The Italian Tribe

de Corti, of the Italian tribe Before it was condemned as ‘cultural appropriation” non-White movie roles were played by Euro-Americans.  For Indigenous Americans one of the most egregious appropriations was Chief Iron Eyes Cody, the iconic face of the...

Muzzled Voices

Last week, our suburban newspaper Newsday published an op-ed by former congressman Steve Israel recounting how Albert Einstein wrote President Franklin Roosevelt in 1939 warning him that Nazi Germany was pursuing an atomic bomb.  The op-ed cited work by Jewish...

Hidden in Plain Sight

Zorro: Armand Catalano I was reminded the other day of the Disney TV series Zorro (1957-1959, 1960-1961) starring Guy Williams.  What a handsome fellow!  Zorro means “fox” in Spanish (volpe in Italian).  He played a fictional character, a Hispanic version of Robin...

History in a Song

You have probably heard Italy’s national anthem but know little about its lyrics.  Like our Star Spangled Banner, it was adopted from a poem written in wartime.  But unlike our anthem, il Canto degli Italiani, tells the story of Italy – from its Roman foundation to...