The Black Cat Club

An example of assimilation

The Settlement House was home to many clubs geared toward Jewish Immigrants, one of which was the “Black Cat Club” aimed at socializing young women. The club was so named because the girls associated Black Cats with good luck, contrary to the typical superstitions around the animal in the United States. It is interesting to note this because in general, Black Cats are associated with good luck primarily in the UK. However the members of these clubs, not having large vocabulary in the English language would likely have not been from the UK.

Another interesting point from this piece is the language used; the club members are allowed  to participate in the Americanization Social Hour after their weekly meetings. This points to a notable effort to Americanize these new immigrants; perhaps in part to ensure their success as Jews in the United States and in part to protect the work of earlier Jews to secure a space in American culture.  It is also possible that the Black Cat Club was also aimed at preparing these women for marriage, given the time period and the ages of the women it is entirely possible that this was an added effort to secure their future in this country.

The Sephardic Mothers club

The Sephardic/Sephardy mothers club was not terribly large, only consisting of about 12 members. However there are some things we can clean from the clubs purpose; self improvement. Other clubs aimed at mothers are geared toward socializing or teaching young mothers how to care for their children. However this particular club was aimed at Sephardic women in particular, and to urge them to “better” themselves.

This brings up the question as to what is meant by this. Seeing that the main objective of the organization was to churn out homogenized, America ready Jews it is not a stretch to assume that this club may have served to use other Sephardic mothers to pressure their peers into assimilating.  This club is referred to twice, however little is said of it in the later mention.

Americanization Hour

As the name would imply, the Americanization Hour was dedicated to socializing and learning how to behave as an American. While in todays terms “Americanization hour” may seem crassly nationalistic and heavy handed,  this may have been a chance for them to expand their vocabulary as well as partake in American culture in s safe environment. It was unlikely that someone would embarrass them for their pronunciation or grammar mistakes at Americanization hour. Serving as training wheels of sorts for the immigrants this activity may have been quite helpful in fostering a sense of cohesion among different ethnic groups who could bond over their shared heritage and citizenship. Together these clubs and activities work together to show us that the work of the settlement house was not simple, there are times when their services achieved their goals, and other instances where it went too far and offended families.