On Being Italian
Madeline Northup
Not all families are made the same. When we’re growing up, we may take for granted the things that we think are normal: good food at the table, a family gathered around chatting about their days, and a sense of tradition that flows through each story. Janice Mancuso grew up Italian, in an Italian family, with all the cultural elements that come with it. At first, she took it for granted. Being Italian was a part of her, but not a part of her that seemed particularly important. That was, until she left her home on Long Island, and moved down south to North Carolina.
Suddenly, the Italian culture she had been immersed in as a child vanished. Traditional Italian food, such as prosciutto bread and cannoli, was hard to come by. Not many people could relate to her stories of catching crabs with her grandfather at his summer home and cooking them in big pots of tomato sauce with her family. Having moved away from Italian culture as she knew it, that’s when Janice knew that being Italian was never to be taken for granted.
Yearning to reenter Italian culture and learn more about what was fast becoming an important part of her identity, Janice joined a small women’s group that aimed to celebrate their Italian American heritage. Soon after, several women from the group gifted her the book Italians First!: An A to Z of Everything Achieved First by Italians, thus launching her fascination with Italian history, specifically the contributions that Italian Americans have made to the world.
Just as I was shocked when I took my first Italian American culture class at Miami University, Janice was astonished by how much Italian American influence has been disregarded in history textbooks. It seemed to her that the American historical narrative had completely erased the positive contributions of many prominent Italian Americans, instead focusing always on the negative ones. Why was it that misinformation was always being spread about Columbus Day? Why was American culture, and even the world, enthralled with the glorified idea of the Italian mafia? Why had Italian Americans not been able to combat the harmful stereotypes established during the mass migration of the late 1800s and early 1900s?
Inspired by the injustices of historical erasure, Janice founded the newsletter Tutto Italiano in 2004, publishing monthly stories on the hidden contributions of Italians and Italian Americans. Now a bimonthly publication, it is part of the Italian American Heritage Project, which Janice founded in 2018. Since its first issue, Tutto Italiano has grown to include news of both Italian Americans and Italians in Italy, Italian American publications, and an editorial section. Having just begun the 21st volume, Janice has no plans to end the publication anytime soon.
Along with Tutto Italiano, Janice continues her Italian American research and activism every October through 31 Days of Italians, a publication in which she documents a different great Italian or Italian American each day for Italian American Heritage Month. She has also written a book, Con Amore, in which she mixed traditional Italian recipes with Italian history and romance, thus appealing to a wide audience of readers. In 2011, Janice became director of the Italian American Press, a website “offering a selection of books primarily written by authors of Italian heritage who write about Italian American and Italian culture, heritage, and history” (Italian American Press). All of her ventures have created visibility for Italian Americans not only within the Italian American community, but in the nation as a whole.
As an educator and researcher, education is Janice’s main goal in founding and expanding each Italian American project. Breaking down the stereotypes that are still in existence today about Italian Americans is paramount. Just like me, Janice is tired of the same old mafia movies and the misinformation spread about the significance of Columbus Day. She believes that, as Italian Americans, we have a responsibility to reclaim the image that society presents us as, and mold it to who we really are. We don’t have to conform to stereotypes, we have to combat them.
“Being Italian is the greatest thing,” Janice said to me as we began our interview. Despite the stereotypes that still exist within today’s society that might discourage an Italian American from being proud of their heritage, it is researchers and activists like Janice who prove that being Italian is not just a label. It is a call to change in which harmful stereotypes are destroyed and a sense of cohesion among the Italian American community is rekindled. If we educate ourselves and others, as Janice continues to do, we can learn more about ourselves and our hidden history. And that, we will never take for granted.