The history of the millions of Italians who between the end of the nineteenth and early decades of the twentieth century left their country to move to the United States will have more space in the Italian school programs. It is a memorandum of understanding signed on Monday 12 October in Rome by the Minister of Education and Merit, Giuseppe Valditara, and the President of the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF), Robert Allegrini. The agreement lasts three years and includes teaching activities dedicated to Italian emigration in the Americas, as well as cultural and educational initiatives between Italy and the United States.
The protocol distinguishes interventions according to the age of students. In high schools, the ministry undertakes to study Italian emigration to the Americas from 1880, while in primary and secondary schools of the first degree will be organized specific insights, also through extracurricular activities. The aim is to integrate these topics into school education and accompany them with meetings, seminars and other educational initiatives.
Between 1880 and 1920 the United States was one of the main destinations of Italian emigration, especially for those coming from southern regions. According to the Library of Congress, in the eighties of the nineteenth century approximately 300 thousand Italians arrived in the United States, in the following decade 600 thousand and between 1900 and 1910 over two million. By 1920 the arrivals totaled four million.
Many were farmers and workers without particular qualifications, left to seek higher wages and better living conditions. Not everyone intended to settle permanently in the United States: according to the same reconstruction of the Library of Congress, between 30 and 50 percent of Italian immigrants from that generation returned to Italy within five years of arrival.
For those who remained, the inclusion in American society was often complicated. The Italians were employed in construction, factories, mines and infrastructure construction, but also had to confront low wages, overcrowded housing and discrimination. In New York many settled in the popular neighborhoods of Manhattan and other districts, giving rise to communities that would have played an important role in the history of the city. The housing conditions of the first Italian immigrants are also documented by the Library of Congress, which describes the overcrowded buildings and hygienic difficulties of the neighborhoods in which they lived.
The Italian emigration was also marked by episodes of racist violence. One of the best known was in New Orleans in 1891, when eleven Italians were fired by a crowd after being accused of killing the local police chief. Some had been acquitted, while others had not yet been tried.
Today the history of that migration is often told through the success of successive generations, who have reached important positions in politics, economy, culture and American society. The agreement between ministry and NIAF intends to make this story more known also by Italian students, for which emigration to the United States is generally a part of the broadest history of migration between the eight and the twentieth century.
The signing took place on the occasion of the Columbus Day, the American celebration dedicated to the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Americas in 1492. Valditara has linked the initiative to the contribution of Italian emigrants to the growth of the United States and to the relations between the two countries.
“We want to make known the extraordinary history of Italian emigrants who have crossed the Atlantic, contributing, with courage, talent and laboriousness, to the development of the United States,” said the minister, underlining also the role of the school in the transmission of historical memory. According to Valditara, strengthening collaboration with the Italian-American community in the field of education will serve to consolidate the relations between Italy and the United States.
For Robert Allegrini, president of the NIAF, the agreement represents above all a recognition of the experience of the more than four million Italians arrived in the United States during the great migration season. Allegrini spoke of a history of “courage” and “sacrifice”, recalling the contribution of Italian Americans to the economic and social development of the country. He also thanked the ministry for choosing the foundation as a partner of the initiative.
The National Italian American Foundation is an American organization that promotes Italian cultural heritage and relations between Italy and the Italian-American community. The new Protocol will participate in the implementation of educational initiatives, the dissemination of the Italian language and the exchange of teaching experiences between the two countries. Among the institutions involved is the New York School of Italy, one of the main points of reference for Italian education in the city.
The agreement also includes forums, webinars, seminars and conferences dedicated to Italian culture, language and activities related to Made in Italy. To coordinate the work will be established a committee composed of representatives of the ministry and NIAF, in charge of promoting initiatives and verifying their progress, as provided for by the agreement illustrated by the ministry.
L’articolo The history of Italian immigrants in America will be taught in Italian schools proviene da IlNewyorkese.
