Bread and Respect: The Italians of Louisiana
Food has always been important to the cultures of Louisiana and Italy. Similarly, hunger, both physical and metaphoric, is a strong motivation in human migration. After immigrating to America to escape the physical hunger imposed by poverty in Italy, many found they suffered still from hunger, but this time, a hunger to create the things they most longed for at home: bread, respect, fortune, security, art, justice, religion, and memory. Bread and Respect explores Italian immigrants to Louisiana, the centrality of food in their lives, and their need for respect. Approximately 70,000 Italian immigrants arrived at the Port of New Orleans between 1898 and 1929. Louisiana became their home as the new immigrants became farmers, landowners, and merchants. Strong family bonds further protected members from the whims of nature, while cooking styles and specific dishes brought from Italy became favorites, like the muffoletta in New Orleans. There are hundreds of thousands of people of Italian descent living in Louisiana today. Using vignettes, family histories, and census as well as other historical records, A. V. Margavio and Jerome J. Salomone examine how Italian culture shaped the lives of the immigrants to Louisiana and, in turn, how experiences in Louisiana modified the Old World values and culture the Italians brought with them.  A. V. Margavio is a professor of sociology at the University of New Orleans. Jerome J. Salomone is a professor of sociology and scholar in residence at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond.