When Dave Anthony Setteducati and his wife joined the local Sons of Italy lodge in Smithtown, NY several years ago, they were looking to make new friends that shared the same heritage. After all, Nassau and Suffolk counties have one of the largest numbers of Italian surnamed families in the country! Not only did they make many new connections, but many of their new friends had also immigrated from Italy and adopted the USA as their new home.

Unexpectedly, the Setteducati’s quest came at a time when anti-Italian sentiment was rising, with statues of the Genoese explorer being vandalized and Columbus being reviled as a symbol of white supremacy.