Speaker. as a cosponsor of House Joint Resolution 564proclaiming June 22. 1980. as National ItalianAmerican Day in honor of the Order of the Sons of Italy in AmericaI would like to make a few remarks about this fine organization. celebrating the 75th anniversary of its founding. Our countrys rich ethnic heritage is preserved and enhanced by the Order of the Sons of Italy in America. From the first 34 Italians in 1820 to the 5 million Italian immigrants whose descendants now number over 20 million citizens. the blend of the Old World and the New s represented. No matter how far we ravel in time. we do not and should I not outgrow the roots that give us our stability in our growth. This is true of any ethnic heritage. but I thinkperhaps with some biasthat Italians especially have every right to be proud of what they have meant for this great country. The Order of the Sons of Italy in America has over 300.000 active and social members throughout the United States and Canada. Their work today. as their work 75 years ago. is as a service organization that reaches far beyond the Italians to the community at large and the country. In the beginning. they worked with the new immigrants to help them understand the rights. accept the responsibilities and to perform the duties of citizenship. They met immigrants at Ellis Island. they ran orphanages. established health. disability and death benefit insurance programs and supported and helped organize the original American Federation of Labor. They also organized and operated banks. savings and loans associations. and newspapers for the ItalianAmerican community. The groups motto is: "LibertyEqualityFraternity" and it is an appropriate one.
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