Sicilian Americans
Lisa M. Kline
ETH 125
December 4, 2011
ADRIENNE CRISTE

Sicilian Americans
The ethnic group I have always identified with more is my Sicilian/Italian side. Even though I am only a 1/4 Sicilian, I still feel like I belong to that side more. My grandmother on my dad’s side was full-blooded Sicilian and her parents were immigrants to the United States.
The Sicilians have been in America for over 300 years. In the late 17th century, two brothers sailed to what is now New York and were in charge of the Onondaga fort. On the west coast, it is recorded that a Sicilian priest was in charge of converting he natives to Christianity. He was later killed by the natives in 1695. Immigration of the Sicilians was slow until the late 1880s. In 1906, over 100,000 Sicilians came to the United States in that year alone.

Most Sicilian immigrants never planned to stay in the US permanently. There is even a special phrase that was coined for Sicilians: "Birds of Passage" since their intent was to be migratory laborers. Even though about 75% of Sicilian immigrants were farmers in Sicily, they did not wish to farm in the US (as it implied a permanence that did not figure in their plans). Instead, they headed for cities where labor was needed and wages were relatively high. Many Sicilian men left their wives and children behind because they expected to return (and many, many did). In any event, for many Sicilian immigrants, migration could not be interpreted as a rejection of Sicily. In fact, it is a defense of the Sicilian way of life, for the money sent home helped to preserve the traditional order. Rather than seeking permanent homes, they desired an opportunity to work for (relatively) high wages in the city and save enough money to return to a better life in Sicily.

Sicilian-American immigrants faced stereotypes and discrimination, sometimes even from other Italians. Tensions between Italian regions had not been entirely resolved with unification and so northern Italians had sayings that indicated Sicilians were untrustworthy and ethnically different. A more persistent stereotype linked them to the mafia, and continues to perpetuate through films such as The Godfather that portray Sicilians in this light. As the Mafia is of Sicilian origin, Sicilian Americans were stereotyped as Mafia-linked to an even greater degree than Italian Americans in general, with the rationalization that the Mafia emerged in Sicily. Even today, Sicilians still have this stereo type.
When the Sicilians arrived in America, they found the roads not paved with gold, and found out that they were expected to pave them. They were considered stupid and inferior to other Italians that had immigrated before them. Sicilians were hired to do the work that no one else wanted to do. A lot of them found themselves working long hours in the sun, or working in the sewers. Even though the Sicilians were treated so poorly, they managed to keep their heads high and their heritage strong. Many of them sent large amounts of money back home to the families waiting in Sicily. The Sicilians formed together to make their own union, business and neighborhoods. All of this greatly helped the continuously arriving immigrants who in addition to the strong Sicilian work ethic, brought dance, music, and food.

Given the amount of hatred these first Sicilian immigrants encountered in the New World, it is not surprising that they preferred to remain in sheltered enclaves surrounded with familiar village dialects and customs. Even as other immigrants began to consider themselves “Americans”, Sicilians continued to identify themselves by their particular villages. Neither were they entirely sure of their place in the emerging Italian American culture. Although the United States grouped Sicilians under the category of “Italians”, Sicilians were reluctant to do so. The unification with Italy and Sicily was less than 100 years old, and the bitterness it had wrought ran deep among Sicilians. However, second and third-generation Sicilian Americans were less concerned with such distinctions and were more apt to label themselves “Italian Americans”. Sicilian immigrants followed an assimilation pattern similar to northern Italians, at a noticeably slower rate. As educational opportunities increased, so too did economic opportunities. As with Italian Americans overall, Sicilians proved they were "American" in the fullest sense of the word during World War II. Sicilian Americans were able to provide crucial military aid, particularly during the Sicilian campaign of 1943. World War II marked something of a turning point as second-and third generation Sicilians achieved financial security and social acceptance. Although images of mafia lords continue to dog the Sicilians, they are far from being the victims of hatred and discrimination they once were.

References:

Every Culture. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.everyculture.com

Italia America. (2009). Retrieved from http://www.italiamerica.org