Italian-American activists held a rally Wednesday in Columbus Circle urging Mayor Bill de Blasio to restore Columbus Day to the school calendar. "Christopher Columbus is here, he's here to stay," attorney Arthur Idola said. "And on behalf of the lawyers, we are going to do everything that the legal system has to offer to make sure Columbus is not f...

The Italian American One Voice Coalition (“IAOVC”), America’s largest independent Italian American anti-bias organization, is joining with dozens of Italian American organizations at an Italian American Civil Rights press conference to denounce New York City Department of Education’s (“NYC DOE”) elimination of Columbus Day. The event is slated for...

On April 6 the Conference of Presidents of Major Italian American Organizations (COPOMIAO) filed a lawsuit in U.S. Federal District Court against Mayor Jim Kenney and the city of Philadelphia for multiple acts of intentional discrimination against the Italian American community. The most unsettling of which was Mayor Kenney’s unilateral Executive O...

One of the problems that the Italian American community has always had, and the consequences of which it has always paid for, is division, the lack of unity. When I say that Italian Americans are, to all intents and purposes, Italian, even if some of them do not have an Italian passport that officially certifies it, I mean that there is an Italian...

When: Tuesday, April 6th, 2021. Who: Plaintiffs are The Conference Of Presidents Of Major Italian American Organizations, Philadelphia Councilmember Mark F. Squilla, and The 1492 Society. Where: Suit has been filed in the United States District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania  On January 27, 2021, Mayor Kenney by “Executive Order” No. 2-21...

Courage and Conviction: The True Story of Christopher Columbus is a thorough examination of the life and legacy of the fearless discoverer of America. Through expert interviews and archival footage, we look at the origins of Columbus Day and the symbolic role that Columbus has for Catholic immigrants, especially Italian Americans. Finally, the film...

Saturday’s National Italian American Summit Meeting represented the largest gathering of Italian American organizations in the history of our country. An unbelievable 354 organizations joined together in a display of national unity. Our program focused on discussions relating to how we fix a fragmented Italian America, how we reconnect with our youn...

Dear Mayor Kenney, The Conference of Presidents of Major Italian American Organizations is a coalition of the 50 largest and most influential Italian American organizations throughout our country. On behalf of all of our member organizations I write to express our collective shock and indignation concerning your insulting and divisive Executive Ord...

Italian-American activists are demanding that the City University of New York reaffirm its decades-old pledge to give the group preferential treatment in staff recruitment, hiring and promotions. The Italian American Legal Defense and Higher Education Fund is accusing CUNY officials of failing to honor a settlement that treats Italian-Americans as...

The Conference of Presidents of Major Italian American Organizations (hereafter “Conference”) calls for applications for the Carlo Bellini Dissertation Fellowship. The deadline is January 31, 2021, the award will be for academic year 2021-2022. The Fellowship is offered every second year to a doctoral student (e.g., D.M.L.; Ed.D.; Ph.D.) writing a...