Federal Writers' Project – Life Histories/2024/spring/Section14/Hellas In America

Overview

Alexander (A.G.) Hatfcialexandris was a Greek born in Turkey that ended up spending a significant period of his life in the American south as an immigrant. He was interviewed by the Federal Writers Project, and had his life history recorded from his perspective.

Biography

Alexander (A.G.) Hatfcialexandris was born in a Greek town in Turkey. He was one of 12 siblings and his life in Turkey was marked by a substantial amount of work. His father was a farmer whom he worked for while also working at a bakery in a nearby town. He never had much money growing up, but at the age of 20 his father lent him enough to get to America.  When he first immigrated to America he worked in a mill in Pennsylvania. He worked there for a few years and lived in a house full of other Greek immigrants during that time.  His living and working conditions were quite poor, all of the immigrants in the house pooled together their wages and shared the resources they had. Later, he moved to Pittsburgh to work for the railroad and he eventually worked his way up to becoming a foreman. He was in charge of 30-40 men during that time and saw an increase in pay, but failed to maintain a savings. Eventually, during the war he lost his job for the railroad and had to become a dishwasher for a nearby cafe. After saving enough money, he moved to Atlanta and got another dishwashing job. The wages were better for him in the south but he didn’t keep his job in Atlanta for long, forcing him to move to Virginia. In Virginia he got jobs as they came, mostly working in kitchens as a cook or dishwasher. He then relocated to Kentucky and worked in another cafe as a cook. He stayed at this cafe for many years. Due to financial instability, the owner of this cafe underwent bankruptcy, which allowed for A.G. to purchase the cafe from him. In order to keep the cafe running, he went into partnership with another Greek immigrant. This business partnership ended with theft and scamming, forcing A.G. to relocate again. He left Kentucky and used his savings to open his own cafe in Martinsville, VA. It is here that he met his wife, whose family had land just across the border in North Carolina. After getting married, he sold his business and opened a new cafe in Asheville, NC. In Asheville, he lived out the rest of his life with his wife and kids. He had one daughter that attended a Greek school and one son that attended an American school.

Social Context

Identity as a Greek American

As with many immigrants, finding your place and identity in a new nation is difficult. Greek immigrants were not an exception to this issue. They faced a multitude of challenges in the United States, reflecting broader societal dynamics of the time. Anti-Greek sentiment during this time, especially in the south, was not uncommon. As a result of this, Greek immigrants forged tight-knit communities, centered around shared cultural traditions, religious institutions, and mutual aid societies. These networks provided vital support networks, offering assistance with employment, housing, and integration into American life. Within these communities the struggle to place American identity or Greek identity first was always the question. An organization, The American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association (AHEPA), is dedicated to integrating and americanizing Greek immigrants. It was founded in 1922, and a newspaper article written during this time descibes it's goal "to give form to the aspirations…for a better community life and for closer integration into things American.”

The struggles of working class Americans

The ability to obtain and maintain a stable job during this time was difficult. For many years, working class lives were marked by the constant gain and loss of work. Many immigrants who arrived during this period settled in urban areas, where they sought employment in factories, mines, and other industries. However, these jobs were often low-paying and offered little job security. Long hours, low wages, and dangerous working conditions were common during this time period. Even jobs that were not inherently laborious or subject to poor conditions had their own challenges. Oftentimes, jobs within the food industry faced a high turn-over rate. Businesses were not stable enough to guarantee a stable paycheck or consistent hours for their staff.

Anti-Greek Sentiment

In the south, there has been a recorded history of anti-Greek sentiment. One of the driving forces of this was the Ku Klux Klan and their anti-immigrant sentiment. The broader social issue during this time was a dislike and fear of immigrants taking jobs, and ruining the "culture" of the American south during the late 1800s and into the early 1900s. Because of this,Greeks faced discrimination in employment, housing, and social spheres due to perceived competition for jobs and cultural differences. Stereotypes depicting Greeks as culturally inferior or unassimilable contributed to this discrimination and often resulted in unnecessary difficulties in everyday life.

References

Papadopoulos, Y. G. (2010). The role of nationalism, ethnicity, and class in shaping Greek American identity, 1890–1927. Identity and Participation in Culturally Diverse Societies, 9–31. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781444328158.ch1

Anagnostu, Y. (2004). Forget the past, remember the ancestors! modernity, “whiteness,” American Hellenism, and the politics of memory in early greek america. Journal of Modern Greek Studies, 22(1), 25–71. https://doi.org/10.1353/mgs.2004.0001

Boustan, L. P., Fishback, P., & Kantor, S. (2007). The Effect of Internal Migration on Local Labor Markets: American Cities during the Great Depression. https://doi.org/10.3386/w13276

“Folder 314: Carter, Douglas (Interviewer): Hellas in America.” Federal Writers Project Papers. Accessed March 21, 2024. https://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/ref/collection/03709/id/753.