Italian Diaspora in a Massachusetts Mill Town: Migration between Palestrina (Lazio), Italy, and Southbridge, Massachusetts

Abstract

Abstract This article offers a transnational examination of the Italian diaspora community from Palestrina, Lazio, in Southbridge, Massachusetts between 1900 and 1945 that addresses the impact of education on the economic empowerment of Italian immigrants. Due to the labor shortage in the area, the assimilation of Italians was more effective and second-generation Italians remained in the public school system longer. This combination of factors created more economic mobility for both foreign-born and second-generation Southbridge Italians. Factors that contributed to this unique circumstance included the intense competition for labor between two factories, American Optical Company (AO) and Hamilton Woolen Mill. Both firms were among the first in Massachusetts to invest in workplace English education and citizenship programs. This educational investment had the goal of retaining and advancing entry-level workers into skilled level positions. Furthermore, AO encouraged the town to establish a high school in 1917 and made substantial contributions to the establishment of a trade school in 1927. The Italian community in Southbridge developed their own institutions to promote cohesiveness and assimilation via their own social, community, and citizenship groups. There was also an increase in entrepreneurship within the Southbridge Italian community. Assimilation and upward economic mobility for Italians in Southbridge began in the workplace.