| Chapter 3: | Stores, Houses |
Italy, they informed us, it was forbidden to speak dialects even at home. Everyone in Italy had to speak, read and write in Italian. We replied that in New Deal America everyone was encouraged to speak, read and write in English. English had become the common language of the Italian Americans. However, we were never forbidden by teachers, government officials or the police to speak dialects at home out of respect for our grandparents.
“You enjoyed more freedom in America under President Roosevelt than we did under Mussolini,” one of the newcomers said.