Ciao from Rome to all the friends of We the Italians.
Dear friends, I hope you are well in these difficult times, when as if the coronavirus were not enough, the incomprehensible, unjustifiable and very wrong attacks on the statues of Columbus have arrived. On We the Italians I'm publishing all the updates: every day there are about 10 articles about Columbus, and in our archive you can find here more than 1000 articles about the Genoese navigator. I have personally moderated so far more than 10,000 comments from rightly very angry Italian Americans on our Facebook page since the madness has once again taken hold of those who think that asking for justice for George Floyd, killed for the color of his skin, means taking it out on a symbol that 100 years ago was attacked by the Ku Klux Klan because he represented freedom of religion and the contribution of many immigrants to the growth of the United States of America. This is complete madness and I can say that I am ashamed that Italy does nothing to stop these hate crimes against Italian Americans and therefore against Italy. I personally follow the initiative of two members of the Italian Parliament and personal friends of mine and of We the Italians, Federico Mollicone and Fucsia Fitzgerald Nissoli, the only two who seem to care about Columbus: they have collected 59 signatures among their colleagues for a petition to present to the Italian government. We the Italians will do everything we can to defend Columbus, you can count on it. Please remember that you can sign our Manifesto in defense of Columbus, here.
I would like to point out an interview of which I am particularly proud, in this issue, that with Antonio Romanucci, co-counsel of George Floyd's family in the civil trial that will be held against the 4 Minneapolis cops who killed him. Antonio Romanucci is the proof that Italian Americans are among the best in every field in the United States, on the right side in this horrendous affair in which the law will be made thanks also to a very successful Italian American.
The cover of this issue is an old black and white photo that maybe doesn't remember anything for some of you. But it is a photo that tells the most important moment of the match of the century, the most famous match in the history of Italian soccer. In these very days we are celebrating the 50 years anniversary of Italia-Germania 4-3: whether you know what we are talking about, or you ignore it, you will find in our Italian Sport column a fantastic article by Federico Pasquali telling you all about it. It is part of the contemporary history of our country.
Our podcast We the ItaliaNews has reached 100 videos. You can find them all here, we continue to tell you in these 5-minute pills what happens in Italy during coronavirus. Among all the socials the videos have been followed by more than 1000 people, and for a month there is also the audio podcast, on Anchor: you can find it here.
In this issue you will find the description and the link to a survey called "Discovering Italian: the roots travels in Italy". The survey was developed by the AsSud Association, which established the Observatory on Italian Roots. The scholars who currently constitute the Observatory are 4 friends of We the Italians: Giuseppe Sommario, Marina Gabrieli, Riccardo Giumelli, Delfina Licata. Please consider participating to the survey.
A new friend has joined the family of We the Italians. Now we also have someone who represents us in Massachusetts: his name is Francesco Rizzo Marullo. Francesco is a Tax Manager for a consulting firm in Massachusetts. He is an Italian Supreme Court Tax Lawyer with more than 15 years of experience. In 2011 he received an LLM in International Tax Law from the University of Florida. He is a licensed Enrolled Agent with the IRS and he is also licensed to practice as a Foreign Legal Consultant in Massachusetts. He is the author of various tax-related articles for some of the most prestigious Italian law and financial magazines. Welcome Francesco!
Finally, I would like to tell you that on May 29th Edoardo Colombo and I on behalf of We the Italians participated in the virtual meeting on root tourism organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this time only virtually because it is still not possible to start organizing meetings in presence again. Root tourism is one of the strongest proposals that Italian institutions are working on when tourists from all over the world will be able to return to Italy, and We the Italians is pushing for the first tourists to return, Italians abroad, in 2021. We hope they will listen to us, everybody’s enthusiastic about our idea.
I leave you with a video on Columbus. It is a radio speech by Neil deGrasse Tyson, director of the Hayden Planetarium at the Rose Center for Earth and Space in New York, part of the American Museum of Natural History. He has 14 honorary degrees, is an African American, and describes Christopher Columbus' discovery of America as the most significant feat in the history of the human species. I'd say that's more than enough to deserve statues, respect and a gigantic, perennial thank you.
Once again, the recommendation always remains the same: please stay safe, please stay healthy. Do not underestimate this threat, take care of yourselves and your families. We'll get out of this, we'll make it, and we'll come back to hug each other as Italians love to do. Italy and the United States will not stop being brothers, allies, friends. Please follow our video podcast and don’t give up on Italy. I won’t gonna stop saying this: the future’s so bright, we gotta wear shades!
