My Grandfather: A Saga of a Ship Jumper, an Alien and an American Immigrant

Part 5 

Indian Born, America Made

In the last post I wrote about grandfather's carved life, his status as an alien within the confines of immigration policies and no possibility of citizenship. Vivek Bald, aptly comments, “Denied official belonging, they became part of another nation, a nation beneath a nation in working class neighborhoods of color from New York.” This is the environment that grandfather lived in as he would have experienced the Depression Era, the bread and soups lines snaking around the diverse communities in New York City.

Observes the beginning of WWII, Germany invasions in Poland, Belgium, and France. The bombing of Pearl Harbor in December 1941, the interments of Japanese, the arc of Franklin D. Roosevelt presidency, the buildup of war-time munitions industry and of course the mass call for men to register for the draft during WWII.

Surprisingly grandfather registered for the WWII Fourth Registration also known as the “Old Man Registration” men who were born between 1877- 1897, those not serving in the military.

Grandfather listed multiple address, not unusually for the Bengalis to do, sometimes boarding together to save on expensive. Interestingly, the birth year he gave was 1894. My grandmother shared there was a 20-year difference between their ages. It would put his birth year 1900, the same year he filled out on the marriage record. What a gem was the name of the town in India “Nadia” relatives has often said he grew up not far from Calcutta.

Check off as “White” and not “Indian” with a dark brown complexion, the lens of the interviewee biases. I know where he was 82 years ago on Monday April 27, 1942.

It was a busy month for grandfather, beginning in April 1942, under the Immigration and Naturalization Service grandfather face another hurdle. He and others who were not citizens or naturalized would require filling out a detailed alien registration form, “Alien Files (A-Files).” What is most alarming, a file could be generated, without the action or the consent of the alien, if the INS felt a need to “initiated a law enforcement action on the individual.” I can only imagine the fear and anxiety he experienced; I am not sure if grandfather or other Bengalis did comply.

Portraying in the background as the heightened fears of the U.S. had against Germans, Japanese and other immigrants during the war played out. It seems plausible for such action. The process to obtain these records is still ongoing.

Illustrated the areas: 155^th St. north, Harlem River Dr. & Lexington Av. East, 110^th St. south and Manhattan Av. west the shooting, riots, the mayor addressed to the crowds and the enforcement of 10:30 pm curfew.

                 Closer to home grandfather no doubt was aware of The Harlem Riot occurred on August 2, 1943. Six died, 543 injured, 500 arrested, about thousands in property damage and a 10:30 PM curfew enforced. The riot was a result of a police officer shooting an African American soldier at the Hotel Braddock.   

I could not help noticing in India, in the Bengal region and in Calcutta due to the war, a devastating famine occurred in 1942-1943. I am not sure if this affected any family members back home. I can only wish they were not weakened greatly. The conversation in the Bengali community in Harlem was most likely a significant cause of concern, discussions, and constant communications between the families back home.

After the war, many sighed with great joy, grandmother mentioned "how happy everyone was, many smiling faces." They would have observed if they did not participate in the celebration on May 7, 1945, in Times Square of the Japanese surrender in WWII.

Looking north from 44th Street, New York's Times Square is packed Monday, May 7, 1945, with crowds celebrating.

The post war years, grandfather maintain his residence in Harlem with his family and the connections to the Bengali ship jumpers. 

Top image: 1950 Census, grandfather with my grandmother, my uncle Wahab are all living in the newly developed housing complex on 770 E. 165^th Street, Bronx, New York. He is 47 years old and working at a hotel as a cook, which he was famous for. My father, as a young boy.

Uncle Wahab and father spent a great deal of their lives in the mosque and the Bengali community. One story uncle shared, while growing up in 1950s Harlem, visits to the mosque. He recalled the congregation of the men in prayers, lessons followed, the many activities, the dozens of children playing in the background, and most striking was Hindi and Bangla spoken, mingling with English. Then, out comes, many enormous assortments of trays filled with food, enough to feed several blocks of families in Harlem. “Uncle Wahab, would say, “if you went home hungry it was your fault.”

An ad announcing the opening of a new mosque. The New York Age. October 28, 1950.

Another change in the Immigration law was slightly, the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 or formally “McCarran-Walter Act.” It would repeal the “Asiatic Barred Zone” and eliminate the racial bar on citizenship. It implemented partiality based on skills, a quota of 100 per county (it included India) and promoted family reunification. The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, also known as Hart-Celler Act, allowed South Asian Indians and many other ethnic groups to immigrate.

Grandfather may have felt hopeful and perhaps may have moved to start the process of citizenship. The family did not have a story or ever discussed it. I would never know, but I hoped he had a chance! Grandfather's death was a week later after New Year on January 6, 1954.

I find it intriguing the Bengali stories were lost to the immigration narrative. As the years passed, many of the seamen migrated to other parts New York City boroughs', to New Jersey, Connecticut, and Philadelphia. Forever changing the landscape of this tight-knit community.

Portrait painting of my grandparents. New York City. C1942-1944. Owner private property.

Grandfather attempted to establish his identity in this country as an American, yet he managed to launch numerous businesses with many of his fellow countrymen, founded a Masjid, now it is the largest and international Masjid in upper Manhattan. He married an American, had my father and created valuable lifelong friendships, including Americans. Today, many of his descendants are loving individuals with families, educated, with successful businesses and careers, active in many communities' and religious matters. His descendants are still preserving his stories, such as this blog.

Sources:

Bald, Vivek. Bengali Harlem: The Lost Histories of South Asian America (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2013), 180-187.

Goni, Abdul, Line 28, Sheet 26, Enumeration District 3-952, Assembly District 7, Bronx County, New York; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Record Group 29, Records of the Bureau of the Census; National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC, downloaded from Archives.Gov on April 15, 1950.

H. Con. Res. 63 Immigration and Nationality Act. STATUTE-66

Proclamation 2980 - Immigration Quotas

Record Daily News. (August 3, 1943). Harlem Riot Aftermath. Newspapters.com. Retrieved April 20, 2024, from Daily News

South Asians America Digital Archives: South Asian Americans You Should Know About

The New York Age. (October 28, 1950). The Academy of Islam, Int'l, Inc. 231 Lenox Avenue. Newspapers.com. Retrieved February 18, 2024, from The Academy of Islam

UK Embassy

 

My Grandfather: A Saga of a Ship Jumper, an Alien and An American Immigrant

 Part 4 

America: I Am Immigrant And an American and Not an Alien!

   We are now into the late 1930s to the late 1940s, three major events have occurred in grandfather life during the decade:

• Married for the second time and became a father for the first time.
• Participated in Civic Activities.
• Started a small business.

My grandfather, Abdul Goni still had not applied for his first papers. Due to The Immigrant Act of 1917, it prohibited him from declaring his status as a naturalized citizen. It also prohibited any immigrants from Asian nations illustrated in the 1917 "Barred Zone" map. Grandfather had a double strike, due to his occupation as a seaman (lascar). United States would not permit the entry of working seamen on ships that were docked at the time of port call.

I do not know if grandfather applied for “The First Papers” (the declaration of intent to become a citizen) were the first steps to apply to become a citizen. As far as research I have not located any record sets of an application between 1920s – 1950s. Two pivotal events impacted grandfather’s goals were the Supreme Court ruled, “People of Indian descent are not white, and hence are not eligible for naturalization.”- U.S. v. Bhagat Singh Thind of 1923 (an Indian Sikh who identified as Aryan was denied citizenship in U.S.) and the Luce-Celler Act of 1942. Thus, grandfather's status as an alien remained unchanged over the decades. 

On July 2, 1946, Truman signs into law Luce Celler Act, granting naturalization rights to Filipinos and Asian Indians. A coalition of Filipinos and Indians witnessed the signing, 3^rd from right Sarda J.J Singh.

One story emerged in the family; Abdul Goni would assist in civic activities. It was not clear how or what grandfather did. His great desire and others to become Americans, may had propelled him to action, like the steadfast and vigilant efforts of men like J.J. Singh, President of the India League of American and Ibrahim Choudry of the India Association for the American Citizenship to witness a historic achievement. On July 2, 1946, President Truman signed the Luce-Celler Act. A quota of 100 Filipinos and 100 Indians from Asia were allowed to immigrate to the United States annually. A first, in granting Asians immigrants to naturalize as American citizens. It meant they could own land or property under their own name and more importantly to petition for their immediate family members to immigrant to United States for the first time. I wondered if he aided in some way, my research continues.

In 1944 grandfather married my grandmother, Lilly May Bobo, they had a son, my father, Umar Eddin. He also raised a stepson, Wahab, from the age of 2 years, a child of my grandmother's previous spouse. It was from Uncle Wahab I heard some of the stories. Mentioned with regularity were grandfather’s friends like, Ibrahim, Ali, Khan, Habib, Raymond and Soliman who were also ex-ship jumping seamen. All were a part of the Bengali networking community and members of mosques, restaurants, and other organization that formed between 20s-60s.

My grandparents wedding day, married February 10. 1944, officiated by Rev. L.S. Taylor at 71 W.114th Street, Harlem, NYC. Witnesses: Moses Zigler & Rebecca Powell. Owner’s private property.

One story repeatedly told grandfather was always attending, participated in prayers, and was involved, particularly in the cooking in the local mosques. The British Merchant Sailor’s Club for Indian Seamen on 100 W.38th street in Lower Manhattan he was at one such place.

Image from the British Merchant Sailors Club for Indian Seamen. Muslims Indians men congregate in the club’s prayer room, as the custom, sitting down, with shoes off, wearing turbans, fezzes and led by an Iman. (Choudry is second from left, front row, facing camera. (Photo: Nelson Morris, illustrations: Martha Sawyers, source: Life Magazine). 1944.

Under the management of ship-jumping Bengali seamen, Ibrahim Choudry was an activist and civic leader for the Bengalis. During WWII, the club offered a mess hall, a recreation room, and a prayer room. It catered for and supported hundreds of Bengali seamen. As Vivek Bald’s, Bengali Harlem: and The Lost Histories of South Asian American, writes, “By the end of the first year, the club had 66,221 visits by Indian seamen and had served 198,200 meals.” 

Ibrahim “Abraham” Choudry greeting another Muslim. Source: Hyphen Magazine

In the 1940 Census Abdul Goni was a painter at a shipyard. 

Listed #19 in 1940 Census, Abdul Gani at 306 East 100^th Street NYC, age 35 years old, married, birthplace India, Alien, painter at a shipyard, earned $300 as of March 30^th, head of household and lodging with Arment Baba. 

Another story emerged, grandfather had a pushcart selling hot dogs and sausages, along with a special family “Indian sauce.” Vivek Bald's Bengali Harlem referred to hotdog vendors as "sold hotdogs and sausages from pushcarts along Harlem's thoroughfares—Lexington Avenue, 110th, 116th Street". By 1944, he had resided on 74 W114th Street, which would place him in the pushcarts’ location, 74 W 114th Street Harlem, NYC . In addition to other jobs, grandfather had been a doorman, a cook, a painter in the shipyard and even an elevator operator on one document listing his occupation. 

In my next and final blog, I will write about grandfather from the continuation of the war years to the mid-50s in United States. As he pursued citizenship, established in the community, a working-class wage earner and living with his family.

Sources:

Ancestry.com. New York, New York, U.S., Marriage License Indexes, 1907-2018 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2017

Original data: Index to Marriages, New York City Clerk's Office, New York, New York.

Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census [database on-line), Provo, UT, USA:

Original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1940. T627, 4,643 rolls. Year: 1940; Census Place: New York, New York, New York; Roll: M-T0627-02663; Page: 3A; Enumeration District: 31-1647

Bald, Vivek. Bengali Harlem: The Lost Histories of South Asian America (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2013), 180-187.

Ibrahim Choudry

N.A. (1944). Indian Lascars Fight The War at Sea. Life Magazine, Volume 16, Number 4, pages 60-64. https://books.google.com/books?id=-VYEAAAAMBAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=true

Original U.S. Congress (1946) U.S. Statutes at Large, Volume 60, 79^th Congress, Session 2. United States [Periodical]. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, Library of Congress.

United States v. Bhagat Sind Thind

U.S. Statues at Large 1946 – pages 443-444.

United States v. Thind, Immigration Acts 1919 & 1924 and Luce-Celler Act

Works Project Administration (WPA) and the New York City Tax Department. New York Municipal Archives. DOF: 1940s Tax Photos. New York, NY, USA.

Guide to the 1940s Tax Department photographs, 1939-1951. 1940s Tax Department Photographs