Griffin’s Reviews > White on Arrival: Italians, Race, Color, and Power in Chicago, 1890-1945 > Status Update

"While some people in outlying areas like Austin and Belmont-Cragin were unfriendly toward and resentful of their new Italian neighbors, they never started riots or established 'improvement' organizations to restrict them from their neighborhoods. This level of collective action was reserved for 'colored' groups--not for 'white' Italians."

This is why to equate Black and European immigrant experiences is facile

I appreciate the distinction Guglielmo draws between "race" and "color." Italians were seen as racially distinct from other European groups in America, and yet they were also broadly understood and treated as white. Both are important to understand if one wants to make sense of the social politics of early twentieth century America, yet too often people forget one or the other because they project modern conceptions.