L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2021 www.italoamericano.org 6 NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS community's desire to pre- serve Columbus' image and protect Columbus statues, which became a very emo- tional issue in the Italian- A m e r i c a n c o m m u n i t y . I t also helped bring Italian- Americans together because we're very hurt and offend- ed by the way other people have attacked the communi- ty through it. Many don't k n o w a b o u t t h e N e w Orleans lynchings in 1891, when a mob of 5,000 people lynched and shot 11 Italian immigrants in the city of N e w O r l e a n s . I t w a s t h e l a r g e s t m a s s l y n c h i n g i n American history, but you don't see a word about it in any American history books. A n d a f t e r t h a t l y n c h i n g , there were 50 documented lynchings of Italian immi- grants throughout our coun- try. And again, nowhere is that written about in our history books. So we don't want our history to be for- gotten, nor do we want our history to be erased of the Italians, Italian immigrants and Italian-Americans who made great contributions to this country. We want those contributions to be recog- nized. We want the legacy and history of our ancestors to be preserved. I've been v e r y e x c i t e d a n d v e r y enthused by the amount of c o o p e r a t i o n a n d s u p p o r t I ' v e s e e n a m o n g a l l t h e Italian-American organiza- tions to preserve our cul- ture, Columbus Day, and Columbus statues as a sym- bol of our heritage. G o i n g b a c k t o y o u r family and your child- hood days, what's the m o s t i m p o r t a n t t h i n g y o u f e e l y o u r f a m i l y taught you? They taught me that the first thing you need to have is a strong, abiding com- m i t m e n t t o y o u r f a m i l y . I t a l i a n s a n d I t a l i a n - A m e r i c a n s a l w a y s h a d exceptionally strong family bonds, and that's so very i m p o r t a n t i n o u r s o c i e t y today. We need to preserve that, and we need to teach other people its importance i n o u r s o c i e t y . S e c o n d l y , they gave me devotion to the Catholic Faith. Italy is the cradle of the Roman Catholic Church. So Faith is very important to our cul- ture and is intrinsically tied into it. Lastly, they taught me the importance of hav- ing strong work ethic, and that nothing in life comes free. We need to work hard for everything we accom- plish. W h e r e w e r e y o u r grandparents from? All four of my grandpar- ents were born in three little m o u n t a i n - t o p v i l l a g e s i n Sicily, one of them was from L o n g i , w h i c h i s n e a r S a n t ' A g a t a d i M i l i t e l l o . Another is from Caccamo, which is close to Palermo. M y w i f e ' s f a m i l y i s f r o m Abruzzo, both of her parents were from a little town near Pescara. What is your relation- ship with Italy? W e l o v e I t a l y . W e g o there as often as we can. It gives us a connection to our heritage and helps define who we are. We've probably been to Italy 20 times in the last 30 years. The best trip I e v e r h a d w a s t h r e e y e a r s ago. We have four children and 13 grandchildren. Three years ago, we took the four oldest to Sicily and we visit- e d t h e t h r e e l i t t l e t o w n s where my four grandparents w e r e b o r n , s o t h a t t h e y could see their natal homes, the churches they were bap- tized in and they could meet the distant cousins they still h a v e i n t h o s e t o w n s . I t strengthened their ties with their heritage. That was the most important trip that my wife and I took to Italy. And each of those grandchildren was profoundly influenced by the experience they had. Food is part of Italian culture. What is it for you and what memories do you have from your household? Food is the way Italian immigrants express their love to other people. You could not walk in the door of my grandmother's house without her immediately sit- ting you down at the kitchen t a b l e a n d w a l k i n g t o t h e pantry and the refrigerator to see what food she had, so that she could feed you. I so vividly remember her, she was just such a marvelous c o o k . S h e m a d e h e r o w n bread, her own pizza, and her own pasta. My mother's generation and my wife's generation try to emulate, but it seems like they can't make anything just as good, because in those days they didn't use a measuring cup. It was a handful of this, a p i n c h o f t h a t . W h e r e a s today, everybody tries to measure this and measure that… It tastes good, but n e v e r , n e v e r a s g o o d a s w h a t o u r g r a n d p a r e n t s would make. Continued from page 4 A portrait of Basil Russo (Photo by James Douglas)

• Cover