White on Arrival: Italians, Race, Color, and Power in Chicago, 1890-1945Taking the mass Italian immigration of the late 19th century as his starting point and drawing on dozens of oral histories and a diverse array of primary sources in English and Italian, Guglielmo focuses on how perceptions of Italians' race and color were shaped in one of America's great centers of immigration and labor, Chicago. His account skillfully weaves together the major events of Chicago immigrant history--the "Chicago Color Riot" of 1919, the rise of Italian organized crime, and the rise of industrial unionism--with national and international events--such as the rise of fascism and the Italian-Ethiopian War of 1935-36--to present the story of how Italians approached, learned, and lived race. By tracking their evolving position in the city's racial hierarchy, Guglielmo reveals the impact of racial classification--both formal and informal--on immigrants' abilities to acquire homes and jobs, start families, and gain opportunities in America. White on Arrival was the winner of the 2004 Frederick Jackson Turner Award of the Organization of American Historians |
Contents
| 3 | |
1 Early Italian Chicago | 14 |
2 Riot and Relations | 39 |
3 The White Peril of Europe | 59 |
4 Race Color and Crime | 76 |
5 Mayoral Races Mayoral Colors | 93 |
6 Fascism Empire and War | 113 |
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African Americans Al Capone April April 15 Armour Square August Black Metropolis Cabrini campaign Capone Cermak CFLPS Chicago Commons Chicago Crime Commission Chicago Defender Chicago Italians Chicagoans civilization color line connazionali crime criminalization culture December Democratic Dever diss Drake and Cayton early Ethiopia Ethnic fascist February February 12 federal Folder gangsters Giambastiani groups Housing ians Illinois instance Ital Italian Americans Italian immigrants Italianita Italians in Chicago Italy Italy's Jane Addams January July June L'Italia Labor large numbers Lea Taylor LTIT March March 26 mayoral Mexicans migration Mussolini neighbors Nordic North Side noted November October organized Papers Park percent political population Press race and color Race Relations race/color racial racialists Report restriction restrictive covenants September Sicilians social South Side southern Italians Street Thompson tion Union United University of Chicago USWA Vecoli vote West Side workers World