Romanies In Michigan — A Portrait of a Community through Their Own Voices
Romanies In Michigan — A Portrait of a Community through Their Own Voices

Summary/Abstract: Because of prejudice and persecution, Hungarian-Slovak Romanies, many of them descendants of famous Romani musicians, primarily, from Kassa, Hungary (now Kosice, Slovakia) immigrated with other immigrants, particularly Hungarians, to Pennsylvania, Ohio and Illinois in the United States in the early 20th century to work in steel mills. They performed traditional Romani music in Hungarian restaurants and bars. They then followed Hungarians to Delray, Michigan for economic and labour opportunities when industrialist Henry Ford was seeking immigrants to work in his automobile factories, and offered five dollars a day, twice as much as the wage at Andrew Mellon’s steel mills in Pennsylvania. Romanies not only worked in factories but also performed music in Hungarian restaurants and bars in Delray. Their hard-working ethic, musical talents, family bonds, culture, and resiliency empowered them to adapt to their new life. However, the 1967 uprising in Detroit, the construction of a major Interstate which cut them off from Detroit, and heavy-duty factory pollution forced them to move from Delray to other Detroit suburbs. Demand for Romani music did not exist there. To accommodate to changing opportunities, they performed jazz. Some moved again to pursue music prospects in Las Vegas and Los Angeles, and recreated Romani communities.

• Details
• Contents