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[music] >> But, we're not the only ones running. And I want y'all to understand this, okay? The only difference is a lot of these other folks have been given an opportunity to assimilate. Basically, they've been given a chance to shed their original identity and align themselves with the dominant culture. All right? The dominant white culture. And they have been successful at it. It's something I'm watching this broadcast right now. And what's happened is because of that reclassification and economic mobility, these communities have escaped many of the harsher realities of discrimination. But often at the cost of their heritage, their cultural and their historical struggles, okay? All right? All right. Hang in there, right?
Black folks, foundational black Americans on the other hand, we've never been given the option to assimilate. And when presented with the option to assimilate, right? We didn't want it. We never saw it. We like maintaining our distinct identity. In fact, we fought Shout out to brother from down under. In fact, we fought systematic oppression head-on and refused to relinquish control uh of or should I relinquish our cultural and historical uh identity. See, our struggle has been resilience, not reclassification.
Now, let's take for instance the first group that I would like to address. Let's talk about the Irish Americans. Shout out to the Irish. >> [cheering] >> Noble, wonderful people, hard-working people. Often times ridiculed in their in their homeland. Ah, the the British used to give them the blues. Go over there and slaughter them, all right? So, in the 19th century, the Irish immigrants, they faced severe discrimination when they got here to the United States. Guess what they called them? I I bet you I I They You know what they said about the Irish? If you look at a Irish person, they look as pale as a ghost. They said that they were lazy, called them violent, told them that they were unworthy of citizenship. Okay? They were relegated to working these poor jobs that were labor-intensive that nobody else want. And guess where they lived? Shout out to Emmanuel Monteperas. They lived in the ghettos, the Irish, right? And many Irish Americans were targeted. They would even put signs up that said, "No Irish need apply." for job postings. They even faced violent attacks such as uh there was a um They they call it the Philadelphia Nativist Riots of 1844, when the Irish anti-Irish mobs burned the Catholic churches, burned them to the dead burned them to the ground. Okay?
But here's the thing, despite their hardships, the Irish eventually gained political power, particularly through urban and political machines like Tammany Hall in New York. I know I'm kind of jogging your memory and whatnot, but you remember those basic eighth grade history classes. And they were able to leverage their numbers and secure government jobs. You get the Irish police officers, right? That's a stereotype. Sergeant O'Malley, right? And they led they parlayed that into political power. And guess what it did? They went from being Irish to being white, okay? And so, by the late 19th century and 20th centuries, the Irish they were no longer considered a racial other, they were consimply considered white. And now, if you talk to somebody, "Yeah, I'm a Irish, you know, mixed with but but they're white now, okay?" And in doing so, they basically distanced themselves from their Irish culture, okay? And they distanced themselves from um uh their rich homeland. And when you go to Ireland right now and you talk to people in Ireland, they don't consider these Irish people who've been here for centuries Irish, they just call them Americans. So, they literally lost their heritage. You understand what I'm saying? Okay?
Now, the other thing the other group of people, and I want you to understand this, the Italians. If anybody is going to Italy or going to Sicily Sicily or Italy, when you look at those people, they are very olive colored. Matter of fact, they are known for being olive toned, the the Italians, right? Um when Italian immigrants first got uh particularly in the 20th century, when they arrived to the US, they faced deep prejudice, okay? Deep prejudice. In Louisiana, the largest group of people hung at the same time were the Italians. I mean lynched. They literally lynched a whole bunch of Italians at the same time. That's what they did to them in Louisiana, one of the one of the deep South states, okay? But they also were faced with the same stereotype. They were called criminals, they were called anarchists, they said they were unfit to be American citizens. All right? There was a trial called the Sacco-Vanzetti trial in the 1920 from 1920 to 1927. Shout out to Frozen 06, in which two Italian uh anarchists were con- uh controversially convicted and executed. And that highlighted the widespread suspicion and hostility towards Italians. All right?
However, right? Italian Americans gained they gained economic stability through organized labor, small business, and political involvement. And they sought assimilation in the whiteness. Okay? And if you don't believe the Italians were criminalized, come on, man. Every time you think of Italian, you ask, "Are you with the mob?" You see what I'm saying? And it's Italians that they find that annoying when you say that. Okay? Just keep in mind. It's like asking every black person you see, "Man, what are you? Vice Lords, Blood, uh folks? What are you?" You see what I'm saying? Or just making assumptions. Um but here's the thing, over times, Italians were legally and socially reclassified as white Americans. And it gave them access to jobs, housing, and political representation black you know, stuff that black Americans were still denied. And so, by the time the 1930s and 40s, uh you know, they there was an explicit push by Italian Americans to embrace the white identity and and many of them uh you know, because of that there was a movie uh The Godfather. father. And young Michael, as he came from the war, he you see what color his wife was, or the lady the first woman he married, right? Or the one he was the lady he was dealing with. She was a white woman. You see what I mean? So, more so when you look at that story, you really begin to understand, you know, he wanted to be an American hero. He got this white woman. He was ready to lighten the race. All right? But the bottom line is these same Italians, when they go to Sicily, when they go to um Italy, you know, they're looked upon probably the same way that black Americans are looked upon when we go to Nigeria. Oh, you're an American. But they've lost their unique Italian heritage, just like the Irish did.
Now, let's talk about the Jewish people, okay? When Jew- And the first of all, understand the Jewish people have been catching hell for 33 centuries, all right? But Jewish immigrants, and I'm talking about the act Was it the Ashkenazi Jewish people? When they got here, particularly when they got here from 1880 to 1924, they faced rampant anti-Semitism, and they still do. And many of them were barred from elite universities. They were elite for barred from the country clubs, professional industries, and um there was a case called Leo the Leo Frank case of 1950 15, where a Jewish man was lynched in Georgia after being falsely accused of unaliving someone. And that showcased the deep hatred that they had towards Jewish Americans. However, over time, and keep in mind, Jewish people that they come in various different colors and shapes and whatnot, but uh phenotypically, they're little different than your Anglo-Saxon uh North European, Western European-looking white people, okay? But nevertheless, Jewish Americans, what did they do? They became successful at business, academia, law. They began to integrate into white America. And so, by the middle of the 20th century, many Jewish Americans were able to assimilate in the white society. And they gained access to wealth and uh property and privilege. And at the same time, during those periods of racial tension, many Jewish communities um many of them had to distance themselves from their Jewish brothers and sisters. You understand what I'm saying? I want you to keep that in mind.
Now, the other thing is the unique um relationship between Jewish communities. Although some distanced themselves from the black struggle, when you look at others, okay? Like the NAACP co-founder Henry Moskowitz. He helped found that. And and and and so, black folks initially, they kind of collaborated with the Jewish Americans because they had the power, they had the numbers, they had the organization. And and so, with the black muscle in front of that, with that white uh with with the Jewish organization and finance, they were able to actually make some change.
Now, here's the thing, all of these groups, the Irish, the Italian, the Jewish Americans, right? Right? They had an opportunity to assimilate. Okay? And that's what they did. Foundational Black Americans, Black Americans, not only did we not want to assimilate, we didn't. We never sought that. While other groups adapted to whiteness, foundation FBAs, we were like, nah, we were bound by the laws, number one. There was violence, and then of course there was institutionalized racism. And so we couldn't go in and pass as white. All right? So we remained separate and disadvantaged and oppressed. Okay? But here's the thing. So I talked about the Irish, the Italians, and the Jews. Now I want to talk about what we call Latinos here in the United States, which are truthfully mestizos. They're mixed indigenous, they got a little African in them, they have a little Spanish in them. You understand what I'm saying? When Spain I find it interesting that these folks have fought to be white for nearly a hundred years. >> [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] >> This is still the look at all the beautiful music that we've created. That's what's on the inside of us. We are wonderful people.