Bill Text: CA ACR89 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Italian American Heritage Month.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 47-25)
Status: (Passed) 2009-09-23 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Res. Chapter 113, Statutes of 2009. [ACR89 Detail]
Download: California-2009-ACR89-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: ACR 89 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
RESOLUTION CHAPTER 113
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 23, 2009
ADOPTED IN SENATE SEPTEMBER 11, 2009
ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 9, 2009
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 9, 2009
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 4, 2009
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 31, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Members Galgiani and Portantino
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Ammiano, Hill, Niello, Adams,
Arambula, Bass, Beall, Bill Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee,
Block, Blumenfield, Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon,
Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon,
DeVore, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Fuller,
Furutani, Gaines, Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez,
Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Krekorian, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie
Lowenthal, Ma, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande, Nielsen, John A.
Perez, Ruskin, Saldana, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra
Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran, Villines, and
Yamada)
AUGUST 17, 2009
Relative to Italian American Heritage Month.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
ACR 89, Galgiani. Italian American Heritage Month.
This measure would designate the month of October 2009, and every
October thereafter, as Italian American Heritage Month. This measure
would encourage public schools to highlight and include Italian
American achievements and contributions to the culture of California
and to take steps to promote the inclusion of the role and
contributions of Italian Americans to the culture and history of
California and the United States in elementary and secondary social
science textbooks during the revision process for those textbooks.
WHEREAS, A study published in December 2004 of social science
textbooks used in California schools and universities by Lawrence
DiStasi and the Italian American Textbook Committee, titled The
Treatment of Italian Americans in California Textbooks, found that
Italian American contributions were largely absent from elementary,
secondary, and postsecondary textbooks used in California; and
WHEREAS, Italian Americans are the sixth largest ethnic group in
America numbering roughly 25 million people, with nearly 1.5 million
residing in California. For much of the 20th century, Italian
Americans were the largest immigrant group in the United States, yet
they are not extended proper credit for their role in shaping
American culture; and
WHEREAS, As one of the country's greatest success stories, Italian
Americans made enormous contributions to our country and state. For
example, Amedeo Pietro "A.P." Giannini, born of Italian immigrant
parents in San Jose in 1870, established in the Italian neighborhoods
across California the first branch banking system in the United
States, known today as Bank of America. The philosophy that spurred
the success of Bank of America was to invest in common people to
stimulate rapid economic growth. Mr. Giannini's investments include
the movie industry, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Walt Disney Company,
and much of today's agribusiness; and
WHEREAS, Italian immigrant Marco Fontana arrived in the United
States in 1859 and started the California Packing Company under the
Del Monte label. His cannery soon became the largest food processing
company in the world. Domenico Ghirardelli settled in San Francisco
during the Gold Rush and founded the Ghirardelli Chocolate empire.
The movie industry, the fifth largest employer in Los Angeles County,
owes much of its success to numerous Italian American artists,
including Danny DeVito, John Travolta, Silvester Stallone, Al Pacino,
Vito Russo, Isabella Rossellini, Liza Minelli, and many others; and
WHEREAS, The wine industry in California owes much of its success
to Italian Americans. Italian pioneers established the early wine
industry in the California foothills of the Gold Country following
the Gold Rush of 1848. In 1881, Italian immigrant Andrea Sbarboro
founded the Italian Swiss Colony at Asti, a cooperative of Italian
immigrants from the wine growing areas of Northern Italy. The colony
quickly became the largest winery in the Napa and Sonoma Valleys.
Later Italian winemakers like Robert Mondavi and the Sebastiani
family established world class status for California wines. Beginning
in the 1940s, Ernest Gallo and Julio Gallo established the largest
family owned winery in the United States in California's central
valley. Zinfandel might have disappeared had it not been resurrected
by the Robert Trinchero family winery, the first to introduce white
Zinfandel from their Sutter Home Winery in the Napa Valley; and
WHEREAS, Italian Americans were among the earliest and largest
groups to settle in California, and they played a dominant role in
the creation of the state's agriculture, food processing, branch
banking, fishing, and wine industries. Little-known facts regarding
the experience and contributions of Italian Americans include the
following: (1) Between 1880 and 1920, about 4 million Italians
immigrated to the United States and nearly one-quarter of Ellis
Island immigrants were Italian. Restrictive immigration laws at that
time were directly aimed at Italian immigrants and based on
anti-Italian attitudes; (2) Although Italians constituted the largest
ethnic group in the American military during World War II, an
estimated 600,000 Italian immigrants nationwide suffered wartime
restrictions including internment and arrest, curfews, and travel
restrictions. Some 10,000 Italian Americans were forced to relocate
from coastal areas of California; and (3) Italians played a large
role in the development of agriculture in California. Their control
and development of fruit and vegetable industries in the central
valley, truck farming in major urban centers, and their influence on
the development of wine and grape industries left a legacy shared by
us all; and
WHEREAS, Italian American contributions to California and United
States history can be easily incorporated in the current elementary
and secondary curriculum content. Including the vital role of Italian
Americans in shaping California into the state it is today will help
pupils truly understand a significant part of our state's unique
culture and will help them understand how the interdependence of
people of diverse racial, ethnic, and cultural differences makes our
country truly great; and
WHEREAS, In 1996, the Legislature established the California
Italian-American Task Force. The highest priority of the task force
is the inclusion in the public school curriculum of Italian American
history, achievements, and contributions; and
WHEREAS, Italian American heritage and the contributions made by
individual Italian Americans deserve the state's commendation and the
designation of a month in their honor for collective reflection and
celebration; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
thereof concurring, That the Legislature designates the month of
October 2009, and every October thereafter, as Italian American
Heritage Month; and be it further
Resolved, That the Legislature encourages public schools to
highlight and include Italian American achievements and contributions
to the culture of California and to take steps to promote the
inclusion of the role and contributions of Italian Americans to the
culture and history of California and the United States in the
elementary and secondary social science textbooks during the revision
process for those textbooks; and be it further
Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the author, members of the State Board of
Education, the Curriculum Development and Supplemental Materials
Commission, and to school districts for appropriate distribution.
