If you were an early 20th century Italian immigrant living in Birmingham, chances are you came from Sicily. More specifically, you probably came from Bisacquino, a small Sicilian village near Palermo. Leaving family behind in Bisacquino was surely a gut wrenching decision, motivated by a desire to escape poverty and facilitated by agents canvassing the Sicilian countryside for cheap labor.

Italians arriving in New Orleans often went to work first on Louisiana citrus farms or one of the state's sugar cane plantations. But word was getting around that Birmingham offered a chance to earn wages in one of its factories. Enticed by the promise of better pay, many Italian immigrants left Louisiana for the new industrial city. Joining them were fellow Italian immigrants who came directly from Sicily or other parts of Italy, or who may have spent some time in a northern city before deciding to head south.

Read more

Source: http://visitvulcan.com/