Itt-Ott, 1974 (7. évfolyam, 1-6. szám)

1974 / 4. szám

THE AWAKENING OF ETHNIC AMERICA

(English translation of the address delivered by the author at the Annual Hungarian Congress in Cleveland, Ohio, on November Zk, 1973)

Mayor Ralph Perk's sweeping victory in the recent Cleveland mayoral election was a dramatic sign of the awakening of American ethnics. A similar triumph was achieved by Mayor Mazowski in Buffalo, N.Y., where he was swept into the mayoralty by an overwhelming tide^of ethnic votes. In Miami, the ethnic candidate, Mr. Maurice Ferré, supported by Cubans, received more votes than all his opponents combined to become mayor of that city.

This awakening is not an unexpected phenomenon. Ten years ago, Daniel P. Moynihan and Nathan Glazer in their book Beyond the Melting Pot predicted that sooner or later our ethnic groups would join forces to attain common goals. And last year, a third generation Slovak sociologist, Prof. Michael Novak of New York University, went even further in his book, The Rise of the Unmeltable Ethnics. He pointed out that the key to a social change for the better was held by the American ethnics, who clung to their traditional values — and who would hold the swing votes to decide future elections. According to Novak, the 1970s would be marked by the ascendance of our white ethnics in American politics.

Incidentally, even Cardinal Mindszenty, during his recent visit in the United States, seems to have promoted this trend when advocating in his pronouncements the preservation of ethnic cultures and identity in this country. He meant mostly his fellow Hungarians, but his words have found a surprising echo even among black leaders. Dr. Nathan Wright, Jr., well-known columnist, devoted an entire column to hail the Cardinal's stand from which, he implied, American blacks could also draw inspiration in their own struggle to attain cultural identity. Farfetched as it may seem in the present, a fair degree of political coalition between white ethnics and blacks is not beyond the realm of possibility. If this happens, it would really create havoc in the political arena of this country. Actually, in Cleveland 25$ of the blacks voted for the white ethnic mayor.

Whether the 1970s will truly see the rise of American ethnics is still a question to be answered in the future. In part, it depends on us. In any case, we must recognize that up till this time the non-English speaking Euro-Americans have been an underprivileged class of our society in national politics. This is unjust and humiliating in view of the blood, sweat and talent that these ethnic groups have contributed to the building of America. Their tremendous accomplishments can be proven by innumerable data, but for lack of space, let us list just a few cases to illustrate their role in the history of the United States:

1) George Washington could hardly have won the Revolutionary War without the invaluable help of three ethnic generals: Kosciusko , Pulaski and von Steuben. It was the latter who trained a strong army from Washington's undisciplined guerrilla forces.

2) 200,000 American Germans fought in Lincoln's army that was also helped by 300 Polish and 200 Hungarian officers, including seven generals.

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