Senator Portantino Marks Italian Heritage Month with Senate Resolution
For Immediate Release: August 20, 2024
Contact: Lerna Shirinian, (818) 409-0400
Senator Portantino Marks Italian Heritage Month with Senate Resolution
Sacramento, California – Earlier this month, Senator Anthony J. Portantino (D – Burbank) celebrated the contributions that Italian Americans have made to California by authoring Senate Resolution 103, which designates the month of October as Italian American Heritage Month.
“As an Italian American, I am honored to author this resolution to highlight the contributions Italian Americans have made to our great state,” stated Senator Portantino. “I take great pride in the remarkable achievements of Italian Americans and their positive impacts on art, culture, business and public service. The century of achievements underscore the invaluable role Italian Americans have played throughout our state’s history.”
Italian Americans were among the earliest and largest ethnic groups to settle in California where they played a significant role in the creation of our state’s agriculture, food processing, branch banking, fishing, and wine industries. Italian Americans are the fifth largest ethnic group in America numbering roughly 26,000,000 people, with nearly 1,500,000 residing in California. Italian Americans were the largest ethnic minority to serve in the US military during WWII and California is home to the first woman Speaker of the House of Representatives. Two Italian Americans, David Roberti and Don Perata, have led the State Senate as Senate Pro Tem.
SB 103 designates the month of October 2024, and every October thereafter, as Italian American Heritage Month. It also encourages public schools to include Italian Americans in ethnic studies courses and to highlight their 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.
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