RESOURCES
Here’s a list of resources that you may find helpful: associations, nonprofits, clubs, foundations, museums, public and private institutions, and whatever else we have found that we believe is of interest to Italifornians (Italians living in California), Italian-Americans, Italophiles, curious webnauts, and just simply admirers. It is not exhaustive, nor omni-comprehensive. How could it be? It is not a Polaroid from the past. On the contrary, it reflects a community in movement. However, it can be enriched. We count on you, our Members, to improve it. Please use this link to send us your suggestions: theitalifornians@gmail.com. The OAHIC Editorial staff reserves the right to post suggested Resources at their discretion.
MEDIA
Museo Italo Americano: ieri, oggi e domani
Paola Bagnatori, Managing Director of the Museo Italo Americano, discusses it's founding.
Museo Italo Americano
Finding The Mother Lode: Italian Immigrants in California
"This excellent film fills a real gap in our understanding of the complexity of the Italian immigration experience… It is a must see!" Carol L. McKibben, Historian, Stanford University
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Italians first came to California in large numbers with the Gold Rush. While most found little gold, they did find a “mother lode” (the rich vein of gold that the gold miners sought) in farming, fishing, commerce and making wine.
“Finding the Mother Lode” documents the experience of Italian immigrants in California, which was markedly different from that of their compatriots elsewhere in the United States. Through stories set in seven Italian communities throughout California, this film examines how economic and social mobility became possible for many Italians in the Golden State. It is also a look at how immigrant identity is maintained and transformed as immigrants become assimilated into mainstream America.
The current film is a follow-up to the filmmakers’ critically acclaimed “Pane Amaro/Bitter Bread” (2009) on the Italian immigration to the East Coast. “Finding the Mother Lode” too, is based on extensive research and weaves together oral histories by community members with scholarly analyses which provide the larger historical context.
Visit: findingthemotherlode.com
ITALIAN-AMERICAN NEWSLETTERS
The latest news from California's leading Italian-American organizations
Italian American Heritage Foundation
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Italo Americano
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North Bay Italian Cultural Foundation
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Sons of Sicily
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Sons of Sicily Women's Club
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We The Italians California
ITALIAN-AMERICAN
INSTITUTIONS & ORGANIZATIONS
COM.IT.ES di San Francisco
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Coalition of Italian American Organizations
Bay Area
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Italian American Heritage Foundation San Jose
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Italian Heritage Society of Monterey Peninsula
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Little Italy San Jose
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Museo Italo Americano
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Order Sons & Daughters of Italy In America
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Sicilian Sisterhood
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Sons of Sicily
UNA STORIA SEGRETA
When Italian Americans Were "Enemy Aliens"
Italian immigration to the West Coast, which began as early as the Gold Rush, reached full force around the turn of the century. By the 1930s, the Italian population was at its peak: Italian Americans comprised the largest immigrant group not only in San Francisco but in the entire United States. The 1930s were not easy for these immigrants, either politically or economically.