What??? Italian American Civil Rights?

Author

Frank Lorenzo, IAOVC Executive Vice President

When most people hear the words – civil rights - the very last group that comes to mind is Italian Americans.  Most people see us as an example of an ethnic group that made a very successful assimilation into American society.  It is true that we have made great strides since our ancestors first arrived on these shores, but this is only because we had advocates in our community that fought hard for our civil rights.  We cannot forget that our ancestors were met with great hostility when it came to employment, housing, education and almost every other area.  Many times, these hostilities were acts of violence such as lynchings.  We can never forget the largest mass lynching in the United States occurred in New Orleans where 11 innocent Italian American men were lynched for a crime they didn't commit.  This does not include many others who also perished on that same day, as well as many other lynchings in other cities.

The Right to Celebrate Our Heritage
Today, we have a different kind of civil rights battle occurring right before our eyes.  It is a civil rights battle for the right to celebrate our heritage without undue interference from radical government officials.  This is a right every other ethnic group in America has except us.  We are either free or we are not, we have equality, or we don't, we either have civil rights or live in a dictatorship.

There is no such thing as being a little free, no such thing as being a little equal. But that is where we stand today.  We see evidence of this all over the country, from California to Massachusetts, and even New York! Governors, Mayors, City Councils and school districts are using government power to strip our civil rights. Renaming Columbus Day to another ethnic holiday or any other holiday is institutional discrimination and we need to put an end to this antidiverse movement.  These politicians are acting under the color of law to target our culture and heritage and it's about time we start fighting for our civil rights, our right to liberty and our right to be treated equally.

Are We Really Free?
The very definition of liberty according to Oxford is “The state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views”.   If Columbus Day is a celebration of Italian American heritage, and government officials use their power to rename or eliminate it, are we really free?  We have a fundamental liberty interest to celebrate our ethnic culture the way we see fit. The way we have done so for over 100 years. So, I ask you this question again...Do Italian Americans have liberty?  The correct answer is NO!  How can we have liberty if government is dictating what we can and can't celebrate, what we can and can't name the holiday.  This is depriving us of our right to liberty, our right to equality and the only way to stop it is to have a civil rights movement across the country.   But we can only have a movement if our community knows their civil rights.

This is a crucial point you should understand and consider.  How many know that we are a protected class covered under the 14th Amendment equal protection clause?

A Protected Class...
Our research indicates this has been the case since at least the 1980s.  According to several cases, “Italian Americans” are "recognizable" and "distinct," and appear to have been "singled out for different treatment under the laws, as written or applied." Castaneda v. Partida, 430 U.S. 482, 494, 97 S. Ct. 1272, 1280, 51 L. Ed. 2d 498 (1977):
               “Italian Americans share a common ancestry in Italy, a common cultural and religious heritage there and here, and they often still share a common language. They are identifiable, in part, by their characteristic last names.”
            “The court takes judicial notice that Italian Americans are considered in this district to be a recognizable and distinct ethnic group, commonly identified by their last names and by their neighborhoods. These qualities are sufficient to render Italian Americans no less cognizable than the other groups who have already been recognized as cognizable for equal protection purposes.”
            “Italian Americans are also shielded by the equal protection clause's prohibition against discrimination on the basis of ancestry”
                 “It can therefore be confidently concluded that the Court meant ‘cognizable racial groups’ to include a variety of ethnic and ancestral groups subject to intentional discrimination, including Italian Americans.”

Defenders of our Heritage and Civil Rights
The Italian American ONE VOICE Coalition (“IAOVC”) is dedicated to defending and protecting our great Italian American heritage and culture.  But we need more warriors to join with us in our efforts!

Italian American organizations can join as “Organization Members” of the Coalition and individuals can join as “Individual Members.”