Anastasia Hayes: Italian-American Political Activism

I greatly appreciated the opportunity to hear from and read about Mr. Fagiani, as it complicated my perception of Italian-American political participation. Growing up in Staten Island, I have come to understand Italian-Americans as proponents of traditional politics, an observation that is held up by data gathered across the nation. There have been some exceptions, of course; Mario Cuomo springs to mind. But the profusion of Trump signs on southern Staten Island’s kempt lawns spoke to a depressing (for me, at least) reality.

As I was reading, my heart leapt at the mention of Gramsci. My interactions with Italy have been less about the ricera per Dante e la vita bella that inspire many other people who become interested in the madreterra. Instead of Toscana,  I have been firmly grounded in the grittier realities of the Mezzogiorno (Sicily, in particular) on which a number of preeminent leftist authors have spilled much ink. Leonardo Sciascia, Vinscenzo Consolo, Antonio Gramsci, etc., have illuminated the ills of southern Italian society with great care, animating its inherent conflicts through literature. My admiration is indescribable and I was (over excited) at Mr. Fagiani’s shared appreciation.

As I get ready to write the biography for Rosalia (could she have ever been named anything else, really?), the Sicilian girl living in Staten Island during the 1960s, I want to draw inspiration from the way Mr. Fagiani mobilized his ethnic consciousness into political awareness. As he mentions, Italy has a storied tradition as a bulwark of leftist politics which I would like to incorporate into Rosalia’s life (227-228). Unfortunately, much of the discussion regarding the southern problem unfolded in the North, leaving me unsure of how I can imbue a palermintana with a reasonable understanding of the debates raging in Milan. Also, I will have to answer the question of how this consciousness would translate itself across the Atlantic.