L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2020 www.italoamericano.org 14 L'Italo-Americano LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE D ear readers, as the Labor Day week- end ap- proaches let us all pause and give belated thanks to our immigrant par- ents, grandparents or great grandparents for making the decision to leave home and family behind in search of a better life and, although they made the sacrifices, we are the ones reaping the bene- fits. I have always felt that, although the accomplish- ments of our modern day astronauts and their trip to the moon are worthy of our admiration, their voyage was undertaken with the backup of thousands, both in personnel and technolo- gy. To me, the real pioneers of travel were our fathers a n d m o t h e r s a n d o u r grandparents who left their isolated and obscure vil- lages to begin a journey to w h a t w a s f o r t h e m l i k e another planet. To a world thousands of miles away, they set out w i t h n o m o n e y a n d t h e added burden of not being able to read or speak one of the world's most difficult l a n g u a g e s a n d , i n s o m e cases, unable to read at all. The fact that we are here i n o u r o w n h o m e s , w i t h f o o d o n t h e t a b l e a n d leisurely reading our copy of L'Italo-Americano is an Old World dream ful- f i l l e d a n d h o n o r e d . Through the efforts of our Italian American Media and our Italian cultural groups, we can be assured that our children will never forget w h a t o u r m o d e r n d a y media has ignored, neglect- ed or distorted: the history and brilliance of the Italian gifts to world civilization. *** Many immigrant dreams were dashed by the reality t h a t g r e e t e d t h e m u p o n a r r i v a l i n N e w Y o r k , Massachusetts and other s t a t e s o n t h e E a s t e r n s e a b o a r d . I n L a w r e n c e , Massachusetts, some 28 m i l e s f r o m B o s t o n , Lawrence became home for many different immigrant communities because of the plentiful jobs from its bur- geoning textile industry. Miles and miles of textile m i l l s w e r e b u i l t i n Lawrence. This was the city that produced the textiles that clothed the nation and t h e w o r l d . H o w e v e r , i n order to keep the wheels moving, the mills depended u p o n t h o u s a n d s o f l o w - s k i l l e d l a b o r e r s , m o s t l y immigrants arrived during the great wave of European i m m i g r a t i o n t o A m e r i c a t h a t e n d e d i n t h e e a r l y 1 9 2 0 s , w h e n t h e U n i t e d States imposed a quota on the flow of immigration from Italy to America: in fact some Italians traveled to France so they could sail to America from there as no quota on immigrants to the United States from France had been imposed. Prior to 1920, thousands of Italian immigrants had been attracted to Lawrence by posters all across the regions of southern Italy p r o m o t i n g t h e c i t y a s a place where immigrants could find good work and economic prosperity. One poster read: "No one goes hungry in L a w r e n c e . H e r e a l l c a n work, all can eat." Upon their arrival, how- e v e r , t h e t h o u s a n d s o f Italian immigrants realized that they had been seriously d e c e i v e d b y t h e f a k e posters. Living conditions were so horrendous that mill work- ers could expect an average life-span of only 35 years. The work week consisted of 56 hours for $6.50 a week. Rental for dilapidated hous- ing, which was little more than a cold-water flat, was about $3 a week. So, fami- lies shared rental space. They cooked and slept in shifts. I n o r d e r t o s u r v i v e , everybody in the family who could work had to work. H o w e v e r , t h e m i s e r a b l y crowded conditions gave rise to a host of diseases, which accounted for the early death rate. Working conditions in the mills were extremely unsafe, hours were long, Social Security did not exist at the time, and there was no compensation for work- associated accidents. *** It all came to a head on January 12, 1912, when a new law took effect, which reduced the maximum work week from 56-54 hours. However, the textile mill owners were not about to suffer any financial loss. They sped up the wheels of production to make up for the lost hours. That was bad enough, but it got worse when they cut the workers' pay by two hours. The two-hour difference Advancing our Legacy: Italian Community Services CASA FUGAZI If you know of any senior of Italian descent in San Francisco needing assistance, please contact: ItalianCS.org | (415) 362-6423 | info@italiancs.com Italian Community Services continues to assist Bay Area Italian-American seniors and their families navigate and manage the resources needed to live healthy, independent and productive lives. Since Shelter-in-Place began in San Francisco, Italian Community Services has delivered over 240 meals, over 900 care packages and made over 2000 phone wellness checks for our seniors. came to thirty-two cents a week, the cost of four loaves of bread. So, once the deduction appeared in their checks, workers were furious. It began with the Italians a n d t h e P o l i s h w h o h o l l e r e d : " S h o r t p a y . Everybody out." A n d s o , t h e f a m o u s Bread and Roses Strike began. However, this time Italians led the two-month strike affecting 28,000 peo- ple who spoke over 45 dif- ferent languages. S k i l l e d o r g a n i z e r s J o s e p h E t t o r e a n d Arturo Giovanitti from the Industrial Workers of t h e W o r l d ( t h e I W W ) , rushed to Lawrence to rep- resent the striking workers. The IWW struck fear into local and state leaders since it was socialist, some would say communist, in its lean- ings. At the Mayor's request, the Governor sent in uni- formed state militia, armed with guns and bayonets to protect the mills and block the striking workers. The militia also included many student volunteers from Harvard University. Clashes resulted, the armed militia and the Lawrence police on one side and the unarmed strikers on the other side. Law and order became i m p o s s i b l e t o m a i n t a i n . Thousands of angry strikers courted confrontation and defied the militia by daily m a r c h e s t h r o u g h t h e streets. Finally, acting to keep their children out of danger, Italian parents sent 240 c h i l d r e n b y t r a i n f r o m Lawrence to New York City w h e r e s t r a n g e r s v o l u n - teered to serve as host fami- l i e s . T h e c h i l d r e n w e r e housed, fed, and well-cared for until the strike was over. The sight of the underfed, s h a b b y l o o k i n g , p i t i f u l Italian children marching through the streets of New York shocked the nation. N e w s p a p e r h e a d l i n e s o f innocent children moved Congress to hold hearings. The mill owners capitulat- ed, and the strike ended in March of 1912. The workers won a series of pay increases and better working conditions, The L a w r e n c e T e x t i l e s m i l l strike, aka The Bread and R o s e s S t r i k e , h a s b e e n immortalized in poetry and song.

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