In October 1989, President George H. W. Bush issued a proclamation urging that in the month of October, all Americans celebrate “the rich ethnic heritage of Italian Americans and the many contributions they have made to American culture.”
Since then, it has been gratifying to see Italian American communities across our nation celebrating the accomplishments of so many Italian Americans and their contributions to America in nearly every field.
October has also been an occasion to celebrate the enduring ties between the United States and Italy. Regardless of the political leadership in Washington or in Rome, we share the same values of freedom. As President Joe Biden reminded us in his 2023 Columbus Day Proclamation, “We are all created equal, endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights, and we deserve to be treated equally throughout our lives.”
As we celebrate the success stories of our predecessors, we cannot forget the discrimination they endured when in the 1880s the first large surge of Italians began arriving on our “Golden Shores.” In the 1890s alone, more than 20 Italians were lynched, not because they were convicted of any crime, but because of the heated voices of those opposed to having Italians in their midst. Anti-immigrant societies sprang up across the country; the Ku Klux Klan saw a spike in membership and hooded members marched down Pennsylvania Avenue to protest against Catholics, Blacks, Jews, Italians, and all immigrants. Catholic churches and charities were vandalized and burned, and Italians were attacked by mobs.
It’s important to remember these stories. They offer a broader perspective, especially during this election year when political expediency has thrown immigrants into the center of a firestorm.
As a former counsel in the Department of Justice for more than forty years, as a professor of immigration law for twenty years, and as an immigrant myself, I am perturbed by current developments. They have an eerie resemblance to the anti-immigrant hysteria of the early 1920s, when Congress enacted quota laws that effectively shut off Italian immigration until the 1965 reforms. It is true, that notwithstanding the suffering and sacrifices that Italian immigrants endured, they eventually became a quiet success story in their quest for the American dream.
But if we are true to our core values, we should now ensure that no migrants, no ethnic group, should ever be made to endure what our ancestors did. It’s a history lesson we all should have learned.
Editorial by Francesco Isgro in Voce Italiana October 2024
