36 Vaccaro ⦁ Louis Prima & Tarantella new opportunities elsewhere.5 These immigrants brought a number of traditions from their homeland, ranging from language and food to music and entertainment. Sicilian Immigration to New Orleans Following the South’s defeat in the Civil War, Sicilian immigrants had been lured to Louisiana by the newly established Louisiana Bureau of Immigration to replace formerly slave-based labor.6 A large number of Sicilians immigrated to New Orleans in particular because of the direct shipping line between the Crescent City and the Sicilian capital of Palermo. Eventually, Sicilian immigrants became heavily concentrated in the Lower French Quarter, to the point where by 1875 the area was colloquially named the Italian Colony.7 Following this wave of immigration, European Americans discriminated against Italian immigrants along ethnic, religious, and economic lines. Ethnically, Italian immigrants were considered to be racially inferior, similar to the status of people of color. Religiously, most Italian immigrants were Catholic, which put them at odds with the Protestant majority of the nation. Economically, the blue-collar immigrants were seen as unwelcome “others” who were stealing jobs from American citizens. Additionally, New Orleans became a hub for suspected Mafia activity, with factions like the Provezanos and Matrangas competing for control of the city’s docks in the late 1880s.8 Such criminal activity amplified New Orleanians’ suspicions of Italian immigrants as a whole, leading to Italians being commonly stereotyped as being criminals or gangsters. One of the largest lynchings in American history took place in New Orleans in 1891, when more than 100 Sicilian immigrants were rounded up after the mayor blamed “Sicilian gangsters” for murdering the chief of police. A mob of over 10,000 New Orleanians broke into the jail, dragged out 11 Sicilians, and lynched them.9 This experience drew parallels to the experience black people faced throughout the South, which gave the two marginalized groups a common ground to collaborate culturally. 5 Stahle, The Italian Emigration of Modern Times, 17. 6 Allured, Louisiana Legacies, 129–130. 7 Nystrom. Creole Italian, 111. 8 Allured, Louisiana Legacies, 128. 9 Allured, Louisiana Legacies, 166.
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