Beyond a need for statues

In 1892, to commemorate the quatercentenary of the Columbus voyage, statues to him were erected in Italian communities across the country. In New Haven, a beautiful rendering of a young Columbus had until recently graced a corner of the park in Wooster Square since then.

I grew up just a few blocks from that place and was very pleased to gaze upon it on a regular basis. I also knew that my community there, in that Italian enclave, took great pride in knowing that we could claim someone as important as Columbus as one of our own. All of this is very understandable because as immigrants to a new land, you need to carve out a place for yourself, you need to figure out who you will become, and you also need to find a way to keep some of your identity as you transition into the American culture. And until that happens, you look outside for inspiration.

For us, as Italian Americans, I think we managed to do that quite well. We have managed to find a way to be proud Americans and proud also of our ethnic and cultural traditions. Many of our holiday celebrations have become part of the mainstream; think of the Feast of the Seven Fishes on Christmas Eve and how widespread that has become. And our contributions to the culinary canon is legend.

Why haven’t we as a community figured out how to celebrate the rich legacy that was developed through hard work and perseverance over the past 150 years of our time here in this great country? Why aren’t we looking at all of the examples of our own exploits in every field of endeavor that are a source of pride? And why aren’t we promoting those accomplishments as examples of our ability to have influenced the American culture through our food traditions and our contributions in every area? Even though we have contributed so much, we haven’t been able to translate it into a sense of pride in who we are.

Yes, I understand the emotional connection to the old ways and paying homage to our ancestors and the choices they made over 100 years ago, but at some point, we need to understand that if we are to continue to identify as Italian Americans, we will need to find our own identity. No one likes to have something taken from them; it always makes the loss seem more personal. But we should view this as an opportunity to re-emerge as a fully formed version of the modern Italian American.

I want to challenge my community of Italian Americans to come together to re-identify ourselves as proud inheritors of a rich and important cultural tradition. We need to call attention to everything that we have contributed to this country and the world. Not just the people and what they have accomplished, but more importantly, the values that we hold dear; love of family, hard work, church, and a joy for life. I want to move on to a new place for us, a place where we can continue to remember the past and the tribulations that our parents and grandparents endured, but also a place where we can all celebrate who we are now.