Stereotype: Most Italian Americans have a Mafia connection and Italian Americans are ignorant and uneducated
Description of group targeted by stereotypes
An Italian American is an American of Italian descent either born in America or someone who has immigrated. According to data from the 2000 Census, Italian Americans account for 5.6 percent of the population, and are the fifth largest ethnic group in the United States. According to A Profile of Today's Italian Americans, a report based on the Year 2000 census, Italian Americans are the only European group whose population has increased since the 1990 census. Italian is the fourth European language spoken in U.S. homes. The vast majority (88%) live in or near a big city, have small families (one child), low divorce rates (8%), and white collar jobs (66%).
Location
New York City and Chicago are well known for having concentrations of Italian Americans in the United States. This is not surprising, since new immigrants tended to settle in urban areas. According to nationmaster.com, here is a list of locations known for their concentration of Italian Americans:
Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York; Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, New York; Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, New York; Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, New York; Mulberry Street, Manhattan (New York's Little Italy); Pleasant Avenue, East Harlem, Manhattan, New York; Arthur Avenue, Bronx, New York; Morris Park, Bronx, New York; Pelham Bay, Bronx, New York; Throgs Neck, Bronx, New York; Astoria, Queens, New York; Ozone Park, Queens, New York; Whitestone, Queens, New York; Seventh Avenue, Newark, formerly known to as "the First Ward"; Silver Lake section, Belleville, New Jersey; South Philadelphia in Philadelphia; Bloomfield, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Uptown, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; South Hills, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Melrose Park, Illinois; Federal Hill, Providence, Rhode Island; North Beach, San Francisco, California; The North End in Boston, Massachusetts; Little Italy in Baltimore, Maryland; Little Italy in San Diego, California; Little Italy in Syracuse, New York; Little Italy in Chicago, Illinois; Little Italy in Cleveland, Ohio; Armour Square, Chicago, Illinois; Greater New Haven, Connecticut; Rhode Island (which claims to have the most Italian-American residents of any state); East Utica in Utica, NY; Medford, Massachusetts; Revere, Massachusetts; East Boston in Boston, Massachusetts; and East Cambridge in Cambridge, Massachusetts
By the 1930s Italian Americans had taken positions of leadership as mayors in cities such as New York, San Francisco, and New Orleans.
History
Italians arrived early to the New World, beginning with Christopher Columbus in 1492, and continued with early explorers John Cabot, Giovanni da Verrazano and Amerigo Vespucci. The period of mass migration to the United States from Italy fell between 1880 and 1922, and is often referred to as "The Great Migration". Most (60%) came in the first fifteen years of the twentieth century. They came heavily from the south, the area known as the Mezzogiorno (Alba & Abdel-Hady, 2005). According to the Order Sons of Italy in America, many Italians immigrated to the United States because the work was plentiful and land was cheap. They left Italy in search of opportunities denied them in Italy. The exodus from the Mezzogiorno is understandable because noble families owned half of all the farmland. Millions of peasants were sharecroppers who had trouble finding work for more than half of the year because of the carelessness about farming and productivity of the noble landowners. Even when they did find work, peasants had to give up to half of their crops to landowners. In addition, the poor were taxed, had their sons drafted into the Italian military, and malnutrition, infant mortality and inferior medical care were the norm. "In 1923, the United States restricted immigration of southern and eastern Europeans, but by then more than 3 million Italians had become permanent U.S. residents"(Order Sons).
Between 1820 and 1978, 5.3 million Italians immigrated to the United States, including over two million in the years 1900-1910 alone (although about one-fourth of all Italian immigrants did not settle permanently in America and eventually returned to Italy). Only the Irish and Germans immigrated in larger numbers, according to Nationmaster Online Encylopedia. According to Order Sons, "The exodus of Italians from their villages more than a century ago has no parallel in history. Out of a population of 14 million southern Italians, an estimated five million left by the outbreak of World War I. It is the largest recorded exodus of a single ethnic group in history."
Founded in 1996, the American Italian Historical Association (AIHA) is an interdisciplinary association to promote understanding of the Italian experience in America.
Economics
The Mezzogiorno, the area from which most immigrants came to the U.S., was less economically developed than other parts of Italy, and the great majority of immigrants came without skills relevant to the industrial economy. This first generation of immigrants, because of this, entered the labor markets of U.S. cities on the bottom rungs (Alba & Adbel-Hady, 2005).
According to Foner, second generation Italian Americans were raised by parents whose ideas about formal education were formed in their homeland. These ideas included cultural values encouraging family loyalty over educational advance. Children, seen as economic resourses, were often taught at home. Often, a first child, who went to school just through the elementary level, was then expected to get a job, to help provide for the younger children in the family to go to school. As a result, second generation Italian Americans of working class parents made little use of the opportunities for social and economic mobility available in the American school system. Instead, especially in the 1930s and 40s, Italian children had high truancy rates and were widely regarded as problem students (Covello, 1972).
After World War II, Italian Americans of the third generation began to enter the mainstream in larger numbers. There was an increased parity of their socioeconomic life chances with those of other white Americans. Italian Americans born in the United States after 1950 may even have slightly higher upward mobility because of the high concentration of their population in high-income, high-education states such as New York (Alba, 1995). With this socioeconomic change, came new patterns of internal migration. Italian Americans were leaving their urban ethic neighborhoods, so common in all cities where numerous Italians had settled, for ethnically mixed suburban settings (Alba, Logan, & Crowder, 1997). As a result of this, intermarriage outside the ethnic group became more common.
Politics and Leadership
There are several important political organizations who advocate for Italian Americans, and for issues involving this group. These groups provide leadership in the Italian American community. Individual leaders from this community are involved in all walks of life in our society. list of prominent Italian Americans appears on the nationmaster website. Lists of current Italian "newsmakers" are available on the OSIA website.
The National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) is the major advocate in Washington, D.C. for Italian Americans. Its mission is to preserve and protect Italian American heritage and culture. Through its many programs, the NIAF:
- Helps young Italian Americans with their educations and careers
- Works closely with Congress and the White House to promote the appointment of Italian Americans in government
- Encourages the teaching of Italian language and culture in U.S. schools
- Monitors the portrayal of Italian Americans by the news and entertainments industries
- Strengthens cultural and economic ties between Italy and the U.S.
The Commission for Social Justice (CSJ) is the anti-defamation arm of the Order Sons of Italy in America (OSIA), the biggest and oldest national organization for men and women of Italian descent in the United States.
- The CSJ was founded in 1979 to fight the stereotyping of Italian Americans by the entertainment, advertising and news industries. It also collaborates with other groups to ensure that people of all races, religions and cultures are treated with dignity and respect.
- The CSJ monitors the entertainment, advertising and news industries, contacts offending parties by letter and/or telephone and alerts other Italian American organizations, e-mail networks and concerned individuals to the problem so that they too can take action.
- Through its Positive Image Program, the CSJ regularly informs the media and general public about Italian American achievements, contributions, history and culture.
- As part of its Positive Image Program, the CSJ conducts research, produces studies, teaching tools, pamphlets, exhibits and other materials on the achievements and contributions of Italian Americans.
- The CSJ conducts campaigns at both the community and the national level that support cultural and social issues of importance to Italian Americans. (Legislation, commemorative stamps, Columbus Day/Heritage Month, etc.)
- To achieve its objectives, the CSJ engages in community and government relations as well as in grassroots campaigns and fund-raising efforts. However, given its non-profit status, the CSJ cannot offer legal advice or assistance in lawsuits.
The American Italian Defense Association (AIDA) is an Illinois not-for-profit corporation with 501(c)(3) status under the Internal Revenue Code. AIDA was organized for the purposes of educating the public regarding the contributions of Italian Americans to our society and to oppose by lawful means all forms of negative stereotyping and defamation of Italian Americans.
The New York State Commission for Social Justice (CSJ), Order Sons of Italy in America (OSIA) is designed specifically to engage in the work of combating defamation of Italians and Italian Americans and other groups. Its two primary goals are:
- To fight bias, bigotry, and defamation of Italians and Italian Americans as well as other groups.
- To promote a positive image of Italians and Americans of Italian descent through our programs, our positive image materials such as posters, pamphlets, bookcovers, bookmarks, etc., and our first video-documentary entitled “Italian American Recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor,�? a TELLY Award Winner.
“Common�? stereotypes about Italian Americans
Most agree that Italian Americans are well integrated into America's social structure today, and many textbooks suggest that they are a perfect example of "Melting Pot Assimilation". Interestingly, over 16,000,000 people self-identified as Italian Americans in the last two Censuses. Italian Americans do not comprise a "monolithic, cohesive group, but are members of disparate collectivities". Although this group may be difficult to study or categorize as an ethic group, they are united by shared images in the minds of people about who "they" are (Krase, 2004). Despite their record of achievement in countless fields, Italian Americans have been stereotyped by the media almost exclusively as either gangsters, or losers, or both (OSIA).
Just this evening (7/21/05), during an hour of television, I have seen one TV commercial stereotyping young Italian women, and an ethnic slur about the dishonesty of Italians during the sitcom Will & Grace. Doing this research has raised my awareness of these somewhat subtle stereotypes protrayed in our culture. Today in the United States, there are many common stereotypes about Italian Americans. Among these are:
Italian Americans are overly interested in food.
Italian Americans are clannish.
Italian Americans are great singers.
Italian Americans are great shoemakers and barbers.
Italian Americans are hot-tempered and violent.
Italian Americans talk with their hands.
Italian Americans are cowardly in battle.
Italian American women are either elderly, overweight housewives and grandmothers who wear black dresses, housecoats and aprons OR young, sexual temptresses.
In this piece, two of the most common stereotypes will be explored with links to separate pages in CTER:
Most Italian Americans have a Mafia connection
Italian Americans are ignorant and uneducated
Interesting Fact about these stereotypes
These stereotypes, and most of the stereotypes involving Italian Americans, pertain to the descendants of southern Italian immigrants only. While this population does still make up the vast majority of contemporary Italian Americans, the distinction between northern and southern Italians in the U.S. conforms to distinctions made in Italy as well. "Even in the immigration period, this distinction was made by American authorities, who kept separate statistics for 'southern' and 'northern' Italians" (Alba, 2005).
Are stereotypes universal, and what do stereotypes reveal about cultural values?
Are Americans unique in their practice of stereotyping individuals and groups based upon their cultural, ethnic or religious background? I began to think about this as I was researching this piece. As I thought more about this, I remembered one of the culture courses I had taken last summer in Dijon, France at the Centre International d'Etudes Francaises. The course was called "francais familier" and dealt with familiar French, or "argot" (slang), as spoken today in France, and was taught in French by Jean Luc Allexant. There was little in this course I had ever seen in a textbook, and I learned a lot about contemporary French culture and mindset. The very fact that the slang of nationalities can be taught at a French university by a professor, shows that the concept of political correctness that we have in the U.S. is largely absent in France. Much of what was taught in the course would be seen as offensive in the current political climate in the U.S. The other thing that is interesting, is that the types of names given to groups by the French, reveal their own cultural values. Two notable slang names for other European nationalities used by the French include, the British (les Rosbifs) or "the roastbeefs", and the Italians (les Macaronis), no explanation necessary. These slang terms do more than stereotype other ethnic groups. They reveal to us the cultural importance of food of the French themselves. I noted recently that when Paris lost the bid for the Olympics to London, that Jacques Chirac, and other leaders were quoted as remarking about the British needing to get their cooking improved in order to hold the games, and that fortunately, they had a good bit of time to do so.
Looking back over lists of stereotypes provided to us, I realized that they reveal much about our own American culture and perspective, not just the group being targeted by the stereotype. While the existence of stereotypes may be universal, they are seen through the lens of the culture coining the stereotype, and provide a measurement of comparison with the idealized mainstream culture.
Why do we use stereotypes anyway? Dr. D’Agostino Mautner shared her experiences as director of research for the American Italian Defense Association (AIDA). Dr. Mautner explained that we use them to make our minds more efficient and to categorize, so that we can conserve our mental resources. The problem arises, however, when we use false negative information to categorize or stereotype a group of individuals.
Important considerations for American educators
Despite the mass assimilation into mainstream culture that Italian Americans have made, more than most groups, Italian Americans are identifiable by distinctive surnames, which mark them socially. Unlike blacks and latinos, who are subject to monitoring because of affirmative-action concerns, Italian Americans are the largest ethnic/racial group that might be subject to exclusion from certain academic privileges, not offered these same protections.
Much has been forgotten about the Italian immigrant being injured or killed in industrial accidents without indemnity, or the crowded tenements, rundown housing, inadequate water and sewage facilities at home, and unsanitary factories and sweatshops at work, for earlier generations. Poor command of English and lack of vocational skills led to both discrimination and unfair wages. Much has been forgotten about how during the "Red scare", from 1919-20, Italian immigrants were illegaly detained or arrested, and at times deported. Forgotten, is the fact that at least 47 Italian Americans were lynched in the South of our country, and were paid less than white AND black workers in the north. Unknown, as well, is that at the beginning of the twentieth century, social scientists proposed that Italians were the 'missing link' between the white and black races (DeSanctis, 2004). Indeed too, much has been forgotten about Italian Americans being sent to camps along with Japanese Americans during World War II, even though they were legal residents.
What does remain, are subtle and not so subtle stereotypes that must be brought out into the open in order to be clearly acknowledged, and understood, and as a result, overcome. Lack of awareness is particulary an issue for groups like Italian Americans, who have overcome many of the hurdles other groups are still struggling with, yet have little or no legal protection. Most of the groups listed in the above sections work to eliminate the damage done by stereotypes.
In addition, unlike many other ethnic groups in the U.S., the cultural history of Italian Americans is largely ignored by our educational system. To give an example, the textbook, A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America by Ronald Takaki is widely used in our schools. It explores the rich cultural diversity of our nation. It devotes chapters to the trials and burdens faced by Americans of Indian, African, Latino, Irish, Jewish and Asian descent. The index reveals only two references to Italian Americans (DeSanctis, 2004). As a result, most Americans, including ethnic Italians, know little about their own cultural heritage.
Information about the history and contributions of Italian Americans must be taught in the schools. According to OSIA, Italian Americans discovered the AIDS virus, founded the FBI, and have fought in every American war since the Revolution, earning at least 24 Medals of Honor. Two men of Italian descent, William Paca and Caesar Rodney, signed the Declaration of Independence. "Today students know all about Al Capone and the Mafia. They know much less about Meyer Lansky, Bugsy Siegal, Legs Diamond, John Dillenger, Col. Luigi Palma di Cesnola, and Charlie Angelo Siringo, who are rarely mentioned. What about Ella Grasso, the first woman elected governor in her own right, or Dr. Catherine DeAngelis, the first woman editor of the Journal of American Medicine, among many others?" Not one single Italian woman made the cut of the sixty-two "Women Who Dared" historic postcards compiled by the Library of Congress - not Maria Montessori, Geraldine Ferraro, or others. The U.S. Postal Service has released more than 150 commemorative stamps and postcards on African-Americans, with only fifteen for Italian Americans, since 1869. Clearly, Italian Americans are the invisible minority - seen only in movies, TV shows and commercials as goons and buffoons (DeSanctis, 2004).
That is the bad news. The good news is that interest in Italian language and culture is booming. According to the Sons of Italy News Bureau from 1998 to 2002, the enrollment in Italian language courses grew by 30%, faster than the enrollment rates for Spanish, French, and German. Italian is the fourth most commonly taught foreign language in U.S. colleges and universities behind Spanish, French, and German. According to the U. S. 2000 Census, Italian (besides English and Spanish) is the fifth (seventh overall) most spoken language in the United States (tied with Vietnamese) with over 1 million speakers.
Educators also should be aware that for Italian heritage students and students of Italian language and cultural studies, there is a good bit of scholarship money available from several sources.
The National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) has an education budget of $1,000,000. The NIAF will award scholarships and grants to outstanding students in the summer for use during the following academic year. The awards will be made on the basis of academic merit and divided between two groups of students.
General Category I: Italian American students who demonstrate outstanding potential and high academic achievements. Area of study: open. General Category II: Those students from any ethnic background majoring or minoring in Italian language, Italian studies, Italian American studies or a related field, who demonstrate outstanding potential and high academic achievements. Scholarship awards range from $2,500-$10,000. Each scholarship award can only cover tuition and university-provided room and board. Scholarship recipients are eligible for one year of scholarship support. Scholarship monies not used during one academic year are not transferable to the following academic year. Scholarship applicants and winners can and are encouraged to reapply in subsequent years.
Scholarships are also granted by the Order Sons of Italy. Through its Sons of Italy Foundation (SIF), and more than 700 state and local chapters, OSIA has awarded more than $44 million in scholarships to date. Each year, the National Leadership Grant Competition offers 10 to 13 merit-based general scholarships and one special Henry Salvatori Scholarship are awarded, ranging from $4,000 to $25,000. U.S. citizens of Italian descent (at least one Italian or Italian American grandparent) enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program at a four-year, accredited academic institution for the Fall 2005 term are eligible. Previous SIF scholarship recipients are not eligible.
Scholarships for summer study are also available to attend Italian Language Immersion Camps
For those aspects of these stereotypes that are mostly true, so what?
Many stereotypes are grounded in some fact. It is a fact that some of the most visible, well known members of organized crime have been of Italian descent. In the news just recently, was the high profile Gotti family. The Mafia stereotype is grounded in fact, but the media has perpetuated it, and made it seem to be much more a cultural norm than it is in reality. To see the media's representation, would be to assume that certain types of criminality are inherent in the Italian ethnic group. Actually the imprisonment rate was much higher in the early 1900s for English and Welsh born immigrants than for Italian born immigrants (presentation, Syracuse University, 2000). The stereotypes about education and ignorance, also spring from the fact that less highly skilled workers were the original immigrants, and in addition, many struggled with the language and did not attend school regularly for a mix of reasons already discussed.
These stereotypes are mostly true as protrayed on the screen in the United States. The screen has become so much a part of our daily lives, it has become next to impossible to escape, and as such, blurs the line between fact and fantasy. In Interfacing the Environment: Networked Screens and the Ethics of Visual Consumption (2004), Kirsty Best states that, "interaction with screens increasingly constitutes our relationship with the world as much as it represents it. The visual interface (screen), image (represented environment) and act of visual consumption (viewing) are not three separate elements in a taxonomy of human, technology and physical space, but overlapping moments in ongoing processes of integration and embodied practice" . Our screens where these stereotypes are seen include television screens, movie screens, computer screens, and video game screens, and others.
Even individuals who might not watch these screen events, have access and exposure to them through the press. The stereotypical protrayals in successful shows like The Sopranos are widely accepted as "redefining the nature of American realism", citing a quote by Robert Brunstein of The New Republic. Literate individuals who do not watch the show, certainly have heard of the show. As an example, as it was referenced in nearly 100 articles in the New York Times from 1999 through 2002, with most articles highly positive ones, with little or no acknowledgement of stereotypes of Italian Americans (Alba, 2005).
For those aspects of these stereotypes that are mostly false, so what?
Since these stereotypes need to be fought, the OSIA website suggests the following:
1. ACT
- When you see a stereotype, jot down a complete, objective description of what you saw.
- Be sure to include the source, the date, city, state, and time.
- When you write or call, speak to the top person in charge, not just customer relations, but the president, ceo, station manager, or publisher. Only the person in authority can make the change.
2. ACCENT THE POSITIVE
- When you protest, briefly describe the offending event but accent the positive. Make sure to put in some facts about Italian Americans.
3. KEEP IT SHORT
- Realize that people are busy. Your letter should be only two or three paragraphs long and definitely only one page in length. If you email, keep it even shorter. Under no circumstances send an email that fills one screen.
4. NOTIFY THE SONS OF ITALY and OTHER ORGANIZATIONS
- Send a copy of your letter or email to the Sons of Italy, and to other important Italian American organizations.
5. EDUCATE ~ DON'T ALIENATE
- It is important to realize that some people do not agree with you. Use this opportunity to CONVERT and EDUCATE rather than to ALIENATE.
- NEVER, EVER attack a journalist, television commentator or anyone in the media. Remember, THEY have the power, not us. If you get angry, you make an enemy and then we all lose. You must convince the newspaper editor, TV producer, radio station manager, or advertiser that it is only right for them to drop the offending stereotype. Appeal to their sense of fair play and justice. Ask for their help.
Another idea suggested by OSIA is to join an Italian American activist email network, such as the Italian American One Voice Coalition ~ To subscribe, click here
These email networks regularly bombard offensive parties when they see a stereotype in an ad, commmercial, TV show, movie, or newspaper column.
Some email network successes include:
- Cancellation of "Soprano" actor Dominick Chianese concert by the Colorado Opera Company in Denver.
- Correction to a college history book from Pearson Educational, Inc. that neglected to mention the internment and civil rights violations of Italian Americans during World War II.
- Apology from the American Red Cross for using "Tony Soprano's Last Supper" as a fund raiser for one of its chapters. The Red Cross also sent a directive to all 940 chapters about the danger of stereotyping Italian Americans and other ethnic groups.
- Convinced Barilla to stop advertising on an ABC "reality" show, The Family, which featured a boorish family of Italian Americans trying to betray each other to win one million dollars. (OSIA website)
Of interest though, is that the entire Italian American community does not agree on these issues. "Dr. D’Agostino Mautner said that while she was conducting surveys on the impact that these negative stereotypes in the media have on Italian Americans, she personally experienced a divide in the Italian American community. Receiving pointed, often insulting comments from some Italian Americans, she has been told to give up her study because it has no basis; it’s founded on nothing. One letter suggested that she was like the old spinster who sees a man under the bed. Of the 26 million Italian Americans, apparently many differ on what is deemed racially offensive and what is considered good for a laugh."(Colasanto)
Helpful Links
Articles in Italian about Stereotypes
Italian Culture & Global Challenge
AIHA newsletter (article a ways down
New York State Commission for Social Justice - OSIA (Order Sons of Italy in America)
Italic Institute of America: Image Research Project
National Italian American Foundation Scholarships
The Order Sons of Italy in America
Italian American definition in Nationmaster Encyclopedia
Stereotype description/terminology
Higher Ed Lesson Plans Stereotypes
Why Media portrays Italian Americans as buffoons
Letter Writing Campaign against animated film Shark Tale
Italians ~ Cultural Background
Resources
Alba, R. 1995. "Assimilation's Quiet Tide". The Public Interest 119:1-18.
Alba, R. & Abdel-Hady, D. 2005. "Galileo's Children: Italian Americans' Difficult Entry into the Intellectual Elite". The Sociological Quarterly 46(1), 3-18.
Alba, R., Logan, J. & Crowder, K. 1997. "White Ethnic Neigborhoods and Spatial Assimilation: The Greater New York Region, 1980-1990. Social Forces 75:883-912.
Allexant, J.L. 2004. Francais familier. Cours de Culture au Centre International d'Etudes Francaises, juillet, 2004. Dijon, France.
Best, K. 2004. "Interfacing the Environment: Networked Screens and the Ethics of Visual Consumption. Ethics & Environment, 9(2). Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.
Colasanto, C. 2003. "Why Media Portray Italian Americans as Buffoons." USItalia Archive.
Covello, L. 1972. The Social Background of the Italo-American School Child. Totowa, NJ: Rowman & Littlefield.
Dabbene, J. 1998. "CSJ Calls on Hollywood to Stop Perpetrating Negative Stereotypes of Italian Americans." Justice July/August.
DeSanctis, D. 2004. "Do We Need Italian American Studies?". AIHA Newsletter, Vol. 37(1&2), Spring, 2004.
D'Andrea, M. 2004. "Stereotyping - Can we make a difference?" AMHS Notizario: The Official Newsletter of the Abruzzo and Molise Heritage Society of the Washington, DC Area.
Foner, N. 2000. From Ellis Island to JFK: New York's Two Great Waves of Immigration. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Italic Institute. 2002. Image Research Project: Italian Culture on Film (1928-2002). Accessed July 17, 2005 <http:/italic.org/imageb1.htm>
Italy in St. Louis Website. Accessed July, 2005. <http://www.italystl.com/misc/misc.htm#top
Krase, J. 2004. "What's Italian/American? Who's Italian/American? What's in a Name? AIHA Newsletter, Vol. 37(1&2), Spring, 2004.
Lardera, N. 2003. "Italian Americans in Film - The Media's Mobster Fascination" USItalia Archive
Laurino, M. 2000. Were You Always an Italian? Ancestors and Other Icons of Italian America. New York: W.W. Norton.
A Profile of Today's Italian Americans: A Report Based on the Year 2000 Census. Compiled by the Sons of Italy.
The Order Sons of Italy in America Position Paper. Italian American Stereotypes in U.S. Advertising. Summer 2003.
The Order Sons of Italy in America Website. Accessed July 19, 2005 <http://www.osia.org/public/culture/culture_intro.asp>
Poniewozik, J. (2002). "Back in Business". Time Magazine, Posted August, 15, 2002. Accessed July 23, 2005. <http://www.time.com/time/magazine/story/0,9171,1101020902-344036,00.html
Syracuse University Italian American Presentation for Sociology 248 (Ethnic Inequalities and Inter-Group Relations). Spring, 2000.
