At the beginning of the twentieth century, the stateof Alabama, the so-called Heart of Dixie, hosted the second-largest Italiancommunity in the American South, after New Orleans, Louisiana.
First settled in Mobile, where they were employedmainly in the cotton industry, most Italians were attracted by a rapidlygrowing city whose economy was based on ore mining and would soon become theSteel City of the South. Birmingham, Alabama, saw its population rise to132,000 in 1910 and became the state's main economic and financial hub, earningitself the nickname "Magic City."
At the beginning of the twentieth century, a small community of Italians settled in Birmingham. Their integration was not easy. The state of Alabama was geographically at the heart of the seven Confederate states that believed in slavery as a common socialand work practice. In this context, the very first Italian settlers of the area were often excluded from the ranks of the "desirable white race" and confined to shanty towns near the main mining sites, such as Bessemer, Ensley, and Thomas.
Most of these workers were sent to the mines owned by Tennessee Coal & Iron Company (TCI), while some others were employed by the Republic Iron and Steel Co. In the mines, had to endure backbreaking 10-12-hour shifts, paid around 15 cents per hour. The women took care of the household and entered the economic frame only later, once their families opened a shop or a grocery store.
A large Italian community settled around the West Blocton mining site at the turn of the century. Most of these people moved to Birmingham around 1922, after the pits closed. A few years before, a Little Italy had been established in The Hollow, a small stripof hillside land situated right next to the iron ore mines. The members of this community had to endure numerous acts of open hostility, both from the whites and the African Americans. The sound of the word dago soon became eerily familiar to the Italian immigrants.
In order to leave the tiring life of the mines, the Italians of Birmingham started to work as fruit peddlers and vendors. They purchased property and, subsequently, most of them established very successful family-run businesses, especially grocery stores (known as "Mom and Pop" stores). The lack of racial prejudice against African Americans allowed the Italians of the Birmingham District to climb the social ladder: by offering credit to fellow discriminated people who were often not allowed to buy goods in other white stores, Italian families could count on a steady, significant income.
