Race and America's immigrant press; how the Slovaks were taught to think like white people. by Zecker, Robert M - 2011

Continuum Intl Pub Group, 2011. Hardbound. New Book. Hardbound. Zecker (history, Saint Francis Xavier U., Canada) provides a somewhat surprising and well-documented account of how immigrants in the United States learned about the country's racial system--how race relations worked. The author focuses on Slovak-speaking immigrants and how they were informed of race relations by the Slovak language press. He also notes that while the Slovak immigrants may have been unsure of the status of their "whiteness" in their newly-adopted country, it becomes apparent that they were not strangers to prejudice in their native countries. For many, the acculturation they experienced meant to varying degrees that they traded long-standing prejudices against Jews and Gypsies for prejudices against black Americans and others with whom they were unfamiliar. The book will interest a variety of readers, from researchers to those with an interest in different perspectives in American immigration history, culture, and society. (2011 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR)