I know from the stories of my grandparents and great-grandparents the real struggles and discrimination that Italian Americans faced when they first immigrated to America.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I was born and raised in New York, but my family on both sides is of Italian descent.
I am a proud Italian American, raised by an Italian mother and Italian grandparents.
My father was adopted. He grew up in the Italian household.
As an Italian-American, I have a special responsibility to be sensitive to ethnic stereotypes.
I come from a small village in Sicily. For all Italian people, family is very important. We don't fight with our families.
I couldn't settle in Italy - it was like living in a foreign country.
My grandfather worked in a shoe factory - he was an Italian immigrant. My father was the first to go to college in the family.
Most Italians who came to this country are very patriotic. There was this exciting possibility that if you worked real hard, and you loved something, you could become successful.
My family was all born in Sicily and I'm Italian-American. They're the real thing. They're authentic Italians, and honestly they're the most open-minded, nicest people in the world and nothing can really offend them. That's the way I think true Sicilians are.
We were raised in an Italian-American household, although we didn't speak Italian in the house. We were very proud of being Italian, and had Italian music, ate Italian food.