A Century of Melting Pot Frictions, Part Five

Part of a series exploring the prejudice each new immigrant group encountered when they arrived in this country.
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Chinese and Japanese

Immigrants from Asia fared somewhat better in Waterbury during the late 1800s and early 1900s than did immigrants from Europe, most likely because they came here in small numbers, drawing less attention to themselves. In 1901, the Hartford Courant mentioned in passing that the only Chinese woman in Connecticut lived in Waterbury, running a store with her husband. The paper did not bother to print their names.

Hartford Courant, 2 Aug 1901

A Century of Melting Pot Frictions: Part Four

Part of a series exploring the prejudice each new immigrant group encountered when they arrived in this country.
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Russians

Russian and Italian immigrants were often grouped together as anarchists, perhaps because many of them were socialists advocating for improved labor rights. Russian socialists were referred to as Bolsheviks, the Russian political party led by Lenin which seized control of the Russian government in October 1917. Within a year's time, newspapers across the United States were instilling a fear of the "red terror," Bolshevism, in the hearts of their readers.

A Century of Melting Pot Frictions, Part Three

Part of a series exploring the prejudice each new immigrant group encountered when they arrived in this country.
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Italians

After a surge in immigration from Italy during the 1880s, Italians became closely associated with anarchy, socialism, and general crime from the 1890s to the 1930s. "Italian anarchists" is a phrase that was frequently repeated in the newspapers, as was "Italian radical."

A Century of Melting Pot Frictions, Part Two

Part of a series exploring the prejudice each new immigrant group encountered when they arrived in this country.
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New Immigrants

Just as the Irish were reviled during the 1850s, new groups from Europe were reviled during the early 1900s. In 1904, Rev. Joel S. Ives of Hartford preached against immigration ("Connecticut's Immigrant Problem," Boston Evening Transcript, 23 March 1904), declaring that the problem wasn't the large number of immigrants arriving from Europe, but the poor character of the immigrants. He claimed "I have seen no foreign country with worse appearing settlements of foreigners" than what he saw in New Haven. Ives targeted Catholics Italians and Poles, and Russian Jews.

A Century of Melting Pot Frictions, Part One

Xenophobia is a word that has been used frequently in the past year. The definition, an intense or irrational dislike or fear of people from other countries, clearly describes some of the rhetoric we've been hearing from certain political figures. Whether it's an intense fear of Syrian refugees, an irrational dislike of Mexican immigrants, or an irrational fear of all Muslims, xenophobia has been surging.

As someone who was a child during the 1970s, I have long embraced the melting pot metaphor of this country, thanks in part to a School House Rock video and Disneyland's It's A Small World ride. One of the things that makes America great is our diversity, our ability to integrate people of different faiths and customs into our country. While other nations are torn apart by warfare and genocide stemming from their inability to get along with people of different religions and ethnicities, we have dozens of religions and ethnicities living together in relative harmony. Yes, we still have room for improvement, but overall, we're doing pretty well.

As someone who has immersed herself in historical studies for decades, I have an instinct to compare current events to historical events. Despite the rosy image of the melting pot, our country's history is one in which new groups of immigrants often face a long uphill struggle toward acceptance and integration. Political rhetoric can easily turn to oppressive action. Studying what happened in the past can help us today. We can learn from the mistakes of the past and make better choices in the future.

It's fairly well known that Irish Catholics faced severe discrimination for decades after they began to arrive here in large numbers. Italians weren't considered "white" when they first arrived. Germans were vilified during World War I, to the point that some of them even claimed to be Swiss rather than German. Distrust of Russian immigrants began after World War I and continued through most of the century, thanks to the Cold War. During World War II, Japanese Americans were so distrusted, our government (their government) took away everything they had and locked them up in internment camps.

To a degree, Waterbury has historically been more welcoming of foreigners than many other communities in the United States, largely because the factories eagerly welcomed immigrant laborers to their workforce. The city's success was dependent upon the continual influx of new workers to the factories. But each new immigrant group was met with suspicion, fear, and prejudice as they made their presence known in Waterbury.

First Annual Jerk Festival at Library Park

Two of the things I love best about Waterbury are its summertime ethnic festivals and its diversity of culture and food, so I was delighted to learn that the West Indian Social Club of Greater Waterbury was launching an annual Jerk Festival. I had a busy day, but I made time to swing by the festival for lunch and take a few photos.

For those who are unfamiliar with the term, "jerk" is a spicy Caribbean dry-rub barbeque (in simplest terms).

Connecticut has the sixth largest non-Hispanic West Indian population in the U.S., with 87,149 immigrants reported in the 2010 Census.

A 2013 Census report estimates that Waterbury has 3,304 non-Hispanic immigrants from the West Indies, with 2,185 of those people coming from Jamaica.

Public Response to the First Map

The public gave its response to the first draft map for Aldermen by District on Thursday, January 8. Overviews of the meeting have been reported on by the Waterbury Observer and the Rep-Am, so I'll try to stay focused on some of what they didn't cover.

The First Map

The latest chapter in the saga of Aldermen by District is unfolding this week. In a surprise move Monday, the city posted on their website a preliminary map showing possible boundaries for the new Aldermanic districts. Outrage and accusations of gerrymandering promptly ensued.

Drawing Up the New Districts

Things are chugging along with the establishment of Aldermen by District. Check out the Waterbury Observer for a good report of what's going on with the District Commission.

If this is a topic that is of interest to you (and if you live in Waterbury, it should be), I recommend that you plan on attending the public meeting at City Hall on January 8 at 6:30 p.m. The District Commission will present three district maps for us to give feedback on. ("Us" means anyone and everyone who lives and votes in Waterbury.)

Fun with Maps!

The big question on everyone's mind is the drawing of Aldermanic district boundaries. We're unlikely to see the official boundaries until later this winter or in the spring, but I'm an impatient kind of woman, so here's a first effort at what the map might look like.

The Gathering Parade

I missed out on The Gathering last year because I was too busy. I was too busy to go this year too, but I decided that didn't matter. It's a fantastic event, with more to see than you can fit into your day.

Here is a selection of photos of the parade, which traveled from East Main Street, around the Green, up Bank Street, and down Grand Street to Library Park. This isn't even close to including all the groups that participated, just a sampling.

The event at Library Park is in the next post.

Unemployment Rate

Here's another one of my updates on the Waterbury unemployment rate. Guess what? We're still number one--in the bad way, not the good way. Waterbury continues to have the highest unemployment rate in Connecticut, ten years in a row. Why? I'm not sure. Our mill rate certainly doesn't help entice employers to stay or move here. You can't really blame the loss of the brass industry--that's old news from 30+ years ago, and it's something we recovered from (in terms of unemployment figures--the psychological impact lingers on). We were doing well during the late '90s. So what happened in 2001 to drag us down, and why haven't we recovered since then?

Here are the latest figures. Did you know that job hunters are being told to not even bother looking in the Waterbury area?

Connecticut Statewide Unemployment Rate
2010 Annual: 9.1%
January 2011: 9.6%
July 2011: 9.2%

Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk Metro Area Unemployment Rate
2010 Annual: 8.5%
January 2011: 8.9%
July 2011: 8.5%

Danbury Metro Area Unemployment Rate
2010 Annual: 7.7%
January 2011: 8.0%
July 2011: 7.4%

Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford Metro Area Unemployment Rate
2010 Annual: 9.2%
January 2011: 9.6%
July 2011: 9.3%

New Haven Metro Area Unemployment Rate
2010 Annual: 9.3%
January 2011: 10.0%
July 2011: 9.7%

Norwich-New London Metro Area Unemployment Rate
2010 Annual: 8.8%
January 2011: 9.4%
July 2011: 8.8%

Waterbury Metro Area Unemployment Rate
2010 Annual: 12.1%
January 2011: 12.8%
July 2011: 11.8%


Figures for July are preliminary, except for the statewide figure. All data is taken from the Bureau of Labor Statistics website.

Unemployment

Guess what got a little bit better? Waterbury's unemployment rate! It reached a high of 12.8% in January, then started dropping. The April 2011 unemployment rate was estimated to be 11.9%. Before you start celebrating, bear in mind that labor experts believe that the improvement in the national unemployment rate is partially due to people simply no longer reporting their lack of employment. After a couple of years of being unable to find a job, many people give up. If you no longer qualify for unemployment benefits, there's little reason to continue reporting.

Out of curiosity, I did a little digging and found the following historical data about Waterbury's unemployment rate since 1961. The data prior to 1990 is from newspaper articles; 1990-present is from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In most cases I have the average unemployment rate for an entire year, but sometimes all I have is the rate for a specific month.

UPDATED 6/21/11: I've added some context with national unemployment rates since 2001, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.


Sept. 1961     between 6 and 8.9%
1964                    7.1%
1965                    6.7%
April 1970          7.0%
Sept. 1971        10.1%
March 1975      11.5%
1976                 15.5%
March 1983     10.0%
Dec. 1984           6.8%
March 1985        7.0%
1986                   5.8%
1990                   6.7%
1991                   8.7%
1992                   9.5%
1993                   8.0%
1994                   7.0%
1995                   6.3%
1996                   6.4%
1997                   5.8%
1998                   4.1%
1999                   3.3%
2000                   2.9%     National Rate
2001                   4.3%          4.7%
2002                   6.0%          5.8%
2003                   7.2%          6.0%
2004                   6.3%          5.5%
2005                   6.3%          5.1%
2006                   5.7%          4.6%
2007                   6.0%          4.6%
2008                   7.5%          5.8%
2009                  11.1%         9.3%
2010                  12.1%         9.6%
Jan. 2011           12.8%         9.0%
March 2011        12.2%         8.8%
April 2011           11.9%         9.0%

Waterbury's "House, M.D."

Dr. Lisa Sanders is an Internist and Attending Physician at Waterbury Hospital. She also works as a medical technical consultant for the t.v. show House. I'm currently reading her book, Every Patient Tells a Story: Medical Mysteries and the Art of Diagnosis. It's fascinating to see the doctors' side of things.

Dr. Sanders also writes for The New York Times (which is how the producers of House found her). She started out as a journalist, eventually entering the Yale School of Medicine at age 36, and combined the two interests for her column, called "Diagnosis". She now writes a NY Times blog called "Think Like a Doctor", in which she presents readers with aspects of real cases and invites them to offer a diagnosis (the case was previously solved by the real-life doctors involved).

She recently wrote about a case at St. Mary's Hospital in Waterbury. It's interesting reading.

In an interview for the April 2011 issue of Medical Marketing and Media, Dr. Sanders describes her practice in Waterbury as a great place for diagnostic detective work, that she has encountered exotic illnesses such as typhoid fever and dengue fever, in part because there are so many immigrants in Waterbury.

From now on, when I watch House, I will have to wonder if the case was inspired by one in Waterbury!

Census Data

The latest census 2010 data for Waterbury (and Connecticut) has been released. Here are the official numbers with my percentage calculations (the terminology is theirs):

Waterbury's Total Population:
110,366

White:
64,864 (59%)

Hispanic or Latino (of any race):
34,446 (31%)

Black or African American:
22,138 (20%)

Some Other Race:
15,610 (14%)


Two or More Races:
5,101 (5%)

Asian:
1,989 (2%)

American Indian and Alaska Native:
626 (0.6%)

Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander:
38 (0.03%)


I'm left wondering about the fourteen percent who identified themselves as "Some Other Race". I wonder if this is related to the use of "Asian" as a category. In the U.K., Asian typically means someone from the Indian subcontinent, but in the U.S. it is typically used to refer to someone from China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and the Philippines, which leaves out anyone from the Indian subcontinent.

Here's part of an interactive map from the 2010 census website (visit their site for more):

Justine Chase

Justine Whittemore Chase (born in 1906) was a daughter of Waterbury's Frederick Starkweather Chase and Elsie Rowland Chase--the same Chase family that founded and owned Chase Brass & Copper. Fred Chase and his large family lived at 165 Grove Street with eight servants (as listed in the 1910 and 1920 Census Records). The family also had a home overlooking Lake Quassapaug in Middlebury. A portrait of Justine's sister, Frederika, is at the Mattatuck Museum.

A few years ago, I picked up a memoir Justine Chase published in 1988, A World Remembered, at John Bale Books. Many of the illustrations were paintings by her mother, Elsie Rowland Chase. It's a lovely little book, with a very nice blurb by May Sarton, one of my favorite authors, on the back cover.

Justine Chase, from the little I can glean (mostly from the book's dust jacket), had a fascinating life. Her poetry was published in the Atlantic Monthly, she collaborated on several plays, and held leading roles in several Broadway plays including Kind Lady. When that play was produced as a film starring Basil Rathbone, Chase appeared as his wife Ada.

Justine Chase as Ada, in Kind Lady (1935)

The movie can be watched on YouTube, broken into nine segments. Chase first appears about seven minutes into the third segment (embedded below), playing the supposedly ailing wife of Rathbone's con artist role.



Chase moved to England after World War II.

Albanian Demographics

There was a very good article by Jonathan Shugarts in Sunday's Republican American, but there was one little detail in the article that raised a red flag in the back of my mind. Fourteen hours later, that little red flag moved to the front of my mind.

In his article ("Search for killer extends to Albania"), he writes that "Waterbury has about 14,000 Albanians." I know there are a lot of Albanians in Waterbury, but 14,000 seems a little too many. This is the sort of arithmetic problem that I don't normally pay close attention to, but I know that number just can't be right. Just after midnight, it suddenly started bothering me.

Waterbury's total population is supposed to be around 107,000. If there are 14,000 Albanians, they represent 13% of the population. For comparison, the US Census estimates that in 2000 there were 19,400 African-Americans, 23,354 Hispanics, 24,476 Italians, and 12,514 Irish in Waterbury.

Being the research geek that I am, I naturally did some research on the topic. According to the census, there were 2,174 Albanians living in Waterbury nine years ago. That's just slightly more than two percent of the population. I can't believe that there's been an influx of 12,000 Albanians in the past nine years--that's a huge number of people.

So how many Albanians are there now in Waterbury, and where did Shugarts get his data? The way the article is written, it seems like the number is coming from Police Chief O'Leary as justification for spending $5,000 to send some of our police officers to Albania.