On March 14, 1891, 11 Italians were lynched by an organized mob set on their own form of justice. Thousands of mob members stormed the Orleans Parish Prison, where these innocent men were held, broke in and savagely killed and hanged the men, setting off a national and then an international scandal.  

This set back Italy-U.S. relations, but, more significantly for those Italian immigrants as well as naturalized Italians in America, the bias and vitriol deeply wounded the Italian-American fabric for many years. On March 14, 1891, 11 Italians were lynched by an organized mob set on their own form of justice. Thousands of mob members stormed the Orleans Parish Prison, where these innocent men were held, broke in and savagely killed and hanged the men, setting off a national and then an international scandal.

This set back Italy-U.S. relations, but, more significantly for those Italian immigrants as well as naturalized Italians in America, the bias and vitriol deeply wounded the Italian-American fabric for many years.

Successful in helping heal that wound, the Commission for Social Justice—the anti-defamation arm of the Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America (www.osia.org)—engaged the current New Orleans Mayor for an official Proclamation of Apology, which was offered at a recent April 12, 2019, ceremony in New Orleans.

The Commission for Social Justice has started a fundraising drive to create a memorial for these Italian Americans. This fund drive is to support our efforts to engage a prominent artisan to create and deliver a striking memorial statue, to be erected in a prestigious location in New Orleans, with excess funds to educate fairness, acceptance and respect for all people.

The statue will serve not only as a memorial of those who were killed, but also as recognition of the prejudice that Italian Americans suffered upon immigrating to the United States.

Please join in and help. It WILL make a difference. Click here to be part of this amazing project!