Schools, Societies and Newspapers: Education and the Italian Ethnic Press in Louisiana
This paper explores the nexus of education, cultural associations, and the Italian-language press in Louisiana from the late nineteenth century through World War II.
Drawing on the digitized holdings of L’Italo-Americano (1885–1917), La Voce Coloniale (1917–1955), and related Italian language newspapers published in Alabama and Tennessee, my paper situates the Italian ethnic press as a crucial mediator of identity, racial positioning, and community integration in the Jim Crow South. Newspapers were not only instruments of information but also platforms that articulated strategies of social ascent, often in tension with nativist discourses that stigmatized Italians as “not white enough.” Particular attention is given to the relationship between the press and benevolent societies such as the Dante Alighieri Society, which sponsored schools, scholarships, and cultural initiatives. Through editorials, educational campaigns, and advocacy for Italian language instruction in public institutions, newspapers sought to promote linguistic pride and secure Italians’ place along the color line. Yet, the entanglement with Fascist propaganda further complicates this history: periodicals promoted programs that ranged from the establishment of Italian chairs in universities to ill-fated attempts to “whiten” African Americans via Italian language teaching at historically Black colleges during the Ethiopian campaign. By tracing these dynamics, the paper argues that the Italian ethnic press in Louisiana exemplifies how education, print culture, and political ideology intersected to fashion a diasporic identity that was at once defensive, aspirational, and complicit in local racial hierarchies.
Matteo Brera specializes in transnational exchanges between Italy and North America (specifically Canada and the US South), with a focus on the ethno-cultural press and its role in shaping transcultural identities. His Marie Skłodowska-Curie project, A Darker Shade of Whiteness, examines the Italian ethnic press in Louisiana (1877–1945) and its contribution to racial awareness in the Gulf South, addressing an overlooked aspect of race relations, racism, and the construction of racial discourse in the U.S. South.
