Katherine Keenum

Nov 23, 2016 10:43 AM EST

Times haven't changed. Ethnic groups and different religions are still feared and seen in sterotypical ways and not necessarily assimilated into the American culture. Since Trump became President-elect, it's now become easier to voice hatred of race and antisemitic remarks.

The Italians were treated negatively, too. They must have come into the US in the late 19th-century, later than this drawing by Nash, but when they did, it wasn't easy.

My people came here in 1898 (paternal grandparents) and 1900 (maternal grandparents). Both sets immediately lived on the Upper East Side straight from landing at Ellis Island. They had friends who helped them get apartments away from the slums. I happen to live a couple of blocks from the apartment building where my father was born.

I've had conversations with people who, upon hearing my ancestry, ask me if my grandparents automatically lived in Little Italy. There is complete silence when I say the Upper East Side. They assume immigrant equals squalor.

Very rarely, but even now, I sometimes get some idiot who expresses a stupid Italian accent in front of me after hearing my last name. Some people still associate an Italian name with the Mafia.

I hope your Thanksgiving is lovely and that you're feeling great and fully recovered.

Pat

- Patricia Franzino