After several decades of seeking full recognition as Americans, Italian Americans have expressed themselves by connecting to their ethnic identity. This is evident in aspects such as traditional cuisine, opera, the Italian language, and the Italian flag. For sociologists Herbert Gans and Richard Alba, the almost exclusive use of symbols is proof of the superficiality of Italian American ethnicity, which becomes thought-based and chosen.
Ethnicity is at a twilight stage due to the upheaval of lifestyles. Italian culture has radically transformed following its encounter with Anglo-American society. For Rudolph Vecoli, Italian American identity relies on individuals choosing to maintain it through visible, symbolic, and identifiable signs. These individuals make enormous efforts to preserve a distinct community identity. This includes, for example, adherence to Catholic principles and the establishment of parishes separate from those of other Catholics (Hispanic or Irish American). Consequently, the identity of all Americans, including Italian Americans, is in a state of perpetual renewal. All of this is due to the transformations brought about by the integration process and the intrinsic development of society.
The desire of individuals to perpetuate self-identification can be seen as a vector of continuity. It is the new form of Italian identity—a blend of the original identity of the ancestors updated in the American context.
It is in this desire for integration that Italian Americans invented new traditions. At the end of the 19th century, the organization of the ‘Columbus Day’ celebration took place. It celebrates the discovery of the new world by Christopher Columbus, a Spanish navigator. This event is not even commemorated in Italy. This new tradition allows them to demonstrate their participation in America’s destiny while celebrating Italian culture.
In a celebration like Thanksgiving, Italian Americans have introduced elements of Italian heritage, such as culinary recipes. As mentioned earlier, their efforts have facilitated their integration into the American mainstream while preserving their ethnic identity. However, a problem persists. How can one be a member of the majority while claiming a cultural specificity? For Donald Tricarico, Italian-Americanness is a “mainstream ethnicity.” The Italian American strategy is to defend its interests by demonstrating the potential strength of the group as well as its cohesion. It responds to the demands of American society, which welcomed their migrant parents. There is a redefinition of identity and culture, the expression of which has become essentially symbolic.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the context of the migratory phenomenon accelerated the emergence of their national sentiment. In Uncle Sam’s country, migrants developed a new national identity by adapting to the dominant society. There was a reassessment of status concerning the surrounding environment. Italian Americans define themselves as Americans. They have achieved socio-economic advancement that has disrupted their way of life. Despite this, they remain a marginal group with certain cultural, social, and religious characteristics. Very attached to Rome and the Vatican, therefore to the Pope’s authority, they oppose abortion, divorce, and homosexuality, as these are condemned by the highest authorities. Politically, they logically lean conservatively, offering their support to the Republican Party since the civil rights movement. These statistics were confirmed in the 1980s.
In New York City, Senator Al D’Amato and then Rudolph Giuliani were elected mayors. In the same decade of the 1980s, Italian Americans moved towards the suburbs of metropolises. They regrouped further out, in Brooklyn, in the neighborhoods of Bensonhurst, Canarsie, and to a lesser extent, Staten Island. Unity is important for the community. They integrate into ethnic associations and Catholic parishes. Italian Americans continue to form a distinct group, even if their everyday lives do not set them apart from other ‘white ethnics.’ For Richard Alba (mentioned earlier), their identity has reached a twilight stage. The Italian American historian, Richard Gambino, uses the metaphor of the Earth’s rotation around the sun to respond to this theory, asserting that their ethnicity seeks only to develop in a multicultural America. For him, the identity of his community is in a renaissance phase, similar to dawn. According to author Richard Gambino:
“Today’s Italian American ethnicity has evolved; it has not ‘melted’ and is not in twilight. Moreover, Italian American ethnicity is indeed in a new dawn.”
In his work, Gambino discusses the discrimination Italian Americans still face due to their association with the mafia. In this regard, cinema is a persistent reminder. The film industry contradicts Richard Alba’s twilight theory. Italian Americans do not become invisible within the Euro-American group. On the contrary, this feeds collective consciousness, pushing back any form of decline in their ethnic identity.
