Three Journalists Who Got It Wrong

When researching the history of Italian immigration to America, I read many books, thesis papers, journal articles, and newspaper reports. An article headline, “Are Italian-Americans Racist? Let’s Talk About It” seemed like an interesting read, and compelled me to comment on the author’s claim. That article led me to critique two other articles regarding Italian Americans in society. Those three articles inspired me to write this reactionary piece, which is aptly titled, “Three Journalists Who Got It Wrong”.

Maria Elisa Altese’s La Voce di New York article “Are Italian-Americans Racist? Let’s Talk About It” is another example that attempts to label present-day Italian Americans as having a racist attitude towards current 21st-century immigrants. Her article was based on results from a survey she conducted of present-day Italian Americans living in the New York metropolitan area. Altese’s survey contained only one question and was presented to all who wished to participate. The question was, “There is a perception that Italian Americans, who have themselves badly suffered first-hand from racism and discrimination, seem to have what we can loosely define as racist feelings against the latest “immigrants.” Do you think that this statement is true?” (1)Included in the survey were random Italian Americans, friends and family of Altese, who herself is an Italian American.

Altese’s question was not well written; it contains words and phrases that cannot possibly produce relevant responses that could be used for statistical data…