IAP 309: Are Italian Americans White? The Racial and Ethnic Categorization of Italian Americans.

The Italian American Podcast

What do YOU use to answer the question on race and ethnicity on the U.S. Census?

The Federal Government has recently undertaken a reexamination of the “Federal Standards on Racial and Ethnic Data Collection”, and as a part of that process, they have invited communities across the nation to weigh in on how they are counted.

To some in our community, the time has come to answer the question of whether or not Italian Americans are “White”.

And of course, there is no straightforward answer. While some believe that the label White is an appropriate one for Italian Americans, others feel it’s an erasure and “whitewashing” of the Italian American historical experience. Many fall somewhere in between.

We’re joined by Chiara Parisi and Cristina Carabetta, two Italian American attorneys who have engaged the Federal Government in the process. They are also two of the shining alumni of our inaugural Italian American Future Leaders Conference and returned to IAFL2 this month to present their work at our 2024 conference.

They’ll share when, and at which governmental levels Italians have been categorized as “White”, why the collection of accurate statistical data is so important for our community, and what some of the proposals for a new categorization for Italian Americans actually entail.

Plus, we’ll discuss some of the misunderstandings around the current effort that have left a split in Italian American opinion.

It’s an important conversation straight from the stage of IAFL2, and one that will impact Italian Americans for generations to come!

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