History of Ghettos, Part Two

Ghettos in America are somewhat complicated and difficult to classify, since there are such a wide range of racial, ethnic, and religious backgrounds. As immigrants came to America, they tended to settle in close proximity to one another out of necessity and level of social comfort. If you were Polish, for instance, you were apt to feel more at ease, at least for a while, around fellow Poles as you adapted to your new country. Obviously language played a big role, as having neighbors who spoke your language helped, but also religious beliefs played an important role, and churches or synagogues were built in the immediate neighborhood of the respective religion,* and also often had services conducted in a particular language for the immigrant population of the neighborhood. The question really is, were these areas "ghettos?" In the general sense used in Europe for Jews, the answer is probably "no." People came to America, settled together in an area, and later immigrants also settled in that area. While members of an immigrant community may not have always been "welcome" in other areas, they were not forced to live in a certain neighborhood by authorities.

Now, the Irish "may" be something of an exception to this. When Irish immigrants came to America, they were generally very poor and the majority were staunchly Catholic. In the early history of this country, when the population was largely made up of Protestants, Catholics were not easily accepted, as they were seen as being beholden to the Pope and to Rome, and were thus seen as "foreigners" who could not be "real Americans." The Irish tended to settle in certain areas of a city or town, and those who strayed from this practice might face severe repercussions, including death. Likewise, Asian immigrants, mainly from China in the 1800s, settled in parts of cities, particularly in the western United States, but some also moved into cities in the east, establishing so called "China Towns." Today, ethnic enclaves are seen as quaint and often desirable, but this was not always the case, and many people suffered terrible discrimination or abuse.

Of course the main separation of people in America has been based on race. After the Civil War, former black slaves were left to try to fit into a culture from which they had been excluded in virtually all ways. A separate black society had evolved over time, complete with its own form of English dialect in many cases. "In theory" Black Americans could live, work, worship, and enjoy life anywhere in America, but in reality, things were pretty much the opposite, especially in the southern areas of the country, where much of the black population lived. Later, as Black Americans sought employment opportunities, many moved northward, occupying neighborhoods of cities gradually, or sometimes hurriedly, vacated by White Americans fleeing the encroachment of the unwelcome newcomers. Like the Irish immigrants before them, Black Americans were very poor and with segregation and discrimination rampant, they had little chance of improving their lives. The black inhabited areas commonly came to be called "ghettos," and the term came to be associated with poverty, gangs and crime.

With the gradual incorporation of southwestern territories into America came a Latino population, mainly of Mexican heritage, often already living in particular parts of cities or towns (often referred to as "barrios"). Also, as Latinos from Puerto Rico** spread into some northern cities, similar population changes occurred as with Black Americans, and Latinos settled in particular areas of cities, including in a section of Harlem in New York City. Many Cubans came to America in the late 1950s when Fidel Castro and Communists took over the country in a revolution. Many of these Cuban immigrants, often middle class, settled in Florida, with Miami being a major city of settlement. In the last couple of decades, immigration, both legal and illegal,  from many Central American nations has increased, bringing increased Latino populations to many parts of the U.S. Here in Cleveland, part of the near West Side has a substantial, Latino community of diverse background, although previously it was largely Puerto Rican. Of course Los Angeles is the home of a large Latino population, but I'm not certain we can call these areas "ghettos."

Long term efforts to reduce segregation, discrimination and poverty have gradually broken down barriers and mixed the American population; however, especially in some big cities, "ghetto" areas still exist. In Europe since the 1960s, significant immigrant populations have moved into Germany, France, and Britain. In Germany, so many Turks moved into Berlin, the joke for a while was, "What is the capitol of Turkey?" Answer: "Berlin."*** Frankfurt too has a substantial immigrant population, but again, whether areas of these German, or European cities can be truly called "ghettos," is debatable. London having been the capitol of a multi-ethnic empire for so long has had people of non-English heritage for quite some time. The change in demographics has brought conflicts at times, with right-wing extremists, like the perpetrator of the massacre in Norway, seeking to oust non-native inhabitants. With the world so "small" now with the advances in technology and globalization, population shifts, which have always taken place, will continue and grow. Surviving things like droughts, floods, famine, and disease should supersede our individual backgrounds. In the end, like the castaways of "Gilligan's Island," we must all try to get along to survive.

* In more recent decades this has proven to be a problem, as "old ethnic" neighborhoods have been breaking up, or at least eroding enough, that the long established places of worship no longer "fit" the neighborhood. What I mean is, if Jews lived in a particular neighborhood 75 years ago, but now most Jews have now moved out, the neighborhood synagogue may close, just because it is no longer convenient for Jews to attend from their now more distant residences. Likewise, churches established by Germans, Slovaks, Italians or Serbians may have been converted to some other use, or kept as churches, but no longer geared to the particular group that founded the church.    

** Contrary to what Archie Bunker or Fred Sanford, of television comedy fame, thought, Puerto Ricans are American citizens!!! Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States, with the President of the United States being the head of state. It is not a state, and as such, Puerto Ricans have no voting representatives in the United States Congress, nor can they cast binding votes for President.

*** For those studying German the joke is: "Was ist die Hauptstadt von der Türkei?" Antwort: "Berlin."

WORD HISTORY:
Poor-This word goes back to Indo European "pau," which had the notion of "small in size, little." This gave its Old Latin offspring "pavo-pars," which meant "getting/receiving little." This then produced Latin "pauper," which meant "poor," and Old French, a Latin-based language, inherited the word as both "poure" and "povre." These were then carried to England by the Normans and English borrowed the word as "poure" in the early 1200s, gradually replacing the native English word "earm," now the obsolete "arm" (not  the part of the body or weapon).^ It wasn't until later that the spelling followed the pronunciation to "poor."

^ While the adjective form "arm" is now archaic in English, I will do the history very soon. I already did "arm," the body part, and "arm," weapon (including the verb form meaning "to supply with weapons").