Hunky is an ethnic slur used in the United States to refer to immigrants from Central Europe. It originated in the coal regions of Pennsylvania and West Virginia, where immigrants from Central Europe (Hungarians (Magyar), Romanians, Czechs, Slovaks, Rusyns, Ukrainians, Slovenes, Serbs, Croats) came from the Austro-Hungarian Empire to perform hard manual labor in the mines. They were called "hunkies" by the American public, which lumped them together into a category of Slavic immigrants, irrespective of their individual ethnic background. The term as an ethnic slur has fallen into disuse, [1] but the term hunky and the public image associated with it has historic relevance in the perception of Slavic immigrants in the United States. There is some usage of the term in other forms; for example, in regions of Pennsylvania, any mill worker may sometimes be referred to as a mill hunky. [2]
The terms hunky and bohunk can be applied to various Slavic and Hungarian immigrants who moved to America from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The immigrants came en masse prior to the turn of the twentieth century (starting around 1880) seeking opportunity. The Hunkies' image was a departure from Hungarian prestige that peaked around Lajos Kossuth's visit in 1851–1852, aka Triumphal Tour. [3]
The overwhelming majority of these economic immigrants (initially 85%, later 65%) consisted of young working age men. Originally they planned to spend only a few years in America, and then return to Hungary with enough capital to transform themselves into independent farmers or self-employed artisans. This was precisely the reason why, instead of moving into agriculture in line with their traditions, they went to work in the coal mines and steel mills. Only in heavy industry did they have a chance to collect enough money to be able to fulfill their goals back in the Old Country. [4]
Slavic immigrants settled in highly industrial areas and shaped the culture of certain towns and cities. Native residents referred to them as hunkies, and in areas of Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia. Many Slavic-Americans do not identify with the term and take offense, whereas others are proud of their heritage and the culture their immigrant ancestors created and do not consider the term offensive.
In 1990, artist Luis Jimenez made a 15-foot fiberglass statue and named it "Hunky – Steel Worker", and the sculpture was chosen to be among the hallmarks of that year's Three Rivers Arts Festival in Pittsburgh. The title was protested, saying the word "Hunky" was a slur, and the protest was joined by local politicians. Jimenez said the title was meant to honor the history of low-wage laborers in Western Pennsylvania, but gave his approval to have the word "Hunky" sandblasted off, so the title became simply "Steel Worker". [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]
In 2009, Hunky Blues – The American Dream, a film by Péter Forgács, premiered at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and National Gallery, Washington, D.C. [10] Forgács, a Hungarian filmmaker, composed the poetic documentary exploring the fate of the hundreds of thousands of Hungarian men and women who immigrated to the United States between 1890 and 1921. Forgács constructed the film from segments of early American cinema, found footage, photographs, and interviews. The film considers difficult moments of arrival, integration and assimilation, and the pursuit of the immigrants and their descendants toward achieving the American Dream.
The history of Pittsburgh began with centuries of Native American civilization in the modern Pittsburgh region, known as Jaödeogë’ in the Seneca language. Eventually, European explorers encountered the strategic confluence where the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers meet to form the Ohio, which leads to the Mississippi River. The area became a battleground when France and Great Britain fought for control in the 1750s. When the British were victorious, the French ceded control of territories east of the Mississippi.
The United States Steel Corporation is an American steel company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with production facilities in the U.S. and Central Europe.
Lajos Kossuth de Udvard et Kossuthfalva was a Hungarian nobleman, lawyer, journalist, politician, statesman and governor-president of the Kingdom of Hungary during the revolution of 1848–1849.
Honky is a racial slur used to refer to white people, predominantly heard in the United States. The first recorded use of "honky" in this context may date back to 1946.
The Pennsylvania Dutch Country, or Pennsylvania Dutchland, is a region of German Pennsylvania spanning the Delaware Valley and South Central and Northeastern regions of Pennsylvania.
The Lattimer massacre was the killing of at least 19 unarmed striking immigrant anthracite miners by a Luzerne County sheriff's posse at the Lattimer mine near Hazleton, Pennsylvania, on September 10, 1897. The miners were mostly of Polish, Slovak, Lithuanian and German ethnicities. Scores more miners were wounded in the attack by the posse. The massacre was a turning point in the history of the United Mine Workers (UMW).
Magyarization, after "Magyar"—the Hungarian autonym—was an assimilation or acculturation process by which non-Hungarian nationals living in the Kingdom of Hungary, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, adopted the Hungarian national identity and language in the period between the Compromise of 1867 and Austria-Hungary's dissolution in 1918. Magyarization occurred both voluntarily and as a result of social pressure, and was mandated in certain respects by specific government policies.
Joe Magarac is a pseudo-legendary American folk hero. He is presented to readers as having been the protagonist of tales of oral folklore told by steelworkers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which later spread throughout the industrial areas of the Midwestern United States, sometimes referred to as the Rust Belt.
Pocahontas Coalfield, which is also known as the Flat Top-Pocahontas Coalfield, is located in Mercer County/McDowell County, West Virginia and Tazewell County, Virginia. The earliest mining of coal in the coalfield was in Pocahontas, Virginia in 1883 at Pocahontas Mine No. 1, now on the National Register of Historic Places.
Pittsburgh is a 1942 American drama film directed by Lewis Seiler and starring Marlene Dietrich, Randolph Scott, and John Wayne. Based on a story by George Owen and Tom Reed, the film is about an ambitious coal miner who values wealth and power in the Pittsburgh steel industry over his friends, lovers, and ideals, only to find himself deserted and alone at the top. When his fortune crumbles around him, he discovers that fate offers him an unexpected second chance. Filmed partially on location in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the film co-stars Shemp Howard of Three Stooges fame in a rare dramatic role. Dietrich, Scott, and Wayne also made The Spoilers together that same year. Scott received top billing over Wayne in both films despite the fact that Wayne's roles were larger and more important.
Slovak Americans are Americans of Slovak descent. In the 1990 Census, Slovak Americans made up the third-largest portion of Slavic ethnic groups. There are currently about 790,000 people of Slovak descent living in the United States.
The economy of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is diversified, focused on services, medicine, higher education, tourism, banking, corporate headquarters and high technology. Once the center of the American steel industry, and still known as "The Steel City", today the city of Pittsburgh has no steel mills within its limits, though Pittsburgh-based companies such as US Steel, Ampco Pittsburgh and Allegheny Technologies own several working mills in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area.
Rusyn Americans are citizens of the United States of America, with ancestors who were Rusyns, from Carpathian Ruthenia, or neighboring areas of Central Europe. However, some Rusyn Americans, also or instead identify as Ukrainian Americans, Russian Americans, or even Slovak Americans.
The Pittsburgh Agreement was a memorandum of understanding completed on May 31, 1918, between members of Czech and Slovak expatriate communities in the United States. It replaced the Cleveland Agreement of October 22, 1915.
According to the 2012 U.S. Global Leadership Report, 38% of Hungarians approve of U.S. leadership, with 20% disapproving and 42% uncertain, a decrease from 53% approval in 2011. According to a 2018 poll, 68% of Hungarians view the United States favorably.
The Pressed Steel Car strike of 1909, also known as the 1909 McKees Rocks strike, was an American labor strike which lasted from July 13 through September 8. The walkout drew national attention when it climaxed on Sunday August 22 in a bloody battle between strikers, private security agents, and the Pennsylvania State Police. At least 12 people died, and perhaps as many as 26. The strike was the largest and most significant industrial labor dispute in the Pittsburgh area since the famous 1892 Homestead strike and was a precursor to the Great Steel Strike of 1919.
Steven Béla Várdy was McAnulty Distinguished Professor of European History at Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Ágnes Huszár Várdy was a Professor of English and Communications at Robert Morris University. She was also Adjunct Professor of Comparative Literature at Duquesne University. She was an invited member of the International P.E.N. (1985) and a Plenary Member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (2004).
Hungarian Americans are Americans of Hungarian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau has estimated that there are approximately 1.396 million Americans of Hungarian descent as of 2018. The total number of people with ethnic Hungarian background is estimated to be around 4 million. The largest concentration is in the Greater Cleveland Metropolitan Area in Northeast Ohio. At one time, the presence of Hungarians within Cleveland proper was so great that the city was known as the "American Debrecen," with one of the highest concentrations of Hungarians in the world.
Yugoslav Canadians are Canadians of full or partial Yugoslav ancestry. At the 2016 Census, the total number of Canadians whose origins lie in former Yugoslavia, majority of whom indicated specific ethnic origin, was 386,340 or 1.12% of the total population.