The Making of the Cape Verdean
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Cape Verdeans and White Portuguese The Cape Verdean feels sort of a kinship with his White countryman but his White countryman has lost his kinship for the Cape Verdean. So much so that they even deny that the Cape Verdean is Portuguese. This is a White “habit” that they have picked up here in the Untied States simply because it is fashionable to keep all Black people downtrodden. The Continental Portuguese are much more tolerant because they are not familiar with the American practice of racial discrimination. The White Portuguese in New Bedford are at times as intolerant as any southerner. There are those that will call Cape Verdeans ‘niggers’. The Cape Verdeans call all Portuguese “Yambobs.” Where the name originates is not known to this writer, but it is a form of contempt. The average Cape Verdean thinks that he is superior to the Yambobs because he thinks him stupid, coarse, and morose. It actually infuriates the Cape Verdean when he is belittled by the Yambobs and is quick to remind him of his Moorish blood that flows in the blood of their ancestors. As for intergroup fraternization, this is nonexistent because of the difference in color. We are given to believe that color means nothing in Portugal on the continent, but here in America it is most important. Open associations with Black Portuguese would cause social ostracism for the White Portuguese and they are very careful in their dealings with the Cape Verdeans. (There are those who intermarry, but they reach no significant proportion.) Those that intermarry are of both sexes and most of them get along fine but their children tend to remain with the colored parent. Then again there are those “half-breeds” who will have nothing to do with their Black brothers, cousins, aunts, etc. They will actually ignore any relative from the darker parent’s family. This is tragic but it does happen and only in very rare occasions will they even pass the time of day. The business of being White is a very strong penchant with Cape Verdeans and if one family is Caucasian, then the more the child will lean toward the White element. There is, however, a Portuguese Society that invites Cape Verdean membership, but it is only a token gesture made by knowledgeable Portuguese to show that they are democratic pluralistic. Most of the White Portuguese in New Bedford have their own clubs and societies, and they are not open to Cape Verdean membership. The two people are as different as the White and Black southerners in the Untied States. There is more tolerance, but not much more. Actually, the only similarity that these two people have is a strong allegiance to the Portuguese flag, and some Cape Verdeans have a strong feeling for the Portuguese dictator, Salazar. These two groups are dissimilar ethnically, culturally, socially, and linguistically. The White Portuguese in New Bedford has many more advantages than the Cape Verdeans in New Bedford because of his color, and because of his sheer force of numbers (they number some 50,000 in New Bedford). They could control the political machine of this city, but they, like the Cape Verdean, are divided, uneducated, and unregistered as voters.
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About the Book
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.
About the Author
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”.