Every now and then our analysts look at the ‘big picture’ to determine if the Italian American community is living up to its potential.
The first thing we realize is that there is no “community.” Sure we have local and national organizations, but by and large the 16 million Americans who identify as Italian on the Census do not share an intellectual understanding of that ethnicity. They know very little of Italian or Italian American history, instead absorbing crumbs of pride when they hear things like ‘Italian’ bread, ‘Italian’ ice, ‘Italian’ restaurants, ‘Italian’ cars, and ‘Italian’ luxury brands. Others add to these commercial sprinklings a pride in mafia movies. Moreover, their surnames clearly remind them of their roots in the Boot but rarely spur them on to anything deeper.
Last year, a late neighbor I knew named Theresa, thought her hum-drum life so interesting that she self-published an autobiography. Until I heard about it, I had no idea she was Italian American—that’s how assimilated she was. Our local library issued a modest press release announcing the book-signing in which Theresa revealed a growing-up-with-the-Mob kicker. Gotta sell those books! No doubt Chazz Palminteri’s A Bronx Tale inspired her. This is what passes for intellect among too many of our paesani.
The myriad organizations who labor to build real pride have tried to ignite an intellectual passion among paesani by awarding scholarships to students, funding student tours to Italy, paying young adults to attend heritage conventions, opening cultural centers and museums, paying millions to reinstate the Advanced Placement Test in Italian Language, defending Columbus Day, marshalling members to plan and march in Columbus Day parades, publicly condemning relentless mafia movies and stereotypes… the list goes on. We live in hope.
Last week, U.S. Congressman Thomas Suozzi (D-NY) issued a press release to announce a bi-partisan bill in the House to create a “commission” to “explore” the “feasibility” of a Museum of Italian Immigration on the Washington Mall. To me, this is a big ‘Nothing Burger.’ If I were on such a commission my first question would be “Why taxpayer money for only Italian immigration?” Picture our modest story beside the Museum of American History, the Museum of African American History, the Museum of the American Indian, the Museum of Natural History, the Air and Space Museum, and the Holocaust Memorial Museum, all now sharing the Mall.
In light of all the budget-cutting now taking place Suozzi should focus on more practical goals like reenergizing Columbus Day or fixing the fountain on the Columbus Monument at Union Station, or lobbying President Trump to issue a formal apology for the 1942 Persecution of Italian Americans. In fact, I just wrote a letter to Rep. Suozzi asking him to lobby the Italian Ambassador to reassert Italian American rights at La Casa Italiana at Columbia University, built and operated by our community for 63 years until Italy bought it and threw us out.
German Chancellor Bismarck (1815-1898) once said of the Italian people: “They have a big appetite but poor teeth.” He was referring to newly reunited Italy getting into the colonial game with the big boys back in the 19th Century. But the comment could apply to us today.
Ever since viewing the movie Cabrini, I’ve marveled at how a determined immigrant nun was able to establish Catholic hospitals and orphanages across the U.S. Our community built one hospital in Manhattan naming it the Italian Hospital from 1937 to 1973. A name like that carries more pride and intellect than ‘Italian’ bread or ‘Italian’ sausage. Imagine an Italian Hospital for Children. Who hasn’t seen TV ads for St. Jude’s and the Shriners Children Hospitals and not been moved by them?
Giving to charities was once a central tenet of Italian American groups, not so much now. And since 100 years of trying to uplift our paesani has made little progress and attracted precious few super-rich patrons, could shifting gears to give the nation a charitable Italian Children’s Hospital arouse a greater sense of pride? Home Depot co-founder Kenneth Langone has donated hundreds of millions of dollars to hospitals. There are plenty of generous super-rich Italian Americans who care nothing for museums.
We need a better path to pride. -JLM
This blog says it all. I can only reply, “thank you.” The spirit of the Medici is long-gone.
As usual, your observations are very accurate. The Congressman is a dyed-in-the-wool old school liberal Democrat who is very concerned about his political fortunes. He beat an indicted and ethically compromised candidate this past year, and it wasn’t by a margin that Democrats expected in a gerrymandered blue district. It would seem that he is trying very hard to use his surname to pander to culturally conservative Italian Americans that have left his party in droves. Of course, promoting an Italian American museum in DC has the patina of a sincere appeal to proud Italian Americans, but, as you point out, that is a small minority of our community. Standing up to fight for Columbus Day pride and restoring Columbus statues would generate a buzz with working class Italian Americans, but that would put him directly at odds with his party’s leadership and platform. Alas, that’s a bridge too far for Mr. Suozzi, so he’ll just say he tried to get a museum.
I am sorry for replying late to this blog but sometimes I don’t get to my email as soon as I should.
It should not matter whether one is a democrat, republican, right or left, liberal or conservative, red or blue. If one promotes the Italian cause and our heritage, we should stand behind them and give our full support and pressure them to get such projects completed. You don’t bite the hand that feeds you. There would be no commemorative statue on Cabrini at Battery Park had it not been for Cuomo’s intervention. Do you honestly think that if a project for black, Hispanic, Jewish or any other politically active ethnic community were proposed, that they would turn their backs on someone who is promoting their ethnicity? “United we stand divided we fall” and it still holds true today!
Giving scholarships to deserving students is a wonderful thing. But, how many of them are really concerned about their Italian heritage. Once they received it, they say grazie e arrivederci! I attended one of these events and the person next to me was Hispanic pretending to be Italian. There must be better ways of promoting Italian heritage.
I have always said that there is no pride in being Italian in America. Pride comes with knowledge of the past. Italian Americans have very little knowledge of their Italian culture and history and how the contribution that Italy has given to the world is intertwined in American culture, history, and government. To awaken the pride of the millions of people claiming Italian genes they must know their past. I believe there are two things that can be done to awaken the Italian pride. As African Americans have done during Black history month showing short film clips of black’s contribution to America, a similar program should be considered for our cause. The second is the study of Italian history and culture starting in elementary and continuing into university levels of education, as well as offering Italian as a choice of languages. La Casa Italiana is a good start.
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Gay Talese once said: “My father (an immigrant to the U.S.) was Italian. I’m Italian-American. My children are American-Italians. And my grandchildren are just Americans.”
Much truth in that for the vast majority of us. We are Americans, period. A small fraction of us will have an interest in our ancestral history and peruse it. The majority will not. That’s just the way it is, not only for our “tribe” but for all immigrant groups.
I have immersed myself in Italian and Italian-American life for more than half a century and it has enriched my existence. A few others, including John Mancini, have aided me in that pursuit. But the majority of Americans do not share my interest. That’s only natural. If I had spent as much time on anything else (music, art, ancient history, etc.) the majority would not care. That, too, is only natural.
So, let’s stop fighting nature.
This really is a complex issue, and among a community there will be a wide range of responses…..or perhaps a bad word in todays political lexicon, “diversity”. In this case the diversity of experiences in the Italian American community, which can range from recent immigrants to generational assimilation of a hundred plus years…..Its hard to realize any common threads, and among the younger generations, add on, trying to deal with the assimilation of stereotypes and old fashion American “nativism”, which ironically many Italian Americans themselves embrace.
One paradox, I have recently been trying to grapple with, is a generational thing…..recently several strong and active Italian Americans who have dedicated a lot of their time and resources to organizations have been passing from the scene. There is a strange reaction to the passing by family members, especially the children( in their 40-60″s), and the intentional lack of continuity.
A prominent Italian American involved in the community dies…and the family in some instances ends their involvement in that part of a loved ones interest. You can see the consequences of that on the health of a community. “It was their thing, and not ours”.
There is not an Italian American organization I am aware of that is not dealing with this phenomenon. When the active member of a community pass on, who is left to be a part of the transfer of knowledge, so this really comes down to a “legacy factor” and how to look to a future that includes an awareness of Italian American Heritage. There is much solid scholarship out there, and in fact we at the San Jose Italian American Heritage Foundation have a large and extensive lending library yet the circulation and interest among the youth, is practically zero……Paradoxically, interest in duel citizenship is extremely high….and actually becomes a back door way of understanding roots and genealogy………Strange times indeed, and I certainly don’t foresee many Italian American studies course being developed.(which would be a healthy first step!!) In any case ,”Evviva la festa di San Giuseppe!”
As i noted this is a complex issue, and a couple of points to add, Many vibrant broad based Italian American Organizations represent all factions , of the list noted in Gay Talese, quoted observations….and I would add a new category, Italophiles who compose a significant component of a heritage Foundation……they are a “by choice group”, either from marriage, studies abroad, and travels to Italy, so the spirit of the Medici’s are not truly long gone, in fact the spirit of the Renaissance was not that high of the list of the contadini class that founded many of the organizations, but certainly is an engaging area for newer members.
The other thing is my concern is about the drying up of volunteerism, truly an American phenomenon, is basically across the board, whether its in the arts, ethnic orgs or even gardening groups. We do not have a problem with attendance at an event so much as finding volunteers to help out. Labor cost are just too prohibitive to use much. We get pretty creative with school community hours, boy and girl scouts, and all, but the concern is the need for competent volunteers in non profit group. Perhaps with the media revolution and now AI…..a more passive population is being created , combined with the complexities of just tryin to earn a living, which is basically contributing to this drying up of a vibrant and engaged volunteer pool. We are living in a changing time for community and in many ways transcends just ethnic orgs. or their agendas