The ANNOTICO Report
Here is a man who deserves Grants from Major IA Organizations,
for Publication of his Research and for further Research.
Rev. Vincent J. Lapomarda has already proved his dedication
and productivity.
I will not try to summarize this article since it deserves
to be read in total.
Worcester Sunday Telegraph
Commentary
Albert B. Southwick
October 30, 2005
Booklet: "A Century of Judges of Italian Descent in Massachusetts".
Author: Rev. Vincent J. Lapomarda, Professor, The College
of the Holy Cross
* * * * * * * *
In 1905, Frank J. Leveroni was appointed a special justice
of the Boston Juvenile Court,
the first man of Italian descent to hold a judicial position
in Massachusetts.
This otherwise unknown centennial has been handsomely
noted by the Rev. Vincent J. Lapomarda,
S.J., in a booklet titled, "A Century of Judges of Italian
Descent in Massachusetts. "
Rev. Lapomarda, a professor at The College of the Holy
Cross, did yeoman work in the archives
to come up with this extensive compilation. Well-known
names are mingled with minor figures lost to history.
But taken as a whole, the list makes an impressive statement
about Italian contributions to the Massachusetts judiciary.
It is a shot across the bow of the old picture of Italian.Americans
as mobsters or mob influenced.
Rev. Lapomarda never mentions the Mafia or the Cosa Nostra,
but his intent is plain:
Italian Americans can be proud of what they and their
colleagues have done in maintaining and
defending the rule of law for the last century. Tony
Soprano, meet Joseph L. Tauro,
former chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial
Court.
Although Rev. Lapomarda is mostly concerned with the judiciary,
he also mentions some of the politicians
of Italian descent who have risen to prominence in Massachusetts.
Foster J. Furcolo. John A. Volpe,
Silvio O. Conte, Paul Cellucci and others are on the
list. .
Those governors and congressmen of Italian descent are
emblematic of the remarkable achievements
of an ethnic group that had a hard time breaking into
the upper ranks of power in this state and nation.
In 1952, when I first began to write editorials for The
Evening Gazette, Italo Americans were struggling
politically in this state. They had not made it to any
of the main political offices.
Fifty years later, the governor of Massachusetts and the
mayors of Boston, Worcester, Springfield and
Providence all had Italian names. It was a remarkable
turnaround that few would have predicted a half
century ago.
Many ethnic groups have bitter stories to tell about bigotry
and obstacles in the new land,
but the Italians had a couple of special disadvantages.
The FIRST one was Hollywood's fascination with the mob.
From "Scarface" to "The Sopranos,"
Italians have been depicted as tough, ruthless and contemptuous
of the law and given to conspiratorial
criminal acts. Whatever the realities of the Mafia, the
constant string of film godfathers and mob violence
makes for a damaging stereotype that has weighed heavily
on millions who don't deserve it.
The SECOND big obstacle to Italian progress was World
War II, when Mussolini aligned Italy with
the Axis powers against the Allies. We all are familiar
with the World War II treatment of Japanese citizens,
both foreign and native-born. They were uprooted from
their homes and put into internment camps
in the West. Less well-known is what happened to thousands
of Italian born American citizens.
A reader recently sent me a copy of "Una Storia Secreta
- When Italian Americans Were Enemy Aliens,"
published by the American Italian Historical Association
some years ago. It is an eye-opener.
In 1942, 600.000 [SIX HUNDRED THOUSAND] Italian-Americans
were branded "enemy aliens"
because they lacked citizenship papers, and thousands
on both coasts were evacuated from
their homes. Hundreds were arrested and some 250 were
interned in
military camps in Western states, where they lived in
Quonset huts. Families were
broken up and were not reunited until after Sept 1943,
when Italy surrendered to the Allies.
This episode has been overshadowed by the internment of
Japanese-Americans,
but it was a traumatic experience for many Italian-Americans
and their families. It should not be forgotten.
With that background, the Rev. Lapomarda's booklet is particularly relevant.
He touches on the long battle of the Italians to win full
acceptance by the Democratic Party
here in Massachusetts. That party was long dominated
by the Irish, whose political skills
were and are legendary. Although Italian candidates
got footholds at the City Council level before 1920,
[although ONLY in OVERWHELMINGLY Italian American neighborhoods]
(William F. Nardi began his
career as a Worcester city councilor in 1915), they had
a hard time rising much higher.
When the Democrats nominated Footer J. Furcolo for governor in 1957, it was considered a risky move.
Mr. Furcolo had been a congressman, but also important
was the fact that his mother was Irish.
That was one way of getting around the old political
adage that "Garlic and Gaelic don't mix."
After Foster J. Furcolo, the Democrat, came John A. Volpe,
a Republican.
He served as governor for six years before he went to
Washington as secretary of
transportation under President Richard M. Nixon.
Ironically Mr. Nixon had briefly considered Mr.Volpe for
the vice presidency, but picked
Spiro T. Agnew instead. Had he chosen differently, Mr.
Volpe would have become
the first president of the United States of Italian descent.
Rev. Lapomarda concentrates mainly on the judiciary, where
men of Italian
background have stood out.
Anthony Julian, A. David Mazzone and G. Joseph Tauro are
some who made
distinguished records both on the federal and state
benches. There are many
more, as anyone can see who reads this modest booklet.
The only controversial note in this study is Rev. Lapomarda's
comments on
the Sacco- Vanzetti case. That famous episode in Massachusetts
history still
stirs people up, and the guilt or innocence of the two
Italian immigrants is by
no means established beyond any doubt. For many years,
it was widely
assumed that they had been railroaded by a combination
of popular bigotry and a
biased judge....
There is little doubt that the trial in 1919 was held
at a time hostile to
"foreigners" and agitators. Sacco and Vanzetti were both.
In 1977, 50 years
after they had been executed, Gov. Michael S. Dukakis
proclaimed Aug. 23 as a
memorial day for the two and said that "any stigma or
disgrace should be
forever removed from the names of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo
Vanzetti ".....
Rev. Lapomarda's booklet' is a valuable reminder of an interesting phenomenon.
The Italian experience in America is a notable one that deserves more than the usual treatment by Mafia hit men.
Albert B. Southwick's column appears regularly in the Sunday Telegram.
http://www.telegram.com/apps/
pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051030/COLUMN21
/510300646/1053/NEWSREWIND
Also SEE: Rev. Lapomarda's Web Site at Holy Cross re "Italian Americans"
http://www.holycross.edu/departments/
history/vlapomar/italians.htm