Ku Klux Klan and Spanish Immigrants

[Art]

The KKK of the 1920s was strongly Protestant, Republican, and "patriotic."

Spanish immigrants had two or three strikes against them, at least in the minds of the Ku Klux Klan of the 1920s: they were both Roman Catholic and foreign-born. Spanish workers who supported labor unions were also viewed as undesirable radicals.

We know that the KKK attempted to intimidate Spaniards in Anmoore in the 1920s. Masked, robed Ku Kluxer marched through Anmoore, burned crosses, and threatened Spaniards in writing. Gavin Gonzalez wrote about this in his book, Pinnick Kinnick Hill.

For a general review of the KKK in the 1920s and specific stories from Indiana, you may want to read: http://www.rochsent.com/files/theklan.html

[Art]

After posting about the number of Spaniards working in mines in West Virginia in 1921 in this thread:
http://www.asturianus.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=330#330,
it occurred to me that this large number of Spanish immigrants--along with Italians, Hungarians, Greeks, etc--would probably have surprised the longer term WV residents, just as the large numbers of Latin American immigrants surprise many Americans today. One response to this kind of surprise, obviously, is prejudice and attempts at intimidation to scare the immigrants away.

Recently while we were living in Iowa, I was amazed by how many Latin Americans were living or at least working in small towns all across the state. It's the last place I would have expected such levels of immigration. But these small towns have industries and crafts that need workers. Of course, these jobs are almost always less desirable. Since most of us are trying to improve our situations, the hard or dirty jobs are probably hard to fill. The Mexican workers I talked with drove in to Pella Iowa from Des Moines, about an hour away. They worked in crews installing new underground utility cables.

There were also many Hispanics working in the meat-packing industry, which has large operations here and there across Iowa. Meat-packing is probably nearly as dangerous and dirty as zinc smelter or coal mining work.

[Ron Gonzalez]

Art
I remember a story my father (Edward "Lalo" Gonzalez) told me. When he was a young man living in Grasselli there was a carnival at Eastview, just a short distance from Grasselli. Dad and some of his friends were walking to the carnival. In the first turn before the Fair Grounds,there they were, the Klan. They ran after them chasing them back into Grasselli shouting at them "you know you people stay home after dark". This was his first and last encounter with them.

[Art]

Ron, what year would you think that was? Did anyone else in your family talk of other memories of the KKK?

For those who don't know the terms, Grasselli and Anmoore are different names for the same town.

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Ron, ¿qué año pensaría que era? Había otras personas en su familia que hablaban de otras memorias del KKK?


Para los que no conocen los términos, Grasselli y Anmoore son diversos nombres para la misma pueblo.

[Ron Gonzalez]

HI Art
No I don't know the year,I know he was single,living in Grasselli at the time.If I was to guess late 1920 early 1930. When he and his stepfather got a job at the zinc plant they moved to Ziesing.

[Barbara Alonso Novellino]

Hi,

In my fathers journal there was no mention of the KKK. As far as I can figure my Dad's journal was before the 1920's.

What he did talk about was gypsies.

"Between Clarksburg and Zeisling, there was a little park near the creek where the Gypsies made their camp. When they saw a horse and wagon come by they would come out to see if they could make a trade. On the first day of our trip to Zeising, the Gypsies came out hollering. Woodford asked me if I wanted to be traded to the Gypsies. Sure, I thought he meant it and got scared. When he saw that I was scared, he said "no, I am only kidding." Even though, every time we passed I felt he was going to trade me. At hme I had heard many times that my sister Tomasa was kidnapped by the Gypsies and that a quick thinking aunt that heard her holler averted the Gypsy getting away with it. That is what made me be afraid of the Gypsies."

Barbara

[Rvega]

Art & Ron,

My grandfather Rufino Vega told me that when they were South Chicago, Indiana he and other Asturianos were run out by the KKK. This must have been about 1910. So the stories must be true.

Roberto Vega