Literature, R a C E , Ethnicity

LITERATURE,

RACE, AND ETHNICITY

CONTESTING AMERICAN

IDENTITIES SUB G6ttingen 7 IWlllllllIIillH217 188 818 l > 91 2004 A 1748 \j Joseph T. Skerrett, Jr. University of Massachusetts at Amherst

THE LONGMAN LITERATURE AND CULTURE SERIES General Editor: Charles I. Schuster, University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee

New York San Francisco Boston London Toronto Sydney Tokyo Singapore Madrid Mexico City Munich Paris Cape Town Hong Kong Montreal CONTENTS

Foreword ix Acknowledgments XII Introduction 1 The Concept of This Book 9

PART I. FRAMING THE PEOPLE: DEFINITIONS AND CONTESTATIONS 11

Introduction to Part I 11 l. VALUES: INVITATIONS AND EXCLUSIONS 13 Thomas Jefferson et al. THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 15 Thomas Jefferson from NOTES ON THE STATE OF VIRGINIA 19 Hector St. John de Crevecoeur LETTER III from LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN FARMER 2 4

from THE IMMIGRATION ACT OF 1790 36 Benjamin Franklin "ADVICE TO SUCH AS WOULD REMOVE TO AMERICA" 3 7

SLAVE AUCTION NOTICE 43

Frances E. W. Harper "THE SLAVE AUCTION" 44 Frederick Douglass INDEPENDENCE DAY SPEECH 45 Abraham Lincoln THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION 49

from INDIAN REMOVAL ACT OF 1837 50 Red Jacket 1805 ORATION OF RED JACKET 52 Gertrude Bonnin/Zitkala-Sa from "THE SCHOOL DAYS OF AN INDIAN GIRL" 5 5 iv I CONTENTS

2. IMMIGRANTS AND ATTITUDES 65

James M. McPherson "ANTI-NEGRO MOB VIOLENCE IN THE NORTH, 1862-63" 67

G. F. Streckfuss from DER AUSWANDERER NACH AMERICA 72

"No IRISH NEED APPLY" SIGN AND SONG 73

SONGS FROM GOLD MOUNTAIN 74

Maxine Hong Kingston from CHINA MEN 75 Edith Maude Eaton (Sui Sin Far) "IN THE LAND OF THE FREE" 80 Jacob Riis from How THE OTHER HALF LIVES 86 Abraham Cahan "A GHETTO WEDDING" 90 Henry James from THE AMERICAN SCENE 100 Constantine M. Panunzio from THE SOUL OF AN IMMIGRANT 111 Eva Hoffman from LOST IN TRANSLATION: LIFE IN A NEW LANGUAGE 115 Chitra Divakaruni "INDIAN MOVIE, NEW JERSEY" 127

3. CITIZENS BY CONQUEST 131

from THE TREATY OF GUADALUPE HIDALGO 133 John Caldwell Calhoun from SPEECH, JANUARY 4TH, 1848 135 Maria Amparo Ruiz de Burton from THE SQUATTER AND THE DON 144

A CORRIDO: "THE BALLAD OF GREGORIO CORTEZ" 157

Pat Mora "IMMIGRANTS" 161

Stephen Sondheim SONG LYRIC: "AMERICA" from WEST SIDE STORY 162

Jesus Colon "BITTER SUGAR: WHY PUERTO RICANS LEAVE HOME" 164

Mark Twain "To THE PERSON SITTING IN DARKNESS" 167 Bienvenido Nuqui Santos "IMMIGRATION BLUES" 178

PART II. ACTIONS OF MEMORY: MAKING ETHNIC & RACIAL IDENTITIES 189

Introduction to Part II 189

1. MEMORY AND HISTORY 191 Robert Hayden "RUNAGATE, RUNAGATE" 193 Lorraine Hansberry from THE DRINKING GOURD 195 W. E. B. Du Bois "OF OUR SPIRITUAL STRIVINGS" 205 CONTENTS |

David Henry Hwang THE DANCE AND THE RAILROAD 210 Countee Cullen "INCIDENT" 232

CIVIL RIGHTS PHOTOGRAPHY 233

Cyras Cassells "SOUL MAKE A PATH THROUGH SHOUTING" 234

Norman Rockwell SATURDAY EVENING POST COVER: "THE PROBLEM WE ALL LIVE WITH" 236

EXECUTIVE ORDER 9066 237 Hisaye Yamamoto "THE LEGEND OF MISS SASAGAWARA" 238 James Houston and Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston from FAREWELL TO MANZANAR 248 Garrett Hongo "SOMETHING WHISPERED IN THE SHAKUHACHf 252

Lorna Dee Cervantes "POEMA PARA LOS CALIFORNIOS MUERTOS" 255

Luis Valdez Los VENDIDOS 256

2. RESENTMENTS AND NOSTALGIAS 265

AUNT JEMIMA ADVERTISEMENT 267

Alice Childress from LIKE ONE OF THE FAMILY 267 John A. Williams "SON IN THE AFTERNOON" 271

CIGAR STORE INDIAN STATUE 276

Diane Burns "SURE YOU CAN ASK ME A PERSONAL QUESTION" 277

Paula Gunn Allen "WHERE I COME FROM Is LIKE THIS" 278 Leslie Marmon Silko "THE MAN TO SEND RAIN CLOUDS" 283 John Fante "THE ODYSSEY OF A WOP" 287

Lloyd Van Brunt "WHITES WITHOUT MONEY" 296

Nicholasa Mohr "THE ENGLISH LESSON" 298 Lawson Fusao Inada "KICKING THE HABIT" 308 GinaValdes "ENGLISH CON SALSA" 312

ENGLISH-ONLY CAMPAIGN 313

3. TRANSITION AND TRANSCENDENCE: CONNECTING PAST AND FUTURE 315

Ralph Fasanella PAINTING: "SUBWAY RIDERS" 317 Monica Krawczyk "FOR DIMES AND QUARTERS" 317 Adrienne Rich from "SPLIT AT THE ROOT: AN ESSAY ON JEWISH IDENTITY" 325 Paule Marshall "To DA-DUH, IN MEMORIAM" 333 CONTENTS

Louise Erdrich "THE BINGO VAN" 340 JoyHarjo "REMEMBER" 351 Hanay Geiogamah FOGHORN 352

Martin Espada "IMAGINE THE ANGELS OF BREAD" 3 70 Rudolfo Anaya "IN SEARCH OF EPIFANO" 372

PART III. RECONSTITUT(ION)ING THE NATION: PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS 377

Introduction to Part III 377

1. DESIRES AND IDENTITIES 379

MINSTRELSY MUSIC COVER 381 Paul Laurence Dunbar "SYMPATHY" 382 Itabari Njeri "WHAT'S IN A NAME?" 383

Julia Fields "HIGH ON THE HOG" 387

Studs Terkel AN INTERVIEW WITH FRANK CHIN 390

Toshio Mori "JAPANESE HAMLET" 394 Diana Chang "SAYING YES" 397

Cheryl Savageau "GRANDMOTHER" 398

DESI ARNAZ AND LUCILLE BALL 399 Michael Ventura "REPORT FROM EL DORADO" 400

Lee Smith "DEAR PHIL DONAHUE" 410

Studs Terkel AN INTERVIEW WITH PEGGY TERRY 422

Ross Chambers 'THE UNEXAMINED" 427

May Swenson "BLACK TUESDAY" 440

Sherman Alexie "A DRUG CALLED TRADITION" 441 Bharati Mukherjee "A FATHER" 447

Leroy Quintana "LEGACY II" 454

2. MIXED RELATIONS 457

ANTIMISCEGENATION LAWS 459 William Faulkner "DRY SEPTEMBER" 466

Daniela Gioseffi "THE EXOTIC ENEMY" 474 CONTENTS

Willie Perdomo "NIGGER-REECAN BLUES" 475

Langston Hughes "CROSS" 477

David Mura "SECRETS AND ANGER" 478 Wendy Rose "IF I AM TOO BROWN OR TOO WHITE FOR YOU" 484

3. TOWARD THE MULTICULTURE 487

Adrian Wong Shue PAINTING: "TROPICAL DAYDREAM" 489

Jose Marti "OUR AMERICA" 490 Jessica Hagedorn "HOMESICK" 496

Robert N. Hopkins "CAN THE UNITED STATES ASSIMILATE THE WAVE OF NEW IMMIGRANTS?" 498

Ishmael Reed "AMERICA: THE MULTINATIONAL SOCIETY" 502

Trey Ellis "GUESS WHO'S COMING TO SEDER" 505 John Leguizamo "CROSSOVER KING" 510 TatoLaviera "AMERICAN" 514

Arjun Appadurai from "THE HEART OF WHITENESS" 516

Bibliography 529

Appendix: Writing about Literature and Culture 531

Credits 558

Index of Authors and Titles 562