Essay written by Maria Kazlauski

Changing social demographics, such as marital status, migration, and education, present unique challenges for my generation. A collaborative effort and resourceful approach are crucial to address these challenges and ensure the successful preservation and transmission of cherished Italian practices. 

Arguably, marital status is the most crucial demographic factor that challenges may generation’s attempt to preserve and transmit Italian traditions. An intact Italian marriage is a powerful catalyst for cultural preservation. It fosters a family environment where children value their heritage and actively seek to understand and participate in family practices and traditions. These children willingly carry forward our Italian customs to the next generation.

Sadly, marriage as a social demographic is changing. The Pew Research Center reports that in 2019 approximately four in ten adults between the ages of 25-54 were neither married nor living with a mate. This ominous fact supports the U.S. Census Bureau’s finding that each year more than one million American children experience parental divorce. Two-parent households are on the decline. Divorce and remarriage are on the rise. Approximately one in six children live within a blended or intercultural family. Offspring of these unions, as well as children of divorced parents, possess diluted ethnic identities and are less likely to preserve and transmit Italian traditions to future generations. Despite their weakened identities, many children in these groups would like to learn more about their family’s history and culture. Therein lies the problem. Family alone does not always provide needed solutions.

A well-known African proverb asserts, “It takes a village to raise a child.” This saying speaks to the necessity of an entire community banding together for a child’s well-being and has significant implications for ensuring the successful transmission of traditions. To truly preserve Italian traditions, there must be a strong collaborative effort of family and community members utilizing community resources, social institutions, best practices, and cutting-edge technology. My generation’s first challenge is to engage and motivate others to investigate their ancestry and develop a strong sense of ethnic pride. To address this obstacle, my generation must work with families and the community to plan and conduct Italian-related activities such as field trips to religious festivals and historic sites, create and celebrate Italian cuisine, and conduct and share oral histories of first and second-generation Italians.

As my generation engages with youth, we will ultimately create viable Italian artifacts by documenting Italian traditions and heritage. Despite the best means of organization, however, valuable cultural artifacts can easily be misplaced, lost, stolen, damaged, or destroyed. This sad act presents yet a second unique challenge to my generation. How might we permanently protect the safety and integrity of our Italian artifacts? To adequately address this question, my generation must utilize the latest forms of technology to create and store our unique artifacts.

Technology can ensure the preservation of written or oral artifacts, even if damaged or destroyed. Digitizing pictures, documents, videos, and audio, prevents artifacts from decay and enables numerous individuals to benefit from the process. The use of 3D scanning can permanently preserve and capture physical objects like ethnic clothing, as well as historical locations like Italian communities. Such exhibitions allow individuals worldwide to access, learn about, and adopt Italian traditions. This technological advancement offers a beacon of hope, ensuring that our traditions can be shared and celebrated for generations to come.

Migration is a second changing demographic that challenges my generation’s attempt to preserve and continue Italian American traditions, and it must be addressed. Italian immigrants first moved to “Little Italy” communities where everyone shared the same values, beliefs, and traditions. As these families moved to more up-scaled neighborhoods, they experienced severe ethnic discrimination. Freedom-loving Americans despised Italian Fascists and loathed the Mafia. Many Italian Americans begrudgingly discarded their Italian heritage to dissociate themselves from these factors and assimilate into American society. Many shortened their last names or dropped the o’s and i’s to avoid discrimination and ridicule. Most felt pressured to change their attire, mannerisms, and language. The pressure caused cultural tension and resentment, which still exists today. This pressure to change presents my generation with another unique problem or challenge. How can we assist new and future immigrants in dealing with disrespect and discrimination?

To address this, my generation must engage local communities, Italian fraternal groups, and interested activists to unite and support present and future Italian immigrants to deal with the tensions, conflict, and anxieties caused by the migratory process. By uniting with these three groups, my generation can work collectively to plan and conduct workshops, community meetings, and Italian festivals to eliminate negative stereotypes and biases, and promote cherished traditions. We can connect troubled migrants with counseling organizations to assist with associative problems like stress, anxiety, and depression.

A third demographic that challenges my generation’s efforts to preserve and continue traditions is schooling. Schooling poses the challenge of veracity or conformance to truth and accuracy. As Italian American students are taught critical thinking, many recall popular traditions and deem them silly, irrational, and nonsensical. Examples of such traditions are wearing red underwear on New Year’s Eve to ensure good luck, and wearing a horn-shaped amulet to ward off a malocchio or evil eye. To address the perception of foolish and outdated traditions, my generation can organize community meetings and empower Italian Americans to understand that traditions are not cast in stone; instead, they can and must evolve. Together, my generation and the older generations can collaboratively plan and establish new traditions that are realistic, practical, and applicable to present-day urban environments.

Societal demographics change over time and present unique and overwhelming challenges for my generation to preserve and continue the cherished Italian traditions of our grandparents. By embracing the latest forms of technology, engaging local communities, promoting educational awareness, and planning collaboratively, my generation can withstand the unique challenges of demography and ensure our beloved Italian traditions will not only endure, but flourish.