This Week in History: An immodest proposal

Apr 19, 2018 1202

BY: ANTONE PIERUCCI

Every year in October, Americans of Italian ancestry gear up to do battle. It’s part of a decades-long war to ensure the recognition of and respect for the integral role Italian Americans have played in this country. As a proud Italian American, or IA, myself, I can bear witness to the atrocious and dehumanizing stereotyping of my people. We don’t all have family spaghetti recipes, or like cannolis or speak with our hands. We are more than the sum of those stereotypes.

Like most immigrant groups in the United States, we IAs are proud of our heritage. As Natale Marcone, the president of the Italian-American Civil Rights League, once said at a rally in 1971: “Go home, but never forget, be proud to be an Italian all the time!” Like a clarion call, Mr. Marcone’s words rang out through our community. And we’ve never forgotten to be proud of being Italian, ever.

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SOURCE: http://www.lakeconews.com

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