Sicilians were sometimes “black” in the jim crow south. I couldn’t find the citation, but at least one black dude avoided getting murdered after it was discovered the woman he was sleeping with was sicilian. I think the anecdote is from Isabelle Wilkerson’s Caste.
Irish and Italians were Catholic, which was enemy #3 to the KKK right behind black and jewsiwh people. Irish and Italians weren’t even considered white for the first half of the 20yh century
I thought that the irish were always considered white but faced discrimination due to their nationality itself, along with religion, and typically being poor, more like being viewed as a “lesser” category of whites
It’s not strange if you know the history of KKK. They trace their roots back to the Orange Order.
The orange order is a sectarian group in Northen Ireland and Britain (outside Northern Ireland they are mainly west Scotland). They are pro-Protestant, pro-Monarchy and pro-Union (union between the nations of the UK). When the USA became a republic outside the UK they lost two of their three defining factors. So they replaced it with racism, but kept the sectarianism.
They still share similar rank structures. The KKK burn crosses, the orange order are fans of large bonfires often burning effigies of the pope. The KKK didn’t seem to keep the flute band marches, but both do march in silly dress costumes.
Despite their large presence in Northen Ireland with many of their members being born on the Island of Ireland, they wouldn’t claim themselves as Irish.
Catholicism was a huge part of it. The KKK was extremely active in New England, particularly in Maine, against the French-Canadian diaspora. At one point over 20% of the population were card carrying members, more than Alabama or Mississippi! The anti french laws it established were repealed only in the 60s.
“The real issue is Americanism against Romanism,” wrote Fred Moseley of Brunswick in April 1924. “Thinking, intelligent people do not believe it is for the best interests of the people to place Catholics in office. If a person is not 100 percent American, he is not an American. Let us elect good people to office,” rather than a politician who would sell “his soul to the devil to buy an election at the price of dishonor, bidding for the Roman vote.”
Sicilians were sometimes “black” in the jim crow south. I couldn’t find the citation, but at least one black dude avoided getting murdered after it was discovered the woman he was sleeping with was sicilian. I think the anecdote is from Isabelle Wilkerson’s Caste.
Irish and Italians were Catholic, which was enemy #3 to the KKK right behind black and jewsiwh people. Irish and Italians weren’t even considered white for the first half of the 20yh century
I thought that the irish were always considered white but faced discrimination due to their nationality itself, along with religion, and typically being poor, more like being viewed as a “lesser” category of whites
Interesting, the basis of that is so strange
It’s not strange if you know the history of KKK. They trace their roots back to the Orange Order.
The orange order is a sectarian group in Northen Ireland and Britain (outside Northern Ireland they are mainly west Scotland). They are pro-Protestant, pro-Monarchy and pro-Union (union between the nations of the UK). When the USA became a republic outside the UK they lost two of their three defining factors. So they replaced it with racism, but kept the sectarianism.
They still share similar rank structures. The KKK burn crosses, the orange order are fans of large bonfires often burning effigies of the pope. The KKK didn’t seem to keep the flute band marches, but both do march in silly dress costumes.
Despite their large presence in Northen Ireland with many of their members being born on the Island of Ireland, they wouldn’t claim themselves as Irish.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7meZZeYllo
The Irish are the blacks of Europe, and Dubliners are the blacks of Ireland.
There’s the blacks of the UK, the rest of us likes em well enough.
Catholicism was a huge part of it. The KKK was extremely active in New England, particularly in Maine, against the French-Canadian diaspora. At one point over 20% of the population were card carrying members, more than Alabama or Mississippi! The anti french laws it established were repealed only in the 60s.
Could you tell me where I can read more about this ? specifically the french-canadian new england stuff ?
Here’s some quick links to get you started:
https://www.ledevoir.com/societe/608667/histoire-quand-le-kkk-faisait-sa-loi-contre-les-canadiens-francais-du-maine (In French)
https://www.mainememory.net/sitebuilder/site/2122/page/3514/display
https://www.centralmaine.com/2017/02/05/ku-klux-klan-emergence-in-1920s-maine-offers-lessons-for-today/
https://www.seacoastonline.com/story/news/local/york-star/2010/03/04/the-king-kleagle-maine-s/51686485007/
https://umaine.edu/news/blog/2016/11/22/wvii-interviews-segal-story-kkks-history-maine/
This has been mostly erased from the history books, much like the rest of French Canadian history in the United States.
Good old Italian racists would agree with this assessment nowadays.