Your daddy is a handsome man and a good storyteller, thanks for interviewing him, hug him close, I lost my dad soon to be 4 years ago and it's a hurt that never quite goes away.
I grew up in Bay Ridge Brooklyn.I wasn’t aware of prejudice against southern Italians,since we were the majority. Once our family moved to Long Island,I personally experienced discrimination due to my heritage from Anglos.I got into quite a few fights in school,and was unapologetic for my behavior. So I learned to speak Italian fairly well,and followed the advice of my grandfather.”Mind your own business,make your money,and the best revenge is your success”. At age 40,I realized that no one could knock the chip off my shoulder,so I knocked it off myself. My Italian language skills,have of course diminished with age,since very few of us still speak the language. I’m now 77 years old,and live fairly well.When I hear the innuendos,I just walk away.
I lived in Bay Ridge as a very young child. I was a rarity being Jewish. Everyone around us was Italian and Norwegian. The Italians all went to Catholic school, Our Lady of Angels so I was a bit of an outsider but I never felt that. We loved our Italian and Norwegian neighbors. We all felt like we were family. Bay Ridge was a great place for that. Next we moved to Sheepshead Bay and there we were in the majority and we embraced our Catholic neighbors who were now in the minority there. I have to say though at that point everyone was white.
Aye bay ridge!I love that neighborhood. I go there a lot and I still feel the italian-ness lol. But there's also a good balance of arab and eastern European ethnicities as well. And some Greeks. I even think there's still some irish-ness left as well.
Anglos discriminate against everybody, that's not new. I personnally blame it on jealousy. Their food suck, their wives are stern, their kids don't listen, and so it would every man.. "cranky". So they have to vent their frustration on someone. Like Al Bundy, in the sitcom "Married with Children".
@@MrArtVendelayyou mean the U S government relabled everybody a "white people " who was not "black" which created the racially divsion now being promoted in the school and press. The racist laws that were passed agaist all southern and eastern now labeled "europeans " in 1921 and 1924 were passed by an English Anglo Saxons and nordics dominated U S congress. Only they were considered part of the true white race during the Jim crow laws/eugenics era .
This reminds me so much of my father's story. Sacrificing everything to come to America, knowing nothing about American life, experiencing discrimination and working hard for little reward. Thank you for sharing this. It gives me purpose to teach the language and spread the culture even more!
This was very interesting to listen to your dad give us a peak into some of his expierence(s) as a young Italian-American growing up in the USA. As a African-American women, I too share the same love for America even though we've have (still) experiencing struggles (not just to us but also within us) just due to our "skin color". As your father stated at the end, the foundations of America were designed for US to work at "becoming" a more perfect union - for all. We have the ingredients, we must be brave enough to tear through the fear (of not knowing one another) and Bake the Cake! Cake is good!!!!
I'm Southern. Don't forget about fried chicken. We white people love fried chicken, and we know which kitchens serve up the tastiest, the ones with the best secret recipes.
This is why Italian-American kids learn to fight at an early age. I complained to my grandfather about coming to the United States. He told me that in Italy they did not have any work or anything to eat, and over here we have jobs and we have food.
I had a similar experience as an Italian American growing up in the south in the 1980s and 90s. It's nice to see someone recognize this stuff did happen to people. Great content!
It was a very engaging interview, congratulations! I am a southern Italian (the distinction between north and south is very important for us Southerners and northerners). The south of Italy's population (and Sicilian) has an ethnic heritage that is Arabic, Norman, Greek, Albanian, French and Spanish due to the several invasions during history. During the Roman period, the South of Italy was predominantly Greek, and they would also speak Latin but the South was known as 'Magna Grecia'. Generally, we Southerners are darker skinned compared to the Northerners. Most of the Italians that migrated to the US were of Southerner origins. Remember a great Italian-American of Southerner origin who was mayor of New York and, later, senator Fiorello La Guardia.
Your bisnonno's choice of being a tailor - "sarto" in Italian - had a cultural significance in Southern Italian society. The reason this group of tradesmen was respected is because they were derived from the lower classes and yet had direct, personal contact with the "signoria" - rich merchants, military, aristocrats, Nobility, and Royalty. Also, the sarto saw himself as a stepping-stone to providing formal educations for his children, which was the highest ambition for the opportunity in Italy at that time. It makes sense that your father's uncles became professionals. Your father's experiences reflect my own, having been born in 1955 in South Philadelphia and raised there and in Southern New Jersey during the sixties and seventies. All of my grandparents were immigrants from Mezzogiorno but both of my parents were American-born. Interesting interview! Brava!
My great uncles beat italian ass in the bronx and harlem growing up and I never saw them sit out in the sun once. So who are you talking about? Also getting a tan and being a darky are not the same thing dumb dumb.
Love your Dad's take about "Ingredients" such an apt metaphor for democracy. The cake that remakes itself. Its quite the riddle that each generation has to figure out how to bake it into existence with what we have intended, what we are, and what we hope to be.
Italian discrimination was even apart of 19th century Europe. Read the mystery of Charles Dickens' "The Mystery of Edwin Drood." Also, in the late 80s, I had an Italian-American coworker who bitterly recalled the intense discrimination she suffered in Catholic school from the predominately Irish-American nuns and classmates.
Any discrimination that Italians faced in Europe was centered on the fact that they were largely catholic. The same kind of discrimination that Irish people had faced for a long time going back to the time when Henry VIII broke from the Catholic Church. The same can the best the discrimination that Spaniards faced which in turn spawned the black legend.
I am second generation Italian. My family comes from the south of Italy. My mother spoke fluent Italian, Sicilian, Portuguese, Spanish We were not taught any other language we would have to be Americans and we had to speak English. My mother went through a lot of prejudice growing up due to the fact that she did not speak English until she was seven years old. She was born here and she is an American citizen. He had a very strong Italian family, many aunts and uncles and cousins all of them pretty much gone now. Most of our parents spoke Italian, but we were not taught. It was to protect us and to make us more American. my mother tells a story that when she went to work in New York City that she had to change her last name there was no Social Security at that time so she could literally go in there and change her last name cutting off the more Italian sounding part of it and making it more American and that’s how she went to work. My mother was very dark skin in the summer and many people thought that she was black or even Hispanic. That is going back into the 40s and the 50s. I am upset that I was not taught Italian. I’m 67 and I understand some and I can speak very little. I know the reason was to protect us. How sad isn’t it? I live in the southern part of the United States and I have a relative that went to work and this is true. It has happened right here. I say four years ago he went to work and someone at the job a very southern man told him to get his black BUT out of there and threatened him and unfortunately, he could not do anything about it because it was a family run southern business and they didn’t protect my relative. My relative left the job. This is in the summer and some of my family members get very tan and can very easily look like they are very tan. This is a disgrace. It is 2025 and just four years ago and Italian American born here was treated with such hate and prejudice. I am proud of my heritage.
I'm about your dads age. MY parents from Sicily, I was a kid in the early 60s in South Africa, and I experienced the same relation with the British and Dutch majority. I returned to Milano in North Italy in 1979 and still experienced shunning. It slowly died away in the next 20 years.
I am Italian, from Italy, the north to be precise. We had a lot of south Italians immigrants and they were not always welcomed. They were physically different from us, they spoke differently from us, their food was different and they got a lot of abuse. It was pure racism but at the time it seemed normal. My grandmother didn't really want me to play with kids from Calabria or Sicily but I did and yes there were lots of differences but it was also fun. I ended up married to a Brit but my kids are bilingual and I forced them taking the Italian language state school exam. Not knowing Italian is not conceivable to me.
My family emigrated to UK from province of Naples ,we never had any problems with other children from north Italy,we all mixed,I’m hearing that their food was different,to this day every region have their own food, it’s not correct to say to your children not to play with children from the south,this is really wrong,
WOW!!! I’m mixed both Calabrese, and northern Italian etc. I remember a story told to me by mom that the Anglo-Saxons didn’t want to play with the Italians growing up.
What do you think about my dad's Italian-American experience? Was it similar to your family story? Let me know! ⚪ Save YOUR family history with my "Be a Good Ancestor" course. Grab yours now at www.nytonashville.com and embark on a transformative journey of preserving your family's history! 🟢Send me a coffee!: ko-fi.com/nytn13#linkModal ⚪Want to connect? facebook.com/findinglolafilm/ on twitter @ImfindingLola 🟢Grab your own Ancestry DNA test now*! : amzn.to/3UxGKJx
Thank you for this interview, great info. I’m a 70 year old light skinned Mexican American, born in Texas, but raised in California and we experienced a lot of what you’re father did, also I believe because of our tan colored skin. Oh I love Italian food too.
As a non-Italian growing up in Rome,NY (1960’s) I remember this discrimination so clearly. It opened my eyes at an early age. Life lessons taken ,as I’ve lived throughout this country . The best to you .
This is was an interesting conversation. As teenagers, my friends and i had a huge crush on Italian soccer players, so we used to say Italian men are the most handsome Europeans lol. Your dad looks amazing for his age and your mum looks lovely as well. What's also interesting about this conversation is reading the comments. Some Italians shared their experiences facing discrimination, but then a Moroccan said he was discriminated by Italians. Then you have black Americans say they are discriminated by everyone, including facing colorism within their own community. Moral of the story is human beings are all judgemental and flawed, sadly.
White supremacy was created/the color system was designed for economic dominance and, the propaganda was spread all over the world. Everybody wants to be better than somebody. African Americans are the most hated, for our darker skin. Most of us love being “black”, whether we are light, medium or, darker. We love our culture and, so does the world, just not us. We have come a long way in America and, still striving, still fighting racism, all over the world. I’ve never been to Italy but, there are several videos on You Tube talking about how it’s very racist there towards “black” people.
I just have to say, your family on both sides are SO good looking! I really envy your skin tones & bone structure. Both your parents are very attractive, as well as your grandma & Lola! You are so fortunate to have such an interesting family story, & I can't imagine how PROUD you must be that they all overcame so much adversity, & now can enjoy their success & also have fun finding all of your roots!!😍🤗🤩 P.S. I just can't help myself...your dad is soooo handsome!!!😂😂😂
This was so generous, thank you! I am so thankful to have folks like you here with me, it's so much more fun to learn together, it really is. I hope you are starting the journey on your family as well
@@nytn I am, & I can't wait! I already know there are some "family secrets", so that just made me more eager to dig them up! Err, dig up the secrets, not any family, lol. 🤣
I am first generation Sicilian male born northeast, but grew up in the South Florida in a very rural area in the 70's and 80's. Parents did not speak well English and I usually translated for them so we did stick out. Our story was not so peachy. Always being assumed to be from a different ethic group due to my skin color and accent. I did return to Sicily several times, but I was not well received, Grande Americano. I severed in the Army for my college money, and I found acceptance. I believe if we were not alone and had a bigger family group my experience would be better, but we were an island surrounded by a lack of diversity. Thank you for sharing your family story.
This is far most the best documentary of first-hand experience being told with non bias restraints of truth and intelligence. THANK YOU AND YOUR FATHER FOR SHARING.
It's amazing how much you learn about immigration in the US in half an hour of conversation with your father.Listening to him talk makes the time pass quickly.
I don't know how I stumbled across this video, but I am so glad i did. What a great conversation! Your Dad is so down-to-earth and real. When I think of Italian Americans, my mind does not automatically jump to the Mafia, but to people like you and your Dad, normal people just living their lives and proud of their heritage without bashing anyone else's heritage. Your Dad is such a handsome man too. Very easy on the eyes for sure! I'm going to check out more of your videos.
There will always be stereotypes and assumptions with a group of people. One thing I'd like to point out is that Southern Italians and Sicilians like Northern Italians are not completely homogeneous, the south also has light complexions, not as many but its share as well. Between us Sicilians, someone's complexion is of no importance, we know of our history and genetic makeup. Skin color is more of a North American obsession.
I'm Gen Z here. When I grew up, the only thing I knew about Italian people was either the mafia or like the original immigrant struggles. And that was all from tv and the old history textbooks from the 80's. Now I'm learning Italian and wanting to learn more about the culture.
64!? Wow. This is coming a young-looking 66 yo Asian man. I gained at least 108 Italian relatives through marriage 30 years ago. They all came to our wedding.
All I know is my paternal grandfather was from Barbados and we have some family there and New York ( I never met them; my father has) this was fascinating, Danielle. Your pops is cool✌🏾.
Respect from Italy to all italians in the world. Listen to stories of our people all over the world is always exciting. As an italian from Milan from neapolitan family i always have this curiosity of the immigration and nowadays i get upset when in italy we have some racism against the immigrants like “man we did the same in the last century!” we probably can be the only country in Europe that can understand them. Btw tanto amore, viva l’Italia e viva gli italiani. Un bacio❤🇮🇹
I respect everyone,all immigrants,when my family emigrated to UK it was a different emigrations,my dad had work and also bought a house,today they arrive in boats no documents,no work,and they try to change our culture,
Interesting interview. The beauty is you have started the conversation in your family and generations to come won't have to wonder about the things you and your father (or you and your mother) sat down and talked about and recorded ❤
From a cute child to a handsome man and very well spoken. Its great that you thought to take a video document of your family history.these things are very important. It is also an interesting and network ready interview. Thank you.
Hi! My dad served in WWII as an American. This is such a great video; thanks for interviewing your dad. 😊 My dad’s parents came from Sicily in the early 1900’s. I wish my dad hadn’t given up speaking Italian. It would be cool to be able to speak Italian. My dad said he forgot how to speak it. 😣 He was a drummer for years-he started playing as a kid, played in the Army, then professionally for years. (My grandpa Anzalone taught his boys to play different instruments.) My mother’s ancestors were mostly Northwestern European. Take care.
I can top that one. My father was in one of the units that participated in The Battle of the Bulge. Because we are tri-racial, a category that did not exist then, he was placed in Black units that were treated as third rate, with inadequate provisions. But in their patriotism and professionalism, they carried out their mission and were commemorated by President Roosevelt. Unfortunately the records of this were mysteriously "lost" in a fire in Kansas City. One can only imagine that it was an act to bury this part of history because of the "skin color" of these soldiers who were part of this important victory that led to the surrender of Germany.
@@RayPointerChannel Wow! I must ask, are you Melungeon, or Lumbee? I know there are many more tri-racial isolates in the U.S., but those are the ones that come to my mind first, as I live in North Carolina. I'm fascinated by the history of these racial groups! Ever since I found out that my family MIGHT be Melungeon on my Mom's Mom's side, I've learned SO much!🤗
I don’t know how RUclips’s algorithm got me to your stories; they’re great. I am enjoying watching your journey through these interviews regarding your family’s history. You offer an enlightening perspective. I can tell that you’re thirsting for more knowledge. Keep striving!
@@nytn When I spoke to my uncle about it he leaned forward in his chair, his eyes fixed on a distant memory, and said in a quivering voice "I never want to go through something like that again". He said 70 percent of the mine sweepers lost their lives in that battle. You are so right, it cannot be repaid.
This is the most wonderful interview! I am currently producing a “family history” for a Sicilian family. This was a lovely conversation that shines a light on the contributions of our multicultural population! Bravo!
This is a fascinating video and very relatable. My Mom's family are Southern Italians from Calabria but ethnically they are Arbëreshë, meaning Italo-Albanians, whose ancestors fled Albania, Greece and the Ottoman empire starting in the 14th and 15th centuries. They still live in their own villages, speak a dialect of Albanian, have maintained their culture for hundreds of years. They are different from Italians with whom they did and do intermarry. They are usually very tall and their skin colour ranges from very fair to very dark. My great grandmother came to NYC in the 1890s with her sister after their parents both died in a flu epidemic; they were just 13 and 15 years old. They were literally destitute, dirt poor. My great grandmother never wore a pair of shoes until she came to NY. Nana had very dark olive skin, black hair and black eyes, but her sister was the complete opposite, fair skin, red hair and green eyes. They lived on Cherry Street and Mott Street in Lower Manhattan before movng to NJ, which was the "country" then. They faced a lot of discrimination, even from other Italians, because they were from Calabria, spoke no Italian and looked very "swarthy." All Nana's children were born in the US. When my grandmother went into NYC for a secretarial job, she was told they wouldn't hire dagos or wops. She learned not to let anyone know they were Italians. Lucky for the family, their surname was actually Greek but sounded very ambiguous. So she applied for a job at the Morgan Guaranty Bank in Manhattan as a legal secretary. They looked at her name and said something like, "You're not Italian, are you?" Grandma lied and said, "Oh no, we're French Huguenots originally from Québec." No way were these WASPs going to hire a Catholic from Calabria. She got the job and once the Crash came in 1929, she witnessed her boss jump out the window to his death. She said his body exploded like a pumpkin, blood all over the sidewalk when she looked out the window. Now get this, her aunt, the one with the light skin and red hair, couldn't get an office job because they assumed she was Irish and didn't want "drunken potato eaters" on the payroll. Thank God those days are over, but you can really empathise with how recent immigrant groups are treated or maltreated. We have Muslim friends and the ladies all wear hijabs. I see the stares they get and on a few occasions have spoken up, but their husbands don’t want to create a scene and tell me to let it go. One time my wife and her girlfriend who was wearing a hijab went into a restaurant to get a table while we parked with the rest of us. They were told it would be a long wait, maybe an hour or more. I went in and they said it would be 10 minutes. We put our name in and the rest of us showed up with most of the women and teenage girls in hijabs. I asked for the manager, told them I’m an attorney and what the hostess did was illegal. The manager said it was all just a “misunderstanding.” We all stormed out and went to another restaurant . As we left, I said to the manager, “You know, it’s 2022, this sh¡t has got to stop.” He said nothing and turned his back.
@@antoniobuonanno7902 I know that, I’m well read in the entire history of Magna Græcia and the Balkans. Our family was originally Greek. They fled the Ottomans west to Albania, then made the move over the Adriatic to Calabria in the 15th century.
@@tanyapeters5062 A lot of Italians from southern Italy, such as Calabria, Naples, Sicily, have darker skin tones that are different than just brown. You have to see it to understand. Most southern Mediterranean peoples have that complexion. Google it for images and you’ll see.
I think that every immigrant no matter where they come from suffers some kind of discrimination. The Irish, Italian, Latino. I have observed that it takes about forty years before one is accepted. The assimilation process takes time and one’s children are the ones who will benefit. It takes education and work to overcome the obstacles.
What a handsome, and warm soul your father has, he just seems so genuine and gentle, I know you all were raised with lots of love and understanding. He has the aire of an gentle giant.
In my neck of the woods, the city of grosse pointe had a "point system" back in the day that was designed to all but exclude Italian, Arabs, Greeks, Poles and Jews, and it fully banned black folks from moving into the city, and i was shocked when i learned that the point system was only banned by court order in the early 1960s. It took a long time for alot of immigrant groups to earn acceptance in america, and when i see how italian americans are portrayed in media to this very day, it makes me wonder if they ever were really 100% accepted. Its like you ask america to fully embrace you and they reply "best we can offer is to stop burning crosses on your lawn."
Six of my great grandparents were born in Italy. Most of them ended up in New York City either in Woodside Queens, or in New Jersey. My father side, which is Sicilian ended up in the Bronx. Most of what the immigrant experiences of being Italian American targets is separating yourself from other immigrants in getting as close as you can to assimilating, while still being Italian.
I knew about the Italian/Japanese interment camp at Ft. Missoula, MT. My ex-husband grew up in Missoula and was into history. One of the Italian internee’s settled in Missoula. He was a very respected businessman in Missoula. Living in Missoula I have learned the history of Ft. Missoula. Thank you Danielle for expanding our knowledge of the experiences of Italian Americans, German & Japanese Americans. My German/Polish grandmother was detained at the Canadian Border and asked to provide citizenship papers. She came over as a child and thought she was a citizen. Due to confusion on my great grandfather’s part she and her older sisters were not included in Grandpa’s application. Grandma received her citizenship in 1943.
now I begin to understand why the usa had as enemies the Italians and Japanese it was the 3 communities that posed a problem for America, that is to say their diaspora were seen as dangerous
Thanks to you and your dad for sharing his story💜🌹 When your dad started talking about your grandfather it made me think of my dad. After WWII my dad came back home, got a job as a cook at a local cafe and the owner who if I can remember correctly was of French descent sent him to tailoring in France. It’s a long story but I won’t ramble but when I heard that about your grandfather my ears stood up😂🙂
Thank you and your dad for sharing his story! His story is so similar to mine, it's amazing! I grew up in New Jersey with similar experiences and I think we are around the same age. Thank you both again!!
Omg Danielle, I have the same happen to me all the time. Mostly people come up and talk to me in Spanish. But I'm Middle Eastern, Native American, and European. One guy I had been talking to asked me about my heritage. And when I told him, he said, "I thought you were Latina." Then he stopped talking to me. Also, good on your father for understanding and differentiating between Egyptians and Arabs, too! So many people in the West, particularly Europeans, continuously call everyone in MENA "Arabs." It's highly offensive and would be the equivalent of calling Native Americans "Europeans." Seems you had a great upbringing with a great family. And thank you for sharing your family's story with us, as well as the history you're uncovering along the way! 💜
Great stuff, Danielle, once again! Salute to you and your dad for sharing a very interesting interview, which I very much enjoyed. You really have a good thing going on with your channel. 🎯
You interviewed a good person, your dad is well spoken intelligent and open minded. Also he shares a story that have happened to many people. I grew up in NYC and was fortunate enough to say ive known good italian people.
What a beautiful interview. I spent time in Italy as a military woman and I was treated so well by the Italians I wanted to stay. I am a black woman but I was asked by someone if I was a southern Italian girl. I was a little baffled so I asked about race there. I was told that they were offended if someone called them white. They told me the same thing that your dad said about white people talking about the darkness of their skin. The were not treated well for being darker skinned. Interesting. I love Italy though and always wanted to go back and buy a villa there to stay.❤
@@alocintsruhin Sicily you can buy homes for 1$!! Some villages will give you a $30k stipend to renovate the home. You are always welcome on our island ❤
I'm Mexican American, and I relate to him. I'm very fair skinned with black hair, and brown eyes. I mostly deal with racism working in a predominantly white area (Anglo-Saxon; mutts/Southern migrant inbreds). I welcome them in, they rudely answer me, dismiss me, and eirher leave or go with a white associate. I pin it on me having a slight accent; the6 are extremely dismissive and rude.
Both of my parents are of Italian descent. My father emigrated to the Pittsburgh area from Supino as a child with his parents and sister; and my mother was born in the U.S. to immigrants from the Abruzzo region. Regarding skin co!or, etc., since my father was in the oil industry, I was born in west Texas and have lived my entire life in the state. My and my siblings experienced a lot of discrimination growing up.
Your Dad is so handsome. I am British/Irish and my husband is Puerto Rican. My son looks so much like your father in his childhood photos. It’s amazing how just a few generations changes an entire experience. Thankfully.
Im an American and my ethnicity is Hispanic/Latino of Honduran origins but there’s something interesting here, white Hondurans who are mainly of Andalusian/Extramaduran ancestry look like Italian-Americans of Sicilian/Calabrian ancestry which is intriguing since both Spain and Italy are located in southern Europe and their related ancestry during the Latin roman days. supposedly northern Spaniards viewed southern Spaniards as racially inferior and i didn’t know it was the same way in Italy because of the northern Italians viewed southern Italians as racially inferior, so those were parallels as they were fellow counterparts while it is to see that white Hispanics and Italians look similar because of their olive skin tones, natural tans, dark hair, dark eye colors, Arab mixed ancestry, and their roman Latin roots.
My grandmother was from Abrruzzi. She was very fair and had blue eyes. She could read and write in Italian and went to night school to learn civics and became a US citizen. However, she used to say.- " Napolitani are okay, Baraese okay, but Siciliani not okay- they mixed with the Ethiopians". Even Italians discriminated aganist people from other parts of Italy based on skin color. My uncle Al married a Sicilian American women. She had two children. The daughter was fair and hazel eyed. My cousin Tony was darker skinned like his Mom. The darker skinned son and his mom were called the N- word in our predominantly Polish/Irish / German neighborhood.
Nice chat with your dad. Just plain old candid. I wish I had this kind of conversation with my dad. Now that he's gone I kinda regret not asking him about his Irish background.
My grandpa is irish and was confused when he was not treated as white but how come they treated him nicer than the black kids but too more a similar levels too Asians and Hispanics
Your program is fantabulous, Danielle. Things are way more complicated and manipulated than we realize. I only understood when I was way into adulthood. Much appreciated.
@@nytn btw. i also have a home in NE India where the society is matrilineal, like the Cherokee. I grew up in Raleigh where there were quite a few classmates that were part Native American/not Lumbee, but no one even noticed. I also attend one of the Mennonite Missionary churches that were set up for mining towns in Western NC/VA where most members are Black, but with some Melungeon.
@nytn hahaha, we don't always fit in everywhere. You are doing great things so it all worked out fine. Here in Shillong I attend a beautiful Welsh methodist Presbyterian service
I went to catholic school & catholic college. The majority of the kids were Italians, other the other ethnic groups were Irish, Polish, Latinos, Eastern European and some Blacks (they were the top notch athletes in the city & state)!
What I got out of this conversation is…racism is monster. It is constant in its need to feed. And favorite food is dark meat. That is why all history is important and people’s stories are more similar than different. Great talk.
What a great interview with your dad. His story is very similar to mine, except it was my mother’s side of the family that came to the USA from Sicily in the early 1900s. My mom (like your grandad) was a first generation American. And my dad’s parents came here from Poland, so he was a first generation American as well. I also dealt with name calling and discrimination from other kids, because every summer I was always the darkest kid in the neighborhood. The ‘n’ word was applied to me more times than I can count. I remember being 6-7 years old and using a wash cloth and soap to try and wash off the dark! Fortunately, my parents were able to let me know that I was okay, and if I didn’t show taking any offense at the other kid’s insults, it took away the power of those insults and they just stopped. But one thing that my parents shared, and the reason why they avoided teaching us their languages (even though they spoke to their parents in the parents’ native language) was because they experienced discrimination when they were growing up, because Polish and Italian (especially Sicilian) people were treated as “less than” by other Whites. So by avoiding an open display of their heritage, they were able to try and show these others that they were also REAL Americans. And when my parents decided to marry, my mother endured many years of discrimination from her Polish in-laws! Imagine that! It’s so sad that each new wave of immigrants coming to this country still has to endure this discrimination and abuse. Keep up the great work with your RUclips channel.
To be honest Italians, Southern French people, Greeks, Spanish and Portuguese, Southern Eastern Europeans look similar. What is wrong with people not understanding that Southern Europeans have a natural tan? It looks better than having a super pale skin and red hair for lots of European Southerners. Red hair is not very popular in Southern Europe at all. They are often made fun of in the South actually. I am just making a statement. I am not saying it's right or wrong by the way. Your father looks a lot like Tony Danza by the way. It's awesome. I personally have some English, German, Scandinavian, Italian and Spanish so I am white with a natural tan on my face like your dad, and I am proud of it. Ladies love it !!!
I am Sicilian American and I remember when I was a kid they used to call me the N word .. I used to get in fights protecting my sister's because they would that... When I was in elementary school I spoke better Italian than I did English.. they told me you're an American now you have to speak English... So we stopped speaking Italian... Now they embrace two languages.. but when people think that discrimination is only on one side they are hardly mistaken... To my proud Italian people.. know your roots and be proud of it..
My grandparents on mom's side emigrated from Minturno to U.S in 1912 and my dad's parents were fro Calabria around same time. Their kids did well and my cousins did even better became P.H.D's and teachers and one cousin was a t v journalist. I am not dark skin, but dark hair and brown eyes. I am dumbfounded hown Italians in northern Italy look down on southerns. People in every country and culture have profound ignorance of their own history! This young lady in this video is great! Hard to believe Italians in early 20th century were protrayed as monkeys and organ grinders, and we all carried knives. We were called wops , a degratory term which means without papers. Bolderdash! We had to clear immigration with strict rules on Ellis Island. We had to have a physical, psychological test. and have a sponsor and job prospects! Hate prejudice!😢
This is wonderful and honest content, your dad is a great story teller, awesome that you brought him on. I said before "You are kicking ass" on this subject matter...my view has not changed. Great stuff and quite educational, hey..and..Thank you.
This is so spot on, I found myself nodding while I watched. The cultural mixing you speak about wasn't something that was accepted or encouraged. Remember Southern Italy, and Sicily especially, were invaded by so many different cultures over thousands of years. They made slaves of some Italians in those regions they conquered, and also raped women who then had children who were not fully (genetically) Italian. My grandfather, who was full Sicilian, had blonde hair and blue eyes--thanks to the Norse who invaded around 800-1000 AD. Some of my cousins have much darker skin than I do (thanks to the North Africans or Moors (though after a few days in the sun, I'm just as dark as they are.) We have a beautiful culture, and I just wish my father would have let us speak Italian in the home. According to him, he didn't want us to go through what he went through growing up. He would tell us we're American, so we speak American. Another thing that was interesting is that my mom's family, and extended family pretty much all settled in one coastal community, and while my generation integrated very well having gone to American schools, my great aunts, aunts, mother's cousins all kept very close, living near each other, usually within walking distance, and all went to the same 2 catholic churches. Those elder women knew every Italian kid, and they could spot you from a mile away. IF you were doing something you shouldn't have been doing, your mom knew about it before you got home. It really did take a village to raise good kids back then--I mean, we all turned out pretty good!
The "invasion of other groups" in your words in southern Italy would have amounted to a drip of water in a massive ocean that filtered it out. Italy has always had Latin allies removing any stain on his domain. France ruled parts of Italy solely out of protection. Blonde hair bleu eyes is not Italian. But in usa you can't understand as most are mixed there and are already dealing with all the confusion that may come with it.
I experienced this, too. Isn't it ironic that the people "mocking" our skin tone are the very ones who try to get a tan?
My dad always says this! He said be proud of your olive skin ☺️
Like pale Italians? lol
Of course because a tan will always look more attractive and healthier.
It's happening in all ethics unfortunately.
@@angeebb3080 And that is your personal opinion, nothing more lol.
Plenty of people are more attracted to pale skin, especially with dark hair.
Your daddy is a handsome man and a good storyteller, thanks for interviewing him, hug him close, I lost my dad soon to be 4 years ago and it's a hurt that never quite goes away.
I lost my dad 4 years ago as well
I lost my father 14 years ago and still miss him badly
Never goes away
@rhondalight70...He looks quite a bit like Tony Danza (taxi)
Yes he is handsome 😍
I grew up in Bay Ridge Brooklyn.I wasn’t aware of prejudice against southern Italians,since we were the majority.
Once our family moved to Long Island,I personally experienced discrimination due to my heritage from Anglos.I got into quite a few fights in school,and was unapologetic for my behavior.
So I learned to speak Italian fairly well,and followed the advice of my grandfather.”Mind your own business,make your money,and the best revenge is your success”.
At age 40,I realized that no one could knock the chip off my shoulder,so I knocked it off myself.
My Italian language skills,have of course diminished with age,since very few of us still speak the language.
I’m now 77 years old,and live fairly well.When I hear the innuendos,I just walk away.
I lived in Bay Ridge as a very young child. I was a rarity being Jewish. Everyone around us was Italian and Norwegian. The Italians all went to Catholic school, Our Lady of Angels so I was a bit of an outsider but I never felt that. We loved our Italian and Norwegian neighbors. We all felt like we were family. Bay Ridge was a great place for that. Next we moved to Sheepshead Bay and there we were in the majority and we embraced our Catholic neighbors who were now in the minority there. I have to say though at that point everyone was white.
Aye bay ridge!I love that neighborhood. I go there a lot and I still feel the italian-ness lol. But there's also a good balance of arab and eastern European ethnicities as well. And some Greeks. I even think there's still some irish-ness left as well.
Anglos discriminate against everybody, that's not new.
I personnally blame it on jealousy. Their food suck, their wives are stern, their kids don't listen, and so it would every man.. "cranky".
So they have to vent their frustration on someone. Like Al Bundy, in the sitcom "Married with Children".
@@MrArtVendelayyou mean the U S government relabled everybody a "white people " who was not "black" which created the racially divsion now being promoted in the school and press. The racist laws that were passed agaist all southern and eastern now labeled "europeans " in 1921 and 1924 were passed by an English Anglo Saxons and nordics dominated U S congress. Only they were considered part of the true white race during the Jim crow laws/eugenics era .
I grew up in the deep south and was accepted as white and called 'cracker' by blacks....
This reminds me so much of my father's story. Sacrificing everything to come to America, knowing nothing about American life, experiencing discrimination and working hard for little reward. Thank you for sharing this. It gives me purpose to teach the language and spread the culture even more!
This was very interesting to listen to your dad give us a peak into some of his expierence(s) as a young Italian-American growing up in the USA. As a African-American women, I too share the same love for America even though we've have (still) experiencing struggles (not just to us but also within us) just due to our "skin color". As your father stated at the end, the foundations of America were designed for US to work at "becoming" a more perfect union - for all. We have the ingredients, we must be brave enough to tear through the fear (of not knowing one another) and Bake the Cake! Cake is good!!!!
yes!!
Please, the Italian and Irish spent all their time fighting blk people while blk people folk for justice, fucc those ass kissers. 😅
I'm Southern. Don't forget about fried chicken. We white people love fried chicken, and we know which kitchens serve up the tastiest, the ones with the best secret recipes.
We white folks don't need anyone to tell us we cannot cook pasta dishes right.
@@JackMason-oq8lf😂
Dad has a great personality and his humanity and kindness comes through in the video.
Very humble personality!
These conversations are so important. I did this with my nonno before he passed away. His memories are my most prized *possession*
Beautifully put.❤
Your father is wonderful. He's the kind of person who created America. I wish everybody could hear him talk about America. He really gets it.
What a lovely solid guy your Dad is, Danielle 😌 My Dad passed at 53 when I was 28. Treasure your Dad 🙏
Thats ironic. My dad was 53 when he passed. I was 28 as well.
Mine was only 50. The whole in my heart will remain open until the day I die.
This is why Italian-American kids learn to fight at an early age. I complained to my grandfather about coming to the United States. He told me that in Italy they did not have any work or anything to eat, and over here we have jobs and we have food.
@@astanco1574 They came here before WW II.
I had a similar experience as an Italian American growing up in the south in the 1980s and 90s. It's nice to see someone recognize this stuff did happen to people. Great content!
It was not that long ago at all, that's what is so surprising to me. 1990S, I was a kid in school!
I never heard of it so I need to look it up was it related to racesism or something else
This background and still dish out bigotry too.
It stopped you you and yours , but continues for us so please stay in your lane
@@gloriacoleman62 🙏
😊👍👍This country needs more great dad's like yours , you're very lucky to have him !!!
I owe him my love of history and law (despite his best efforts on the latter)
I stumbled on this today and I was mesmerised. I experienced everything your dad did here in Australia.
Me too, despite the fact that my parents were Northern Italian and I'm light skinned.
It was a very engaging interview, congratulations! I am a southern Italian (the distinction between north and south is very important for us Southerners and northerners). The south of Italy's population (and Sicilian) has an ethnic heritage that is Arabic, Norman, Greek, Albanian, French and Spanish due to the several invasions during history. During the Roman period, the South of Italy was predominantly Greek, and they would also speak Latin but the South was known as 'Magna Grecia'. Generally, we Southerners are darker skinned compared to the Northerners. Most of the Italians that migrated to the US were of Southerner origins. Remember a great Italian-American of Southerner origin who was mayor of New York and, later, senator Fiorello La Guardia.
Can people leave me alone?
Don't forget your Moorish DnA
@@ellacarter1442
I read somewhere that the Berbers were in North Africa. I forget their original name.
@@ellacarter1442 Thank you, since it's probably where that Southern Italy 'dark skin' (Olive) came from...
@@ellacarter1442 There's saracen DNA. The Moors were in Spain...Get your history correct
Your bisnonno's choice of being a tailor - "sarto" in Italian - had a cultural significance in Southern Italian society. The reason this group of tradesmen was respected is because they were derived from the lower classes and yet had direct, personal contact with the "signoria" - rich merchants, military, aristocrats, Nobility, and Royalty. Also, the sarto saw himself as a stepping-stone to providing formal educations for his children, which was the highest ambition for the opportunity in Italy at that time. It makes sense that your father's uncles became professionals. Your father's experiences reflect my own, having been born in 1955 in South Philadelphia and raised there and in Southern New Jersey during the sixties and seventies. All of my grandparents were immigrants from Mezzogiorno but both of my parents were American-born. Interesting interview! Brava!
It’s so cool to see how careful he is to protect her feelings while describing the slurs his family endured.
That's a luxury we don't have being careful on our words could be the last ones spoke
I always loved Italians, they treat me so nice ❤. From NYC to actual Italy 😊. Im a Jamaican by the way 1 love. I enjoy this channel
thank you. funny you say im italian from new york and dated a few jamaican women
Until they call you a moulignon
Many Italians in Northern Jersey are racist as demons.
They mocked his skin color. Now they’re spending millions of dollars a year trying to get a tan. People are so fickle.
Envy
Long over
Everything White isn't always right. And everything Black ain't always whack ❤
My great uncles beat italian ass in the bronx and harlem growing up and I never saw them sit out in the sun once. So who are you talking about? Also getting a tan and being a darky are not the same thing dumb dumb.
Or getting color sprayed on. Like the former prez.
Love your Dad's take about "Ingredients" such an apt metaphor for democracy. The cake that remakes itself. Its quite the riddle that each generation has to figure out how to bake it into existence with what we have intended, what we are, and what we hope to be.
well said.
Italian discrimination was even apart of 19th century Europe.
Read the mystery of Charles Dickens' "The Mystery of Edwin Drood."
Also, in the late 80s, I had an Italian-American coworker who bitterly recalled the intense discrimination she suffered in Catholic school from the predominately Irish-American nuns and classmates.
agree
That's so sad.
Any discrimination that Italians faced in Europe was centered on the fact that they were largely catholic. The same kind of discrimination that Irish people had faced for a long time going back to the time when Henry VIII broke from the Catholic Church. The same can the best the discrimination that Spaniards faced which in turn spawned the black legend.
@@gloriathomas3245 , it also had to do with the olive skinned tone as noted in the Charles Dickens' book: The Mystery of Edwin Drood.
@@saltwatertaffy7020 discrimination was always driven by anti-catholicism. Where do you think Spain's black legend comes from and still persist?
You guys transparency is very refreshing
I appreciate that a lot. To me there is no point in talking if we are going to beat around the bush. Too much of that these days
How old is Dom?
64❤
I am second generation Italian. My family comes from the south of Italy.
My mother spoke fluent Italian, Sicilian, Portuguese, Spanish
We were not taught any other language we would have to be Americans and we had to speak English. My mother went through a lot of prejudice growing up due to the fact that she did not speak English until she was seven years old. She was born here and she is an American citizen. He had a very strong Italian family, many aunts and uncles and cousins all of them pretty much gone now. Most of our parents spoke Italian, but we were not taught. It was to protect us and to make us more American. my mother tells a story that when she went to work in New York City that she had to change her last name there was no Social Security at that time so she could literally go in there and change her last name cutting off the more Italian sounding part of it and making it more American and that’s how she went to work. My mother was very dark skin in the summer and many people thought that she was black or even Hispanic. That is going back into the 40s and the 50s. I am upset that I was not taught Italian. I’m 67 and I understand some and I can speak very little. I know the reason was to protect us. How sad isn’t it? I live in the southern part of the United States and I have a relative that went to work and this is true. It has happened right here. I say four years ago he went to work and someone at the job a very southern man told him to get his black BUT out of there and threatened him and unfortunately, he could not do anything about it because it was a family run southern business and they didn’t protect my relative. My relative left the job. This is in the summer and some of my family members get very tan and can very easily look like they are very tan. This is a disgrace. It is 2025 and just four years ago and Italian American born here was treated with such hate and prejudice.
I am proud of my heritage.
Your dad makes me miss my dad even so much more.
oh my gosh, Im so sorry :(
I'm about your dads age. MY parents from Sicily, I was a kid in the early 60s in South Africa, and I experienced the same relation with the British and Dutch majority.
I returned to Milano in North Italy in 1979 and still experienced shunning. It slowly died away in the next 20 years.
I am Italian, from Italy, the north to be precise. We had a lot of south Italians immigrants and they were not always welcomed. They were physically different from us, they spoke differently from us, their food was different and they got a lot of abuse. It was pure racism but at the time it seemed normal. My grandmother didn't really want me to play with kids from Calabria or Sicily but I did and yes there were lots of differences but it was also fun. I ended up married to a Brit but my kids are bilingual and I forced them taking the Italian language state school exam. Not knowing Italian is not conceivable to me.
My family emigrated to UK from province of Naples ,we never had any problems with other children from north Italy,we all mixed,I’m hearing that their food was different,to this day every region have their own food, it’s not correct to say to your children not to play with children from the south,this is really wrong,
Brava, condivido
WOW!!! I’m mixed both Calabrese, and northern Italian etc. I remember a story told to me by mom that the Anglo-Saxons didn’t want to play with the Italians growing up.
@jennifersteffan2229 mind you that that in 2025 is meaningless, I mean, have you been to Italy recently? You'll notice something interesting....
What do you think about my dad's Italian-American experience? Was it similar to your family story? Let me know!
⚪ Save YOUR family history with my "Be a Good Ancestor" course. Grab yours now at www.nytonashville.com and embark on a transformative journey of preserving your family's history!
🟢Send me a coffee!: ko-fi.com/nytn13#linkModal
⚪Want to connect? facebook.com/findinglolafilm/ on twitter @ImfindingLola
🟢Grab your own Ancestry DNA test now*! : amzn.to/3UxGKJx
That sounds so similar to our family history, too. I think Italians don't know enough about our roots here in the US.
Thank you for this interview, great info. I’m a 70 year old light skinned Mexican American, born in Texas, but raised in California and we experienced a lot of what you’re father did, also I believe because of our tan colored skin. Oh I love Italian food too.
So kind......let me know if you understand italian more or less and i will send you a link on italian dishes.
I’m Sicilian I was raised Mexican food and culture also. Sicilian food / Mexican food. And still today
@@AnnContinolo you ate this?? they eat this
ruclips.net/video/PsqzHR7X8cE/видео.html
What a wonderful video. What an awesome blessing to be able to have this kind of conversation with your dad.
As a non-Italian growing up in Rome,NY (1960’s) I remember this discrimination so clearly. It opened my eyes at an early age. Life lessons taken ,as I’ve lived throughout this country . The best to you .
This is was an interesting conversation. As teenagers, my friends and i had a huge crush on Italian soccer players, so we used to say Italian men are the most handsome Europeans lol. Your dad looks amazing for his age and your mum looks lovely as well.
What's also interesting about this conversation is reading the comments. Some Italians shared their experiences facing discrimination, but then a Moroccan said he was discriminated by Italians. Then you have black Americans say they are discriminated by everyone, including facing colorism within their own community. Moral of the story is human beings are all judgemental and flawed, sadly.
White supremacy was created/the color system was designed for economic dominance and, the propaganda was spread all over the world. Everybody wants to be better than somebody. African Americans are the most hated, for our darker skin. Most of us love being “black”, whether we are light, medium or, darker. We love our culture and, so does the world, just not us. We have come a long way in America and, still striving, still fighting racism, all over the world. I’ve never been to Italy but, there are several videos on You Tube talking about how it’s very racist there towards “black” people.
All true...especially about Italian men.😊
I just have to say, your family on both sides are SO good looking! I really envy your skin tones & bone structure. Both your parents are very attractive, as well as your grandma & Lola! You are so fortunate to have such an interesting family story, & I can't imagine how PROUD you must be that they all overcame so much adversity, & now can enjoy their success & also have fun finding all of your roots!!😍🤗🤩 P.S. I just can't help myself...your dad is soooo handsome!!!😂😂😂
This was so generous, thank you! I am so thankful to have folks like you here with me, it's so much more fun to learn together, it really is. I hope you are starting the journey on your family as well
@@nytn I am, & I can't wait! I already know there are some "family secrets", so that just made me more eager to dig them up! Err, dig up the secrets, not any family, lol. 🤣
I am first generation Sicilian male born northeast, but grew up in the South Florida in a very rural area in the 70's and 80's. Parents did not speak well English and I usually translated for them so we did stick out. Our story was not so peachy. Always being assumed to be from a different ethic group due to my skin color and accent. I did return to Sicily several times, but I was not well received, Grande Americano. I severed in the Army for my college money, and I found acceptance. I believe if we were not alone and had a bigger family group my experience would be better, but we were an island surrounded by a lack of diversity. Thank you for sharing your family story.
Yeah, my mom was always called Italian here, and she used to say that if she wanted to be called American she'd have to go to Italy.
These anthology stories from your family should be archived! Love hearing these stores, keep up the amazing work!
This is far most the best documentary of first-hand experience being told with non bias restraints of truth and intelligence. THANK YOU AND YOUR FATHER FOR SHARING.
It's amazing how much you learn about immigration in the US in half an hour of conversation with your father.Listening to him talk makes the time pass quickly.
He's a great public speaker, believe it or not I think he was nervous about this video. He thought he had nothing worth sharing!
Interesting listening to this, I'm English Italian, grew up in the 60s - 70s. A lot of what your dad talks about definitely resonates with me.
More videos like this are what the world needs
thank you :)
I don't know how I stumbled across this video, but I am so glad i did. What a great conversation! Your Dad is so down-to-earth and real. When I think of Italian Americans, my mind does not automatically jump to the Mafia, but to people like you and your Dad, normal people just living their lives and proud of their heritage without bashing anyone else's heritage. Your Dad is such a handsome man too. Very easy on the eyes for sure! I'm going to check out more of your videos.
You're too kind! I have an Italian playlist Im constantly adding to: ruclips.net/p/PLvzaW1c7S5hRqNP0hfcOXGRuhqgJ0nPZ1
There will always be stereotypes and assumptions with a group of people.
One thing I'd like to point
out is that Southern Italians and Sicilians like Northern Italians are not completely homogeneous, the south also has light complexions, not as many but its share as well. Between us Sicilians, someone's complexion is of no importance, we know of our history and genetic makeup. Skin color is more of a North American obsession.
I'm Gen Z here. When I grew up, the only thing I knew about Italian people was either the mafia or like the original immigrant struggles. And that was all from tv and the old history textbooks from the 80's.
Now I'm learning Italian and wanting to learn more about the culture.
For 64 your dad looks really great. He must live a really healthy lifestyle
Coffee for breakfast every day:)
@@nytnwow! He looks ten years younger.
64!? Wow. This is coming a young-looking 66 yo Asian man.
I gained at least 108 Italian relatives through marriage 30 years ago. They all came to our wedding.
Genes
He's Italian!!!
All I know is my paternal grandfather was from Barbados and we have some family there and New York ( I never met them; my father has) this was fascinating, Danielle. Your pops is cool✌🏾.
Respect from Italy to all italians in the world. Listen to stories of our people all over the world is always exciting. As an italian from Milan from neapolitan family i always have this curiosity of the immigration and nowadays i get upset when in italy we have some racism against the immigrants like “man we did the same in the last century!” we probably can be the only country in Europe that can understand them. Btw tanto amore, viva l’Italia e viva gli italiani. Un bacio❤🇮🇹
I respect everyone,all immigrants,when my family emigrated to UK it was a different emigrations,my dad had work and also bought a house,today they arrive in boats no documents,no work,and they try to change our culture,
bravo, condivido in tutto e per tutto. un abbraccio.
Interesting interview. The beauty is you have started the conversation in your family and generations to come won't have to wonder about the things you and your father (or you and your mother) sat down and talked about and recorded ❤
I thought about that, how much I would pay to get an interview from family 50 years previous. Literally priceless.
I loved your interview. I experienced all that your father did. You both are eloquent and insightful. Thank you for doing a very good job.
From a cute child to a handsome man and very well spoken. Its great that you thought to take a video document of your family history.these things are very important. It is also an interesting and network ready interview. Thank you.
Hi! My dad served in WWII as an American. This is such a great video; thanks for interviewing your dad. 😊 My dad’s parents came from Sicily in the early 1900’s. I wish my dad hadn’t given up speaking Italian. It would be cool to be able to speak Italian. My dad said he forgot how to speak it. 😣 He was a drummer for years-he started playing as a kid, played in the Army, then professionally for years. (My grandpa Anzalone taught his boys to play different instruments.) My mother’s ancestors were mostly Northwestern European. Take care.
I wish we had learned all the family languages. Id be a genius! ;)
I can top that one. My father was in one of the units that participated in The Battle of the Bulge. Because we are tri-racial, a category that did not exist then, he was placed in Black units that were treated as third rate, with inadequate provisions. But in their patriotism and professionalism, they carried out their mission and were commemorated by President Roosevelt. Unfortunately the records of this were mysteriously "lost" in a fire in Kansas City. One can only imagine that it was an act to bury this part of history because of the "skin color" of these soldiers who were part of this important victory that led to the surrender of Germany.
@@nytn I will research it; a lot of history out here.
@@RayPointerChannel Wow! I must ask, are you Melungeon, or Lumbee? I know there are many more tri-racial isolates in the U.S., but those are the ones that come to my mind first, as I live in North Carolina. I'm fascinated by the history of these racial groups! Ever since I found out that my family MIGHT be Melungeon on my Mom's Mom's side, I've learned SO much!🤗
I speak Italian ~¤ I am part Italian &, Mexican😅
OMG where have you been hiding him? How old is your dad? Your dad is a silver fox!
He's 64 and he's been hiding from my channel for a full year.😂
Yeah, Hottie
Her dad is FINE! Somebody just needs to come out and say it! 😅
I figured he was 55 tops
He is a rare individual not seen often
I don’t know how RUclips’s algorithm got me to your stories; they’re great. I am enjoying watching your journey through these interviews regarding your family’s history. You offer an enlightening perspective. I can tell that you’re thirsting for more knowledge. Keep striving!
I love that your father is very down to earth and truthful
Uplifting the veil😎
This channel is a treasure.
Love your dad. His energy is so calming and warm.
One of my uncles was a mine sweeper during the Battle of the Bulge. He was still traumatized by it when he was 90.
Some folks, like your uncle, gave so much of themselves. Impossible to repay.
@@nytn When I spoke to my uncle about it he leaned forward in his chair, his eyes fixed on a distant memory, and said in a quivering voice "I never want to go through something like that again". He said 70 percent of the mine sweepers lost their lives in that battle. You are so right, it cannot be repaid.
Great conversation blessings to you, dad, and the family. 🙏🏼
This is the most wonderful interview! I am currently producing a “family history” for a Sicilian family. This was a lovely conversation that shines a light on the contributions of our multicultural population! Bravo!
This is a fascinating video and very relatable. My Mom's family are Southern Italians from Calabria but ethnically they are Arbëreshë, meaning Italo-Albanians, whose ancestors fled Albania, Greece and the Ottoman empire starting in the 14th and 15th centuries. They still live in their own villages, speak a dialect of Albanian, have maintained their culture for hundreds of years. They are different from Italians with whom they did and do intermarry. They are usually very tall and their skin colour ranges from very fair to very dark.
My great grandmother came to NYC in the 1890s with her sister after their parents both died in a flu epidemic; they were just 13 and 15 years old. They were literally destitute, dirt poor. My great grandmother never wore a pair of shoes until she came to NY. Nana had very dark olive skin, black hair and black eyes, but her sister was the complete opposite, fair skin, red hair and green eyes. They lived on Cherry Street and Mott Street in Lower Manhattan before movng to NJ, which was the "country" then. They faced a lot of discrimination, even from other Italians, because they were from Calabria, spoke no Italian and looked very "swarthy." All Nana's children were born in the US. When my grandmother went into NYC for a secretarial job, she was told they wouldn't hire dagos or wops. She learned not to let anyone know they were Italians.
Lucky for the family, their surname was actually Greek but sounded very ambiguous. So she applied for a job at the Morgan Guaranty Bank in Manhattan as a legal secretary. They looked at her name and said something like, "You're not Italian, are you?" Grandma lied and said, "Oh no, we're French Huguenots originally from Québec." No way were these WASPs going to hire a Catholic from Calabria. She got the job and once the Crash came in 1929, she witnessed her boss jump out the window to his death. She said his body exploded like a pumpkin, blood all over the sidewalk when she looked out the window.
Now get this, her aunt, the one with the light skin and red hair, couldn't get an office job because they assumed she was Irish and didn't want "drunken potato eaters" on the payroll. Thank God those days are over, but you can really empathise with how recent immigrant groups are treated or maltreated. We have Muslim friends and the ladies all wear hijabs. I see the stares they get and on a few occasions have spoken up, but their husbands don’t want to create a scene and tell me to let it go. One time my wife and her girlfriend who was wearing a hijab went into a restaurant to get a table while we parked with the rest of us. They were told it would be a long wait, maybe an hour or more. I went in and they said it would be 10 minutes. We put our name in and the rest of us showed up with most of the women and teenage girls in hijabs. I asked for the manager, told them I’m an attorney and what the hostess did was illegal. The manager said it was all just a “misunderstanding.” We all stormed out and went to another restaurant . As we left, I said to the manager, “You know, it’s 2022, this sh¡t has got to stop.” He said nothing and turned his back.
the arberesh fled the ottomans who invaded them in albania not the ottoman empire
@@antoniobuonanno7902 I know that, I’m well read in the entire history of Magna Græcia and the Balkans. Our family was originally Greek. They fled the Ottomans west to Albania, then made the move over the Adriatic to Calabria in the 15th century.
Those days are not over. Where I am living, the Italians are the racist. They got the American disease.
Very interesting story and sorry for loss. But can you please explain olive color because they come in 3 colors black, brown and green.
@@tanyapeters5062 A lot of Italians from southern Italy, such as Calabria, Naples, Sicily, have darker skin tones that are different than just brown. You have to see it to understand. Most southern Mediterranean peoples have that complexion. Google it for images and you’ll see.
I think that every immigrant no matter where they come from suffers some kind of discrimination. The Irish, Italian, Latino. I have observed that it takes about forty years before one is accepted. The assimilation process takes time and one’s children are the ones who will benefit. It takes education and work to overcome the obstacles.
Your dad is so handsome!!! Keep talking to him keep the family history alive❤
I love this content! As a New Yorker who is 3rd generation American from European countries, these stories are imperative to be reminded of.
Your dad is HANDSOME!! 🤩
Yeah! Look at those biceps ❤
Beautiful, very enjoyable conversation, you both are amazing people❤
What a handsome, and warm soul your father has, he just seems so genuine and gentle, I know you all were raised with lots of love and understanding. He has the aire of an gentle giant.
In my neck of the woods, the city of grosse pointe had a "point system" back in the day that was designed to all but exclude Italian, Arabs, Greeks, Poles and Jews, and it fully banned black folks from moving into the city, and i was shocked when i learned that the point system was only banned by court order in the early 1960s. It took a long time for alot of immigrant groups to earn acceptance in america, and when i see how italian americans are portrayed in media to this very day, it makes me wonder if they ever were really 100% accepted. Its like you ask america to fully embrace you and they reply "best we can offer is to stop burning crosses on your lawn."
🎉
I don't think media is a good barometer for whether a group is accepted or not.
So well done. Thank you for intellectualizing this experience. It is much needed
Six of my great grandparents were born in Italy. Most of them ended up in New York City either in Woodside Queens, or in New Jersey. My father side, which is Sicilian ended up in the Bronx. Most of what the immigrant experiences of being Italian American targets is separating yourself from other immigrants in getting as close as you can to assimilating, while still being Italian.
I was born & raised in NY, LI actually & never experienced any sort of racism, & my Dad was from Bari, in southern Italy 🇮🇹 this was the 60’s & up
Loved this interview ❤ Your dad is very handsome too.😊
I love your dad. Keep doing what you’re doing. I love your Content
I knew about the Italian/Japanese interment camp at Ft. Missoula, MT. My ex-husband grew up in Missoula and was into history. One of the Italian internee’s settled in Missoula. He was a very respected businessman in Missoula. Living in Missoula I have learned the history of Ft. Missoula. Thank you Danielle for expanding our knowledge of the experiences of Italian Americans, German & Japanese Americans. My German/Polish grandmother was detained at the Canadian Border and asked to provide citizenship papers. She came over as a child and thought she was a citizen. Due to confusion on my great grandfather’s part she and her older sisters were not included in Grandpa’s application. Grandma received her citizenship in 1943.
now I begin to understand why the usa had as enemies the Italians and Japanese it was the 3 communities that posed a problem for America, that is to say their diaspora were seen as dangerous
I know a lady who worked for one in Dubuque
Thanks to you and your dad for sharing his story💜🌹 When your dad started talking about your grandfather it made me think of my dad. After WWII my dad came back home, got a job as a cook at a local cafe and the owner who if I can remember correctly was of French descent sent him to tailoring in France. It’s a long story but I won’t ramble but when I heard that about your grandfather my ears stood up😂🙂
Big ❤ from North Europe! Been following your work in RUclips, thanks for all of it!
About 8 years ago, one of our vendors told us: ‘I’m not racist…I hired an Italian!”
I like your Father a lot. Seems like a decent human being.❤
he's amazing
You are so lucky to get a full on interview with your dad, and get to pick his brain about your heritage. I thoroughly enjoyed this.
Thank you and your dad for sharing his story! His story is so similar to mine, it's amazing! I grew up in New Jersey with similar experiences and I think we are around the same age. Thank you both again!!
That is awesome! I love having you chime in:)
@@nytn Your channel is so original, I love watching and learning new things.
Omg Danielle, I have the same happen to me all the time. Mostly people come up and talk to me in Spanish. But I'm Middle Eastern, Native American, and European. One guy I had been talking to asked me about my heritage. And when I told him, he said, "I thought you were Latina." Then he stopped talking to me.
Also, good on your father for understanding and differentiating between Egyptians and Arabs, too! So many people in the West, particularly Europeans, continuously call everyone in MENA "Arabs." It's highly offensive and would be the equivalent of calling Native Americans "Europeans." Seems you had a great upbringing with a great family. And thank you for sharing your family's story with us, as well as the history you're uncovering along the way! 💜
It's not that cut and dry. Sicilians can be blonde as well, and northern Italians can be brunette.
"what hairstyle you're using that day" cracked me up😂 .. I loved this conversation and hearing both of your stories and memories!!❤
Your father is incredibly handsome and tbh looks like he’s your brother he literally looks so young
Great stuff, Danielle, once again!
Salute to you and your dad for sharing a very interesting interview, which I very much enjoyed. You really have a good thing going on with your channel. 🎯
Excellent interview! I love Italian history
You interviewed a good person, your dad is well spoken intelligent and open minded. Also he shares a story that have happened to many people. I grew up in NYC and was fortunate enough to say ive known good italian people.
What a beautiful interview. I spent time in Italy as a military woman and I was treated so well by the Italians I wanted to stay. I am a black woman but I was asked by someone if I was a southern Italian girl. I was a little baffled so I asked about race there. I was told that they were offended if someone called them white. They told me the same thing that your dad said about white people talking about the darkness of their skin. The were not treated well for being darker skinned. Interesting. I love Italy though and always wanted to go back and buy a villa there to stay.❤
where you on drugs when you wrote this comment?
,,,,,, puoi comprare una VILLA n TAORMINA,,,,,, e' Un posto Da sogno!!!,,,,,, ciao dalla SICILIA 🍋🍊🍇🌞☕🍝🍷🇮🇹👍🙋♂️
@@antoniolavecchia1464 Hi there. I would love to go back to Italy. I believe you when you say Taormina is a dream place!
@@alocintsruhin Sicily you can buy homes for 1$!! Some villages will give you a $30k stipend to renovate the home. You are always welcome on our island ❤
That sounds like a dream. I would have to check into that.❤@@bigpapaplantman5126
I'm Mexican American, and I relate to him.
I'm very fair skinned with black hair, and brown eyes.
I mostly deal with racism working in a predominantly white area (Anglo-Saxon; mutts/Southern migrant inbreds).
I welcome them in, they rudely answer me, dismiss me, and eirher leave or go with a white associate.
I pin it on me having a slight accent; the6 are extremely dismissive and rude.
Both of my parents are of Italian descent. My father emigrated to the Pittsburgh area from Supino as a child with his parents and sister; and my mother was born in the U.S. to immigrants from the Abruzzo region. Regarding skin co!or, etc., since my father was in the oil industry, I was born in west Texas and have lived my entire life in the state. My and my siblings experienced a lot of discrimination growing up.
Very wonderful interview with you dad. I appreciate what he said, the way he said it, how he said it, and all that he said it. Thank you.
Your Dad is so handsome. I am British/Irish and my husband is Puerto Rican. My son looks so much like your father in his childhood photos. It’s amazing how just a few generations changes an entire experience. Thankfully.
Im an American and my ethnicity is Hispanic/Latino of Honduran origins but there’s something interesting here, white Hondurans who are mainly of Andalusian/Extramaduran ancestry look like Italian-Americans of Sicilian/Calabrian ancestry which is intriguing since both Spain and Italy are located in southern Europe and their related ancestry during the Latin roman days. supposedly northern Spaniards viewed southern Spaniards as racially inferior and i didn’t know it was the same way in Italy because of the northern Italians viewed southern Italians as racially inferior, so those were parallels as they were fellow counterparts while it is to see that white Hispanics and Italians look similar because of their olive skin tones, natural tans, dark hair, dark eye colors, Arab mixed ancestry, and their roman Latin roots.
My grandmother was from Abrruzzi. She was very fair and had blue eyes. She could read and write in Italian and went to night school to learn civics and became a US citizen. However, she used to say.- " Napolitani are okay, Baraese okay, but Siciliani not okay- they mixed with the Ethiopians". Even Italians discriminated aganist people from other parts of Italy based on skin color. My uncle Al married a Sicilian American women. She had two children. The daughter was fair and hazel eyed. My cousin Tony was darker skinned like his Mom. The darker skinned son and his mom were called the N- word in our predominantly Polish/Irish / German neighborhood.
Nice chat with your dad. Just plain old candid. I wish I had this kind of conversation with my dad. Now that he's gone I kinda regret not asking him about his Irish background.
Same
My grandpa is irish and was confused when he was not treated as white but how come they treated him nicer than the black kids but too more a similar levels too Asians and Hispanics
Very interesting interview. He is a great storyteller as well.
he kept telling me he had nothing of value to say. I was like...I highly doubt that
Your program is fantabulous, Danielle. Things are way more complicated and manipulated than we realize. I only understood when I was way into adulthood. Much appreciated.
Appreciate you here with me!
@@nytn btw. i also have a home in NE India where the society is matrilineal, like the Cherokee. I grew up in Raleigh where there were quite a few classmates that were part Native American/not Lumbee, but no one even noticed. I also attend one of the Mennonite Missionary churches that were set up for mining towns in Western NC/VA where most members are Black, but with some Melungeon.
I went to college in a Mennonite community for one year, and did not fit in very well. they were super nice, but I went back to NY asap :D
@nytn hahaha, we don't always fit in everywhere. You are doing great things so it all worked out fine. Here in Shillong I attend a beautiful Welsh methodist Presbyterian service
Dad's handsome and damn you look like him ! very interesting exchange thank you
I went to catholic school & catholic college. The majority of the kids were Italians, other the other ethnic groups were Irish, Polish, Latinos, Eastern European and some Blacks (they were the top notch athletes in the city & state)!
What I got out of this conversation is…racism is monster. It is constant in its need to feed. And favorite food is dark meat. That is why all history is important and people’s stories are more similar than different. Great talk.
What a great interview with your dad. His story is very similar to mine, except it was my mother’s side of the family that came to the USA from Sicily in the early 1900s. My mom (like your grandad) was a first generation American. And my dad’s parents came here from Poland, so he was a first generation American as well.
I also dealt with name calling and discrimination from other kids, because every summer I was always the darkest kid in the neighborhood. The ‘n’ word was applied to me more times than I can count. I remember being 6-7 years old and using a wash cloth and soap to try and wash off the dark! Fortunately, my parents were able to let me know that I was okay, and if I didn’t show taking any offense at the other kid’s insults, it took away the power of those insults and they just stopped.
But one thing that my parents shared, and the reason why they avoided teaching us their languages (even though they spoke to their parents in the parents’ native language) was because they experienced discrimination when they were growing up, because Polish and Italian (especially Sicilian) people were treated as “less than” by other Whites. So by avoiding an open display of their heritage, they were able to try and show these others that they were also REAL Americans.
And when my parents decided to marry, my mother endured many years of discrimination from her Polish in-laws! Imagine that!
It’s so sad that each new wave of immigrants coming to this country still has to endure this discrimination and abuse.
Keep up the great work with your RUclips channel.
To be honest Italians, Southern French people, Greeks, Spanish and Portuguese, Southern Eastern Europeans look similar. What is wrong with people not understanding that Southern Europeans have a natural tan? It looks better than having a super pale skin and red hair for lots of European Southerners. Red hair is not very popular in Southern Europe at all. They are often made fun of in the South actually. I am just making a statement. I am not saying it's right or wrong by the way. Your father looks a lot like Tony Danza by the way. It's awesome. I personally have some English, German, Scandinavian, Italian and Spanish so I am white with a natural tan on my face like your dad, and I am proud of it. Ladies love it !!!
I am Sicilian American and I remember when I was a kid they used to call me the N word .. I used to get in fights protecting my sister's because they would that... When I was in elementary school I spoke better Italian than I did English.. they told me you're an American now you have to speak English... So we stopped speaking Italian... Now they embrace two languages.. but when people think that discrimination is only on one side they are hardly mistaken... To my proud Italian people.. know your roots and be proud of it..
My grandparents on mom's side emigrated from Minturno to U.S in 1912 and my dad's parents were fro Calabria around same time. Their kids did well and my cousins did even better became P.H.D's and teachers and one cousin was a t v journalist.
I am not dark skin, but dark hair and brown eyes. I am dumbfounded hown Italians in northern Italy look down on southerns. People in every country and culture have profound ignorance of their own history! This young lady in this video is great! Hard to believe Italians in early 20th century were protrayed as monkeys and organ grinders, and we all carried knives. We were called wops , a degratory term which means without papers. Bolderdash! We had to clear immigration with strict rules on Ellis Island. We had to have a physical, psychological test. and have a sponsor and job prospects! Hate prejudice!😢
This is beautiful 😊, your dad is so cool😊
He did such a good job. He was not sure he had anything to say...I knew he would!
Another amazing video you have created, Danielle! Many thanks!
This is wonderful and honest content, your dad is a great story teller, awesome that you brought him on. I said before "You are kicking ass" on this subject matter...my view has not changed. Great stuff and quite educational, hey..and..Thank you.
This is so spot on, I found myself nodding while I watched. The cultural mixing you speak about wasn't something that was accepted or encouraged. Remember Southern Italy, and Sicily especially, were invaded by so many different cultures over thousands of years. They made slaves of some Italians in those regions they conquered, and also raped women who then had children who were not fully (genetically) Italian. My grandfather, who was full Sicilian, had blonde hair and blue eyes--thanks to the Norse who invaded around 800-1000 AD. Some of my cousins have much darker skin than I do (thanks to the North Africans or Moors (though after a few days in the sun, I'm just as dark as they are.) We have a beautiful culture, and I just wish my father would have let us speak Italian in the home. According to him, he didn't want us to go through what he went through growing up. He would tell us we're American, so we speak American. Another thing that was interesting is that my mom's family, and extended family pretty much all settled in one coastal community, and while my generation integrated very well having gone to American schools, my great aunts, aunts, mother's cousins all kept very close, living near each other, usually within walking distance, and all went to the same 2 catholic churches. Those elder women knew every Italian kid, and they could spot you from a mile away. IF you were doing something you shouldn't have been doing, your mom knew about it before you got home. It really did take a village to raise good kids back then--I mean, we all turned out pretty good!
I am black. I’m so sorry the Moors my ancestors did that to you.
Many Sicilians have blonde hair and blue eyes from Albanian(Arberesh) heritage dating back from the 1500's. What town in Sicily was he from?
The "invasion of other groups" in your words in southern Italy would have amounted to a drip of water in a massive ocean that filtered it out. Italy has always had Latin allies removing any stain on his domain. France ruled parts of Italy solely out of protection. Blonde hair bleu eyes is not Italian. But in usa you can't understand as most are mixed there and are already dealing with all the confusion that may come with it.
@@newsynapsrliti2059n0 Arberesh- Albanians never invaded southern Italy
The Norse were specifically the Normans.