L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2015 www.italoamericano.org L'Italo-Americano 5 Immigrants stories shared by Professor Vincent J. Cannato G rowing up in the suburbs of New York City among a big Italian-American community, Professor Vincent J. C a n n a t o h a s r e s p e c t f o r h i s Italian origins. "My grandfather was born in Sicily and grew up in Calabria and came to America when he was 17. My grandmoth- er was born on Elizabeth Street in New York City's Little Italy," Cannato writes during our email i n t e r v i e w . C a n n a t o i s h a l f - Italian, as well as his wife and children. "Italian-American cul- ture– the food, the music, the general attitude toward life– is something that is an important p a r t o f w h o I a m , " C a n n a t o writes. With a PhD in History from Columbia University, Cannato is Associate Professor of History at the University of Massachusetts, B o s t o n . B e s i d e t e a c h i n g , h e writes. Author of "American Passage: The History of Ellis I s l a n d , " " T h e U n g o v e r n a b l e C i t y : J o h n L i n d s a y a n d h i s Struggle to Save New York," C a n n a t o i s a l s o c o - e d i t o r o f "Living in the Eighties." Referring to his latest book, "American Passage: The History of Ellis Island," Cannato writes it was nice for him getting in touch, during his researches, with people who had connec- tions with the immigration expe- rience of that time. "The stories that I told were just a small sam- p l i n g o f t h e m a n y s t o r i e s o f immigrant experiences there," Cannato writes. "My book was an attempt to draw a larger pic- ture about why Ellis Island was created and what happened on the island." Not to forget is his contribu- tion to newspapers, such as The N e w Y o r k T i m e s , T h e W a l l Street Journal, The Washington Post and more. It was a recent article "How America became Italian" pub- lished in The Washington Post that caught our attention and curiosity in interviewing him. Q: L'Italo-Americano is the oldest ethnic newspaper in the U . S t h a t f o c u s e s o n t e l l i n g Italian-American stories since 1908. How much do you think is this contribution important to the American society? A: Newspapers like L'Italo- Americano do a great service by celebrating the contributions of Italian Americans to American culture. It is a constant reminder today that America has been built by people of all different backgrounds. I am glad to see that L'Italo- Americano has been doing this work for over 100 years and hope that it continues its mission for many years to come. During your interview you say "Americans are once again concerned about the number of new immigrants and their a b i l i t y t o a s s i m i l a t e . " F o r more than 25 years Italy and now Europe are living a diffi- cult situation that is referred by some as a humanitarian emergency and from others as a problem that needs to be turned down with walls and barbed wires. Do you think t h a t I t a l y a n d E u r o p e a r e ready to have the "transfor- mation" that characterizes the American society? Europe has had a much more difficult time assimilating new- comers into their culture. I don't think they can have the transfor- m a t i o n s u c h a s i n A m e r i c a n society because they are not American society. They are not built on the same model and his- t o r y a s t h e U . S , w h i c h h a s helped it absorb generations of i m m i g r a n t s . E c o n o m i c a l l y , Europe is having problems and p r o b a b l y c a n ' t s u s t a i n l a r g e numbers of refugees. Between the migration crisis and the eco- nomic crisis, the whole experi- ment with the EU is probably on shaky ground. America certainly has issues relating to immigra- tion, but I don't envy the situa- tion of European, and I don't t h i n k i t i s a p r o b l e m t h a t i s going away any time soon. What improvements do you wish to see in regard to the p r e s e n t A m e r i c a n Immigration policy? No matter what Americans think about immigration, nearly everyone believes that the cur- rent system needs to be fixed. I would like to see a number of things: increased border security that would limit the number of illegal immigrants; a path to legalization for those who are already here illegally; a better system of keeping track of those with temporary visas; and prob- ably a slight shift away from family reunification in favor of more visas for skilled immi- grants. R e f e r r i n g t o w h a t y o u wrote about Italian-Americans "lively ethnic community that helped shape mainstream cul- ture." What do you believe is the contribution of the Italian- American community to the American society? As with other groups, Italian Americans are very diverse in t h e i r c o n t r i b u t i o n s t o m a n y facets of American lif. Supreme court Justices, doctors, profes- sors, businessmen, but there are some things that are unique to I t a l i a n A m e r i c a n s . F o o d , o f course, is the most obvious. Classic "red-sauce" Italian food is really an Italian American i n v e n t i o n . P i z z a i s a n o t h e r Italian food item that has come t o b e i d e n t i f i e d a s u n i q u e l y American, as American put their own twist on pizza that would shock your average Neapolitan pizza maker. The Little Italys around the nation are practically gone. Today, they mainly stand as touristy places. At the end, we live in a fluid, global, multira- cial society. Still, they played an important role in the histo- ry of Italian assimilation, also carrying stereotypes that were often associated with Italians and sometimes used unfairly. How do you feel about the role they played compared to the one they have now? Little Italys were a victim of success. As Italians-Americans prospered, they moved out of the old ethnic ghettos and into nicer neighborhoods, many eventually landing in the American sub- urbs. That was a positive sign of I t a l i a n s u c c e s s . B u t a s t h e y moved out of the old neighbor- hoods, there were not new immi- grants to take over the old neigh- borhoods. However, there are still "Little Italys" that have retained some Italian presence, like Boston's north end or Arthur Avenue in the Bronx. In moving out of the old urban ghettos, h o w e v e r , I t a l i a n A m e r i c a n s were able to move to the suburbs and mix with other groups and i n d o i n g s o h e l p e d t o b r e a k down many of the stereotypes that had plagued them. They became "Americans" but they also influenced what people thought was American. Italian Heritage month is almost over and this is Italian Language Week around the world. Italian is the sixth/sev- enth most spoken language in t h e U . S . D o y o u t h i n k i t i s more important for Italian- Americans, that had Italian grandparents, great-grand- parents, to discover their ori- gins again, or for an American t o k n o w a n d r e s p e c t t h e Italian contribution? I think they are both impor- tant. It is important for everyone t o k n o w t h e i r h e r i t a g e a n d understand where they come f r o m a n d i t i s i m p o r t a n t f o r Americans to understand the c o n t r i b u t i o n s o f I t a l i a - A m e r i c a n s – a n d a l l o t h e r groups. Of course, as genera- tions continue and intermarriage h a p p e n s , t h e i d e a o f b e i n g "Italian American" changes. D o y o u b e l i e v e t h e American Dream still exists? If so, are there any differences from what it used to be? We live in an era where there i s g r o w i n g p e s s i m i s m a n d a sense that America is in a state o f d e c l i n e . I t h i n k t h e r e a r e some serious issues facing this country, but I still believe that the American dream exists. It's a b i g p a r t o f w h a t s t i l l d r i v e s immigrants to this country: the idea that life will be better for your children than it is for you. I hope that this country continues to provide economic opportuni- ties for all of its citizens and continues to grow and prosper. There are challenges to be sure, but I think the opportunities are still there. "The stories that I told were just a small sampling of the many stories of immigrant experiences there" Professor Vincent J. Cannato NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS LAVINIA PISANI

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