What is Italian American Heritage Month?
October is National Italian Heritage and Culture Month. Curated to salute the Italian-American community and to show appreciation for their culture and heritage which has immensely enhanced the lives of the people of the United States as well as globally. Therefore, it would only be proper to observe October as Italian Culture and Heritage Month.
Recent Progress
Italian Heritage and Culture Month was recognized on January 1, 2022, as a celebratory occasion, but only in Ohio.
On October 11, 2022, U.S. Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) worked on resolving this issue with the U.S. House of Representatives. This lead will help urge those in the U.S. to honor Italian American Heritage and Culture and recognize the contributions Italians have made to the U.S. “Italian immigrants who journeyed to America, and the generations of their families since, are a perfect example of what makes the United States the greatest country in the world. Very few Italian immigrants lived luxurious lives, but they never complained in their pursuit of the American dream. And if you take one look around, it’s an understatement to say that Italian Americans have succeeded in achieving a better life and making both America and our great state even better places to live,” said U.S. Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5)
And the question is: Why has it not been solidified and recognized everywhere? This is something I wonder about every day.
What Happened When Italians Immigrated to America?
Between 1820-2000, over 5 million Italians came to America due to the poverty in Sicily and Southern Italy. And unfortunately, a lot of us had to change our last name to make us seem “less-Italian”. This was a result of the amount of severe prejudice and nativist hostility Americans felt during the Italian Immigration.
Italians have made a huge contribution to the U.S. especially regarding art, humanities, and sciences. And today make up the nations fifth-largest ethic group.
Since then, we have tried to create a bigger audience, acceptance, and awareness of the efforts Italian Americans have done over the last century and a half, however, it won’t happen without your help!
All cultures deserve to be celebrated and have their stories told, recognized and appreciated. Most states in America do not recognize October as Italian-American Heritage and Culture Month and with your help spreading awareness, we have a chance in gaining acceptance and recognition globally.
How to Observe:
A great way observe Italian American Heritage and Culture is by using #ItalianAmericanHeritageAndCulture or #ItalianAmericanHeritageMonth on social media.
Sources
- House Approves Bill Recognizing Italian Heritage Day [BILLTRACK50]
- Gottheimer Celebrates Italian American Heritage Month [Josh Gottheimer]
- Immigration and Relocation in U.S. History : Under Attack [Library of Congress]
- Italian American Heritage Month [National Day Calendar]
- Italian American Flag [Wikipedia]
- Josh Gettheimer [Wikipedia], Flickr
- Italian American Immigration [Wikipedia]
