Sheila Morris

Assimilation in America: Is it worth the price we pay?

            Assimilation is imperative for immigrant groups to become a part of the dominant culture.  Usually, after two or three generations, immigrant families are fully assimilated.  But, is it worth the price we pay when a culture rich in tradition loses that tradition just for the sake of being accepted as an American?  Do we lose too much in the process?

            In Culture, Race, and the Economic Assimilation of Immigrants, Jeffrey G. Reitz and Sherrilyn M. Sklar write that, “The classic hypothesis is that persons whose ethnic culture, identity, behaviors, social networks, and institutional affiliations are maintained experience personal costs in lost opportunity for good jobs and high earnings. They also thereby impose costs on society because ethnic attachments restrict and distort the optimal use of human resources.” (234)

            An example of this is that when I met my husband James, twenty-something years ago, I remember being envious of his large extended Italian family. Different generations of aunts, uncles, great aunts and great uncles from his mother’s side all lived in close proximity, several on the same street. In fact, in the beginning, I thought he was related to almost everyone who lived in Santa Fe, Texas: “That’s my cousin John” or “That’s my Aunt Santa” would be heard over and over again each time I went there. The running joke was that to yell out Joe or Frank in a crowd would cause most of the men to turn their heads. Even some of the women would turn their heads, like my mother-in-law Josephine.

            Having emigrated from Sicily, Italy in the late 1800s, Josephine’s grandparents settled upon a large farm in what was then known as Alta Loma. Her aunts and uncles were rich with lore and tradition. The aunts often talked of the dances that were held every Saturday night on the family farm. Josephine’s grandparents eventually parceled out the farm land to their seven children and their families, thus the reason for the family all living in close proximity. Alta Loma was eventually incorporated into Santa Fe in 1978. 

            My husband’s family was not too far removed from other Sicilian farmers. In her post, Sicilians and Italians in Texas, Danielle Maldonado writes about her family. She wrote that many Sicilians who immigrated to Texas were unskilled, but “quickly became farmers. Those who went into farming learned to grow cotton and corn.”

            I grew to love James’ mother’s family. They were constantly laughing, having a good time, and more often than not, cooking and eating. I fondly remember the food. Oh boy, the food. Spaghetti. Lasagna. Fig cookies. Homemade pizza. I will never forget James’ grandmother’s chocolate meringue pie. I never knew that meringue could go that high!

            This delicious food was a part of the family’s culture. Get-togethers and holidays were especially food-centered. Almost all of the houses would have spaghetti gravy simmering on the stove and the wonderful aroma of baked bread in the oven preceding a special event. 

            One such food-centered holiday was St. Joseph’s day that fell every March 19. This was also my mother-in-law’s birthday, which might explain her name since she had an older brother named Joseph. Every year, these proud Sicilian Catholic women would create elaborate altars in honor of St. Joseph. The St. Joseph’s altars were piled high with breads, cakes, cookies, and baked goods. These altars, often in the dining room or living room of each home, would almost reach the ceiling and would stair-step out. We would go from home to home admiring each altar and commiserating with each elderly aunt on how hard they must of worked and how beautiful (and tasty) the outcome.

            Although I had never heard of it before, the St. Joseph’s altar has been around a very long time. In their article, “Giving an Altar” The Ideology of Reproduction in a St. Joseph’s Day Feast, Kay Turner and Suzanne Seriff write that the holiday dates back to 16th Century Sicily. St. Joseph, the patron of the “family, the poor, the widowed, and orphans, is honored through the creation of elaborate—literally floor to ceiling—altars composed primarily of food and traditionally dedicated and displayed in the home.” (446). 

            The deep-seated Catholic tradition may have been the cause for the altar, but it is my belief that the aunts needed very little reason to cook. Cooking and feeding their families was a part of who they were. Food was their identity.

            In Life is but a dream: The assimilation of culture and maintenance of ethnic identity in the Italian American Community, Ahmad Ridhuan Alauddin argues that it was through food that Italian immigrants advocated their ethnic identity. He wrote, “Ethnic identity can be defined as values, cultural practices, social psychological traits and behaviors. These factors are usually very hard to be maintained, especially amongst immigrants.”

            Alauddin argues that food marks the cultural identity. He wrote, “In analyzing the pattern of the Italian American common menu it is a clear indication of how their original food from Italy still plays an important role in their everyday menu despite having moved to a foreign land.” This was my Italian experience. This is how my lucky husband grew up. 

            As the generations settle down, they begin to consider themselves more and more American and less and less of the culture they came from. Alauddin feels that “How the younger generations identify themselves will depend upon how much they know about their identity.” In his article, he believes the Italian culture is kept alive through food. I can see how this is true with my husband’s family. Unfortunately, I also think this heritage is in the process of being lost forever.

            By the time I met James, his great aunts were in their 60s and 70s. That was twenty-something years ago. Now, his mother is that age. And, although she is a wonderful cook and makes many of the traditional recipes, it is definitely less than before. The last family event we attended was catered by a local restaurant. Gone was the spaghetti gravy that had been on the stove the entire day before. Gone were the amaretto cookies and in their place was store-bought chocolate cake. Gone were the little old ladies in well-worn colorful aprons, piling plates with food while chanting “mangia bene.”

            My wonderful mother-in-law still makes a mean meatball that makes you want to beg for more. But, sadly, the times for this are fewer and the mouthwatering meals are much further between. Sadly, I am not much of a cook, but I hope not all has been lost. I have been fortunate enough to have James’s great-aunt Jean’s cookbook and I hope that one day, my daughter or her daughter will continue to feed her loved ones with food that brings such history, let alone such pleasure.

Citations

Ahmad Ridhauan Alauddin.  Life is but a dream:  The assimilation of culture and maintenance of ethnic identity in the Italian Community.
http://the nameisridhuan.blogspot.com/2010/12/assimiation-of-culture-and-maintenance.html.

Danielle Maldonado.  Sicilians and Italians in Texas. http://coursesite.uhcl.edu/HSH/Whitec/LITR/4333/models/20085731/rschpost/rpost2/rpst2s08maldonado.htm

Jeffrey G. Reitz and Sherrilyn M. Sklar. Culture, Race, and the Economic Assimilation of Immigrants. Sociological Forum, Vol. 12, No. 2 (June 1997) pp. 233 - 277.

Kay Turner.  Suzanne Seriff.  “Giving an Altar” The Ideology of Reproduction in a St. Joseph’s Day Feast. The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 100, No. 398, Folklore and Feminism (Oct. - Dec., 1987), pp. 446 – 460.