident involving law enforcement could result in them being deported back to Mexico. This results in a permanent underclass of people who are constantly being abused because they have no protection. They are often the victims of crime but can not report it for fear of deportation.
The worse abusers of the illegal immigrants are the employers for which they work. These employers take full advantage of the workers because of their residency status. They pay them low wages and often overcharge for the most basic of amenities. One Mexican named Mario who used to work on a migrant farm in North Carolina recalled "just about everything you earn, you wind up spending. The kid earned about $700 dollars a month, but a month's worth (of travel expenses) alone was a hundred dollars. And the Germans (farm owners) would take advantage of us by selling us cans of Coke for two dollars" (Martinez 2001).
He later tells of the day he confronted the farm owner with these allegations. He said, "every Mexican in this field has the right to a fair wage, to decent working conditions, to not be robbed by the company store, and furthermore, every Mexican in this field has the right, if these basic conditions aren't met, to protest because this is America, and there are laws here, not like Mexico, not like Germany. This is a democracy and Schmidt (farm owner) will treat the men democratically, or else. But after this confrontation, Mario had to leave the farm and return to Mexico because he is an illegal alien and does not have these rights.
Mexicans in America also face various types of discrimination. The new Arizona immigration law is a prime example of what they have to face. All Mexican immigrants are racially profiled on a consistent basis. They have to carry residency status papers with them at all times or get arrested. This is reminiscent of the days of slavery when free blacks had to carry their freedom papers with them at all times. Some Mexicans avoid communication with white people while in America because of the problems with racism that they have faced. A young Mexican immigrant named Alphonso said "I have never had a white friend…(they) bunch of racists" (Martinez 2001).
Raul Tapia, a Mexican immigrant who lives in Arkansas with his family resents the idea that immigrants a drain on America's resources. He says "Those people who think immigrants are a drain on the economy are confused…I own a house, pay taxes. I have a city job and the government gets taxes from that, too. We have the cars and pay insurance on them. We buy appliances, we buy groceries. What more does it take to be American?" (Martinez 2001).
Hip Hop Expressions
Hip Hop started in the late 1970's and early 1980's. Depending on whom you ask, it got its start in the South Bronx or Harlem area of New York City. Each neighborhood claims to be the home of hip-hop. The early days of hip hop were a vocal expression of the plight of young urban black youths and their everyday struggles. These struggles included racial oppression, police brutality, and poverty in the inner city. It was mainly rejected by the mainstream as a form of expression, but over time became accepted.
Hip Hop involves several forms of expression. The first and most common is rap music. Rap music is a form of music that incorporates dance beats with rhythmic lyrical rhyming. It has involved from the simple one syllable rhymes of the Sugar Hill Gang, to the lyrical complexities of artists such as Nas. Over the years, it has been the leading voice for young black people and has ignited many controversies with its topics and lyrics. Rap Music made it to the Supreme Court in the mid 1980's, when the group 2 Live Crew won a 1 st amendment case against the state of Florida for trying to censor their music; a landmark case in the world of entertainment.
Another form of hip hop expression is street art. Most people refer to it as graffiti because they do not understand it. Most street artists will tell you it's the purest form of art because it is pure raw self expression. The earliest street art was noticed on the subway trains and walls of the Bronx. A simple mural of a friend who is dead can be defined as street art. Tagging is the name given to the art of putting you name or symbol on public property. Street Artists have been the scorn of public officials who claim it is graffiti that marks up the streets and is an eyesore to the community.
The last form of hip hop expression that will be focused on in this unit is slam poetry. Slam poetry is the newest form of hip hop self expression. It combines the basic artistry of poems with a vibrant theatrical oral reading of the poem that is subject to interpretation by the audience. This style of poetry started in Chicago in the late 1980's and has spread nation wide since its inception. Just like other forms of hip hop, it was widely scorned in popular culture and literary circles when it first started. However, it has continued to grow in popularity and there have been several HBO programs dedicated to the performers of slam poetry. Shows like Russell Simmons Def Poetry Jam and Freedom Expression Poetry Competition has introduced slam poetry to a new audience and has made it the voice of the young generation.
Common Themes
All these groups have faced numerous tests of faith and dedication while pursuing the American Dream. The American Dream is to live comfortably through hard work while providing the next generation of your family with opportunities to live a better life than you did. It's been the attraction since the first settlers arrived at Jamestown in 1607 pursuing the riches and gold in the New World. Upward mobility is one of the goals of every person in the world and America provides you with the best chance of any country around the globe.
These immigrant groups have all come to America at different times but their paths to immigration and citizenship are very similar. There are common themes among all three groups of immigrants, which are jobs, discrimination, and abuse. African-Americans came to America forcibly, to work the tobacco and cotton plantations of the colonial south. Italian immigrants came to work the mines and construction jobs in the urban northern and mid western cities. Mexicans come to America to work in the agriculture industry. These jobs are low pay with little job security. The employees often face abuse and oppression by their employers.
The African-American experience is much different then the others because they were bought to this country as slaves and had no rights in the American system of law. Even the American Constitution only called Africans 3/5 of a human being. Once freed from the institution of slavery, African-Americans had to deal with discrimination, murder, and abuse for another 100 years before they were given full rights of American citizens.
Italian Americans were not slaves but they faced discrimination, murder, and abuse at the hands of American employers and those Americans who did not welcome their immigration into America. The most known example was the Sacco and Vanzetti case of two Italian Immigrants who were convicted of murder despite a lack of credible evidence. Many people believe their convictions were the result of immigrant discrimination or xenophobia.
Mexican Americans are the newest group to immigrate to American to face the same problems of discrimination, abuse, and murder by American employers and those who do not want them here. The illegal immigrant debate has split the country and has become a hot button political issue that has caused some politicians their job.
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