Roma in the U.S.

[poddleduck]

Roma: The Hidden Americans

Shannon Rose Hill Cemetery off Highway 180 on the east side of Fort Worth is a typical rolling plot of grey tombstones strewn about in the dry, yellow grass characteristic of Texas winters.

Most of the graves are standard, except the distinct raised tombs which bear embedded photos of the deceased, dressed in their finest

Comments

[gracepersists]

It never occurred to me to contextualize American Roma with the experiences of Indigenous Americans. Fascinating.

[sesmo]

Very interesting. Thanks for posting this. I'm always interested in stories about immigrants who stay on the margins v. those that integrate more fully into the community. I'd love to read some articles on some of the other Romani families who are more integrated or less. I'm also curious about the bureaucracy they'd be encountering. What requires it?

[poddleduck]

My impression is that it's often just general ol' rules which unintentionally mesh very poorly with Roma traditions.

Most school systems would look very unfavorably upon pulling one's children out of classes once they start puberty, for example, which some Roma parents prefer to do. (And actually, as an educator I admit that one gets my hackles up - I get why, because schools pressure kids to assimilate in ways that Romani-Americans may be uncomfortable with, but it's definitely counter to my own cultural norms!)

It's not necessarily an issue of deliberate targeting - American culture does have some racist bullshit about Roma lurking, but it's relatively muted - but intolerance without intentional malice is still intolerance.

[serendipity_15]

Most school systems would look very unfavorably upon pulling one's children out of classes once they start puberty, for example, which some Roma parents prefer to do. (And actually, as an educator I admit that one gets my hackles up - I get why, because schools pressure kids to assimilate in ways that Romani-Americans may be uncomfortable with, but it's definitely counter to my own cultural norms!)

Don't the Amish do the exact same thing?

[poddleduck]

They do. In at least some states there are exemptions built into the law to take into account these sorts of situations. I don't know if more traditional Roma communities benefit from them, though.

[mirhanda]

I just want to smack the reporter for saying "momento" when he meant "memento". Arg.

[poddleduck]

I thought I caught all the dumb mistakes! There was another where "revelry" was used when "rivalry" was meant, which made the bit about Roma interclan violence pretty weird to read, let me tell you...

[mirhanda]

Hahaha, that's great!

[serendipity_15]

Thanks for the article, very interesting. I don't know much about the Roma in America, I just knew that there were some but I didn't realize that there were so many.

[poddleduck]

Yeah, I was really surprised to find out there are so many Roma in the Americas. Quite a few Americans, I think, don't even realize they're an actual ethnic group.

[windy_lea]

I honestly had no idea that Roma or Irish Travellers had come here as groups. I mean the Americas have had immigrants from all walks of life, so I figured people with those heritages were here, but I didn't realize there were any groups specifically identifying as such and preserving the lifestyle here and now. I suppose I assumed I'd have heard about it by now. It's always good to become just that little bit less ignorant, though, so thanks for the article!

[threaded_ghost]

Awesome article, though I thought it was Romani, not just Roma.

[poddleduck]

The Roma are a specific subgroup of Romani from central/eastern Europe - I believe they're far and away the most numerous. Although, now that I think about it, this article does kind of use the two terms interchangeably.