Italian American stereotypes are damaging

[This letter was published in the Chicago Sun-Times on 13 October] The selection of actor Chazz Palminteri (right) as a grand marshal in this year’s annual Columbus Day Parade is a sobering reflection of how the Italian American media image has deteriorated over the...

Columbus Should be a Hero for a Mayor

[This essay was published in the NY Daily News on Columbus Day October 13, 2025] In New York City’s volatile 2025 mayoral election, Columbus Day has become a visceral hot-button issue. Though people of Italian ancestry comprise more than 8% of Gotham’s population,...

It’s Not About Us.

President’s Trump’s proclamation for Columbus Day 2025 makes no mention of Indigenous peoples and only a sentence honoring Italian Americans.  That’s about the right mix. Columbus Day was and always should be about 1492 and the man who bet his life on sailing...

Stereotypes Need Not Apply.

I had never heard the name of novelist Rachel Linden (right) until I recently read an article in, of all places, PEOPLE magazine (specifically, their on-line version). I didn’t pull it up. It had to be fate. It appeared out-of-nowhere on my cellphone. The reason...

A Jewish Homeland

Last Friday some 400,000 Italians took to the streets in support of the Palestinians in war-torn Gaza.  Even though a resolution of the horrific carnage may be in the offing many Italians were riled up by Israelis stopping a flotilla of private yachts heading there...

Caught in the Middle

President Trump is relying on two Italian Americans this week, one in science and the other in law. Dr. Andrea Baccarelli The big news item this week is about the safety of acetaminophen (aka Tylenol) taken during pregnancy for pain and fever.  Trump’s team, led by...