The Making of the Cape Verdean

By Manuel E. Costa Sr.

The Making of the Cape Verdean is a book written about Cape Verdeans who migrated from the Cape Verde Islands in the late 1800's to the 1970's to New Bedford Massachusetts. The book is based on the historical facts about the Portuguese colonization of the Cape Verde islands and its people located off the West Coast of Africa. The author provides the history of colonization under Portuguese rule of Salazar and how the Cape Verdean people survived famine, imprisonment, torture, politcal unrest and the abandonment of the Portuguese government. In addition, the author gives you a voyeuristic view of what life was like growing up in the Cape Verdean community in New Bedford after they migrated to the United States. This book is a powerful recap of of Cape Verdeans from this period and location. There is no other documentation that captures the Cape Verdeans the way "The Making of the Cape Verdean" does in this book.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: May 20, 2011
• ISBN: 9781463401368

Manuel E. Costa Sr.

Manuel E. Costa, Sr. was born March 9, 1918 in New Bedford, MA and passed away March 2, 1992. In the late1930’s Manny enrolled in the Army Officers’ school and became a first Lieutenant and served in the army for 3 years. He attended Lincoln University and Brown University where he was a four-letter man in Basketball, Football, Track, and High Jumping. Later, he would graduate from Bridgewater State Teachers College. Manny was a mentor, teacher, civil rights activist, writer, TV hosts, coach, politician, social worker, gymnast instructor, writer and much more. “Manuel E. Costa, Sr. is the closest New Bedford Massachusetts has ever come to producing a Paul Robeson in every way. He was an incredible person. In terms of his committed life of progressive activism, his stellar athleticism, the broad and deep humanity and he was a one man social service agency.” One city official stated “there will never be another man like Manny Costa in New Bedford that will do what he did during his lifetime - it would take 12 men to fill his shoes”.

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© 2011 by Jeanne M. Costa; 1975 by Manuel E. Costa Sr. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

First published by AuthorHouse 06/06/2011

ISBN: 978-1-4634-0134-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4634-0135-1 (dj)

ISBN: 978-1-4634-0136-8 (ebk)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2011907540

Printed in the United States of America

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Dedication

This work is dedicated to my father Edward Manuel Costa who was born in Rebeira da Torre on the island of St. Antão, Cape Verde Islands in the year of 1889 and died in New Bedford October 29, 1967. Without his help and information this work could never be possible because he patiently and objectively related his life on the islands.

My mother, Maria Santos Oliveira Costa, died in the year 1927 in the town of Port Chester, NY, and her remains are still there in St. Mary’s cemetery. I am told that my mother was born in Rebeira Grande in St. Antão. From the time of my mother’s death until his demise, my father was both mother and father to me. His legacy was one of truth, honesty and opportunity to get an education when most Cape Verdean youngsters were removed from school to help supplement the family income. Edward Manuel Costa was a small man in stature, but no one ever stood so tall nor was more principled… I miss him sincerely.

Contents

Foreword

Preface

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments (2008-2011)

Quotes

Historical Background of Cape Verde Islands

Cape Verde Islands

St. Thiago

St. Vicente

Fogo

Brava

St. Antão

Sal

St. Nicolau

Boa Vista

Maio

Ilheu, Branco, Ilheu Razo, St. Luzia, St. Maria

Education in Cape Verde

Marriage and Illegitimacy

The Future of Cape Verde

Emigration to the United States

The Saga of the Cape Verdean Stevedore

Main Street of Cape Verdeans

Our Country Cousins—Gente di Matto (People of the Woods)

Cape Verdeans and White Portuguese

Cape Verdeans and Black Americans

Playing the Dozens

The Cape Verdean Man

The Cape Verdean Woman

Beautiful Cape Verdeans

Cape Verdean Economic Life—Past & Present

Number Playing

The Cape Verdean & Crime

The Cape Verdean Police

Cape Verdean Music

Cape Verdean Social Life

On Church, Religion, Death, Marriage & Divorce

Nostalgia

The Cape Verdean Dietary Habits in U.S.

Home Remedies

The Cape Verdean and Education

The Cape Verdean and Sports

Cape Verdean Leadership

Well-To-Do Cape Verdeans

Bibliography

Epilogue

Appendix A: Mannie Costa Letters

Appendix B: The Park Wall

Appendix C: Tables

Appendix D: Conta d’Odju: The All Seeing Eye

Appendix E: List of Cape Verdean American Businesses

Appendix F: Leon Dash Articles

Appendix G: Poetry by Teobaldo Virginio de Melo

Appendix H: Speech by Amilcar Cabral

missing image file

Manuel E. Costa (1970), Executive Director

City of New Bedford Human Relations Commission

222 Union St., Rm 308

New Bedford, MA

Foreword

The author, Manuel E. Costa, Sr., is right. His prescient notion that the Cape Verdean colony, the immigrant Cape Verdean community, and the Cape Verdean American people are all caught up in a dynamic process of change leading to gradual eradication may be correct. The Cape Verdean Islands, once a Portuguese colony, is now the Republic of Cape Verde, having gained its independence from Portugal in 1975. This new African nation has made tremendous social, economic, and political gains since independence and is widely recognized as a progressive country with a stable democratic government.

The inward looking Cape Verdean American community that Mr. Costa writes about has essentially disappeared, and only remnants of the previous organization and structure exist. Initially geographically bounded by red lining, official and unofficial housing covenants, and other segregation policies, this community is no longer physically defined. Model Cities, urban renewal, and other government initiatives disrupted the community neighborhoods and replaced homes with highways, housing complexes, and other structures. As such, not only has the physical structure of the community changed, but also the institutional forces responsible for cultural cohesion, preservation, and transmission are no longer present or effective. In other words, the Cape Verdean community is not segregated, housing opportunities are basically unrestricted and the social and cultural institutions are in decline or have disappeared.

In turn, the cultural practices and behaviors described by Mr. Costa have waned and don’t exert the major influence on Cape Verdeans growing up in southeastern Massachusetts. The people depicted in this book are products of their circumstances and times and therefore have different familial, cultural, and social experiences than the Cape Verdean Americans of today. Notwithstanding that difference, there are many salient issues discussed by Mr. Costa that have yet to be addressed or resolved. Racial identity, unemployment, crime, poor educational outcomes, and lack of political leadership are some examples of issues and problems still affecting Cape Verdean Americans.

In order to fully appreciate the perspective or point of view of this book, it is imperative that the reader meet and understand Manuel E. Costa, Sr. for it is through his eyes and ears that the narrative unfolds, and it is his experiences and insights that shape and inform the substance of the content.

In the Preface, Mr. Costa states that his purpose for writing is to document and preserve a descriptive account of Cape Verdean Americans in their unique community during the middle decades of the twentieth century. He fears that their experience and cultural practices will be lost and that historians, social scientists, and most importantly, future generations will not know, understand, or appreciate the lives led by 1st and 2nd Cape Verdeans in southeastern Massachusetts. He states the work was done to preserve a way of life that seems to be disappearing into American culture; certainly it will never be the same. It is anthropologically necessary for historians, the people of New Bedford, and the future generations of Cape Verdeans that some record be kept of a most peculiar people. Because of this perceived omission, Mr. Costa, consistent with his activist persona, takes on the task of researching and writing about his people and their community.

As such, Mr. Costa was a transcendental figure in the Cape Verdean community in that he had broad intellectual and political interests, had many careers and was a life-long learner and educator. At a time when Cape Verdeans and other African Americans struggled to obtain a high school education, he received a scholarship to an Ivy League school and later attended a historically Black college. He later graduated with a bachelor’s degree in history and education from a prominent state university. Also, during World War II, he was an Army officer while most of his cohorts served as enlisted men. In addition, he had professional careers in child welfare, high school education, and post secondary education. Finally, he was a craftsman, human rights advocate, politician, and a licensed mortician. Concurrently, in his efforts to mentor and direct the youth of the Cape Verdean community, he developed, organized, and sponsored athletic programs. The House of Champions basketball, boxing, and gymnastics/tumbling teams were outlets for young men and women to experience competition and teamwork. These activities also provided a vehicle for learning positive behaviors as well as opportunities for individual and group recognition.

As this writer can attest, Mr. Costa was a mentor, tutor, guidance counselor, educational advocate, and financial supporter for many Cape Verdean students who expressed interest and showed potential of higher education. In fact, in matters dealing with the educational system, social services and the justice system, Mr. Costa was the community’s authoritative and knowledgeable person that many people sought out for advice and direction,. Later in his retirement years, Mr. Costa developed and directed a foster grandparent program that provided services to both pre-schoolers and senior citizens.

In sum, Mr. Costa was not only a sage, but also a person who knew and understood his community and was keenly aware of its history, institutions, and culture. As such, in this book, he is an active long-term participant, observer, interpreter, interviewer, and reporter. Much like John Ogbu in The Next Generation, he is the classical participant observer field worker who listens and observes and then applies his indexical knowledge to provide lucid ethnographic descriptions. Insights into how Cape Verdeans develop their folk systems and how they perceive the world to create reality follows as Mr. Costa applied his interpersonal experiences and professional training to the subject matter. The result is a narrative that reminds the reader of the rich depictions of community life found in Stud Terkel’s Chicago. Like Terkel, Mr. Costa’s narrative is part history and part memoir, filled with anecdotes, memories, and personal reflections.

As regards the importance and relevance of this book, The Making of the Cape Verdean is a story primarily about me, people I know, and my community. It is also about American history and African American history and includes discussions about civil rights, urban policy and renewal, education, and race relations. Since I am interested in all those topics, and because I am a researcher, ethnographer, and educator myself, I am drawn to this manuscript for professional reasons as well. Therefore, for me and others who share my heritage and interests, this is a very important and relevant work—a must read.

This is also an important book for historians, anthropologists, and sociologists. They will find it to be a tremendous resource of qualitative and descriptive data pertaining not only to Cape Verdean life, but on a broader scale to how people and communities are impacted and transformed by the tumultuous events from pre-World War II through the unrest and disturbances of the 60’s and 70’s. The effects of immigration policies and assimilation difficulties on a colonial non-White population while living in an America that is undergoing cultural, racial, social, political upheaval should be of interest to social scientists and may provide the impetus for new research. For example, insight into American living patterns, racial classifications, social and cultural behaviors, and social policy implications can be gleaned from Mr. Costa’s work; and this information can be applied, contrasted and compared with other similar groups and communities that concomitantly experienced the same events.

In essence, this book is a valuable and somewhat unique addition to the research and literature on immigration studies, including assimilation patterns, cultural conflicts, and racial stratification. It also offers information on broader topics such as racial identity, the formation and structure of community, and the dynamic of political acts and processes on people and communities.

Government officials and social scientists in Cape Verde will also benefit and have interest in this book because Mr. Costa addresses a historical gap in the chronological timetable from colonization through immigration to independence. He opens a window into how the people and culture are transformed while interfacing with the colonial Portuguese in Cape Verde, and then again being affected by the American social and political processes. This information may be important to Cape Verdean scholars and politicians as they try to understand and develop immigration and other social policies.

Cape Verdean readers, young and old, will relate to and somewhat relive the emotions and experiences conveyed by Mr. Costa’s descriptions of the community, the local people, and the manner in which they expressed and practiced their culture. These readers will nostalgically recognize themselves and others as they connect with the material and then reminisce about growing up in that environment. As an aside, they may develop a greater understanding about the circumstances, events, and issues that shaped their lives and continues to make an impact on how they experience life on a daily basis. In particular, the contents of this book will resonate with Cape Verdeans born after 1970 because it provides historical and cultural information not readily available in the schools or libraries. As such, Mr. Costa’s work fills a niche in both Cape Verdean and African American history. This fulfills Mr. Costa’s goal to have his work available for future generations to consider.

Finally, the general reading public will find this book to be a unique and fascinating account of a peculiar immigrant group trying to find a social place in southeastern Massachusetts. They will be treated to an intimate portrayal of culture and community life amid the influences of social and political forces of the larger society. The emerging issues and conflicts will add to the readers’ understanding and appreciation of Cape Verdeans and other immigrant and minority groups residing in their communities.

The book is divided into three major sections. In the first section, Mr. Costa provides the reader with a brief history of the Cape Verde Islands and its people. He explores the impact of colonization and the slave trade on the racial composition and cultural development of the people. Consistent with the writings of Albert Memmi in The Colonizer and the Colonized, the people are multi-hued, ranging from white to shades of black. As Memmi points out, the closer in color and behavior to the colonizer, the higher the class and status they are allowed to reach. Accordingly, Mr. Costa finds that this concept typifies the relationship between the Portuguese and the colonized Cape Verdeans. He sees the major conflict experienced by Cape Verdeans as one of being genetically and culturally tied to Africa, while being psychologically and economically tied to Portugal. Mr. Costa goes on to detail the beliefs, customs, foods, language, mores, values, and rituals that culturally identify Cape Verde with West Africa. This leads Mr. Costa into a discussion of racial identity formation in colonized people and how the conflicts around race are exacerbated as Cape Verdeans emigrate and settle in the United States. The Jim Crow one drop standard and the Portuguese taxonomy of color for its colonies differed substantially; coincidentally, Cape Verdeans had their own classification. Carl Degler, in Neither Black Nor White, states: "the lowest level is composed of the pretos (blacks) or preto retinto (dark black). Somewhat above the preto is the cabra, who is slightly less black… Still moving upward we come next to the Cabo Verde (Cape Verde) who is lighter than the preto, but still quite dark but with straight hair, thin lips and narrow straight nose. Then comes the escuro, literally the dark one but he is still lighter than the preto . . . "

The mulato escuro (dark), mulato claro (light), sarara (light with red or blond kinky hair), moreno (light with straight hair), and branco de terra (white) round out the taxonomy based on appearance rather than genetics or race.

Mr. Costa uses this dichotomy as a starting point to discuss the Cape Verdean’s resistance to American racial classification, which ostensibly makes them Black, regardless of appearance, because of the one drop rule. The question of this classification underpins much of the racial identity problems experienced by Cape Verdeans, according to Mr. Costa. Throughout this section, he further explores these problems and the social ramifications of either being Black or White in America.

In the middle section, Mr. Costa delves into the effects of social and governmental policies on Cape Verdeans during the post World War II period through the turbulent 60’s and 70’s. He describes how Jim Crow laws led to segregated patterns in federal housing projects and how subtle and overt discrimination limited the employment and educational opportunities available to Cape Verdeans. Vivid descriptions of work as a stevedore are provided as well as a remembrance of the social institutions and practices that are the fabric of the community. Mr. Costa then contrasts that reality with Cape Verdeans living in a rural setting several miles away. This example of how location, environment, and work influence interests, attitudes, and life chances of the same cultural group is very similar to the movement and assimilation of southern Blacks to Chicago during the same period. In fact, those African Americans moving to Chicago are called country just as Mr. Costa refers to his ethnic brethren as country cousins.

Also in this section is an account of how Cape Verdeans, individually and as a group, deal with Jim Crow laws, Urban Renewal, Civil Rights, Black Power, and other major issues and events of the period. Most notable is his discussion of racial identity and color and the subsequent effect on attitudes towards Blacks and Whites. He goes on to reflect on the sense of shame as first articulated and observed by Gunnar Myrdal in An American Dilemma. Mr. Costa asserts that this ambivalence between Black and White leads to Cape Verdeans thinking that they are something else. This is very similar to the notion of the tragic mulatto who acts White, pretending to be something he is not. This confusion on the part of some Cape Verdeans is reminiscent of W.E.B. DuBois’ insightful quote on double consciousness: It is a peculiar sensation, this double consciousness, the sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of the world that looks on in amused contempt and pity. One ever feels his two-ness, an American, a Negro, two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder.

Mr. Costa continues on to detail the Whitening practiced in the Cape Verdean community which Nell Painter recently outlined in The History of White People. What is ironic, according to Painter, is that many European ethnic groups during the same era are not considered White while some of the brown to black Cape Verdeans are insisting that they are Portuguese and White.

The racial ambivalence, as Mr. Costa notes, plays out in school desegregation efforts in the Cape Verdean community. When asked to choose a race on a school racial imbalance form, most Cape Verdean parents chose the Other category. Officials involved in determining the racial balance eventually resorted to a visual count, which resulted in all of the community’s schools being deemed out of balance. Consistent with Mr. Costa’s analysis, the something else notion remains an enigmatic issue, as periodically, there are efforts by individuals and groups to have Cape Verdeans recognized as a separate racial category on census and other data collected by the government agencies. Mr. Costa correctly views these efforts as ethnocentric and provides other examples of how some Cape Verdeans internalize and act on being something else.

In the final section, Mr. Costa resumes the ethnographer role and provides a rich retrospective picture of his community, the characters within, and the activities that make up daily life. He offers a profile of the Cape Verdean male and female, which like all stereotypes, contains some kernels of truth. He follows this with a presentation of the cultural norms, rituals, beliefs, linguistic styles, behavior patterns, and other practices that define the Cape Verdean people and their community.

In sum, Mr. Costa’s book captures the Cape Verdean people and their cultural expressions from the point of immigration through the post civil rights era. This vivid depiction is very significant in that it is not only a historical account, but also an ethnographic picture of observed life as lived. Accordingly, Mr. Costa’s work serves as a foundation for understanding Cape Verdean people and their environment, both during a certain period and in comparison to the experiences of recent immigrant groups. Of note is the difference in levels of intergenerational conflict, crime, violence, and other social problems.

In addition to the above, this narrative provides an impetus for new anthropological efforts on documenting the Cape Verdean experience. Further illustrations on the lives and cultural practices of this particular group lend themselves to new oral histories, memoirs, and other ethnographic methods. Of major importance is the baseline it gives to future studies on social identity and classification. The contradictions, frustrations, and struggles faced by Cape Verdeans are salient factors in understanding the problems of American racial classifications and their impact on immigrant and native born citizens.

Finally, Mr. Costa’s goal of documenting the life and times of his people is achieved in this book. Their history, culture, and social expressions are captured by Mr. Costa’s narrative and thereby are made available for scholars as well as for posterity.

While future generations of Cape Verdeans may appreciate this book, the research and writing on this subject has just begun. This historical/cultural work should stimulate new study and inquiry within Cape Verdean communities by both endemic, national and international scholars. A major emphasis of this new scholarly endeavor should be a rigorous study on the life of the author. Mr. Costa’s accomplishments, writings, and influence on the lives of others present a plethora of biographical material yet to be explored and documented. Once published, a biography about the author will augment and emphatically show that the Cape Verdean people and its community did indeed exist, and that one of their most literate and accomplished citizens was Manuel E. Costa, Sr.

Louis A. Gomes, Jr., Ed.D.

Preface

Consider if you will the Cape Verdean American who is both Cape Verdean and Portuguese, but is denied by the Portuguese; who is both Cape Verdean and American, but is denied by the American; who is both Black and White but is rejected by Whites. If there were ever insurmountable problems for a particular people, the Cape Verdean stands alone.

What is his situation in New Bedford, Cape Cod, New England and United States? In the main, the Cape Verdean looks like any other African American group; and through all of the miscegenation of the people, the African characteristics still prevail. In all of the above places, his condition is similar to any other Black in the world and he is not only deluded into thinking that he is something else he actually believes that he is something else, some middle ground race that bears no conceivable category or description. This then is the Cape Verdean, not only on the islands, but in any part of the globe that you find him. He claims to be something else and he really is something else or other.

Being a second-generation Cape Verdean, I have always been interested in the history and culture of my people. My research has taken me to various places in the quest for this information. One would think that the local library would be an available resource for Cape Verdean history. New Bedford, being the capital of the Cape Verdean Islands, it is a valid assumption, but the information regarding Cape Verdeans is so scant that it seems as though the people don’t exist. Why? Certainly the Cape Verdean history is entwined in the history of New Bedford going back to the whaling days and certainly the Cape Verdean has made many significant contributions to life in New England in general, e.g. whaling crews, longshoreman, cranberry bog and mill workers

This work was done to preserve a way of life that seems to be disappearing into American culture; certainly it will never be the same. It is anthropologically necessary for historians, the people of New Bedford, and the future generations of Cape Verdeans that some record be kept of a most peculiar people; peculiar in the sense of racial dichotomy.

In this work, the writer has explored practically every facet dealing with the Cape Verdean and has revealed secrets heretofore never published on paper. The writer’s hope is that this document be published as a reference which has been nonexistent for a better understanding of a neglected people.

In telling the story of the Cape Verde Islands and their people, this writer can only relate the material perused by him in his research, books, articles, newspaper stories, magazines, encyclopedias, personal interviews with people who have traveled to the islands and professionals who have visited. The above, coupled with recall from numerous conversations with parents, makes up the sum total of this work. With this cross section of information, this writer has attempted to tell somewhat of a factual story about a very interesting people.

The past is remembered as being friendly, difficult but happy, and people didn’t