Page 8 - Italian-American Herald - May 2024

8 ITALIANAMERICANHERALD.COM | MAY2024 ITALIAN-AMERICANHERALD IN THE REGION
Census data: Analysis reveals shrinking Italian population
WHERE HAVE ALL THE ITALIANS GONE?
Percent change since 2011
2022 Persons identifying as either full or partially Italian
Percent
change since 2011
i
2022 Persons dentifying as full Italian
i
d
U.S. Maryland Pennsylvania
5,715,235 83,046 464,402
-19% 16,316,728 -7% -9% 283,327 -8% -23% 1,405,580 -10%
Delaware
28,735
-13%
85,061
-3%
New Jersey
532,654
-26%
1,321,859
-12%
City of Philadelphia
37,022
-38%
108,240
-14%
Atlantic County, N.J.
Camden County, N.J.
Cumberland County, N.J.
Salem County, N.J.
Chester County, Pa.
Montgomery County, Pa. Washington Township (Gloucester Co.) Evesham Township (Burlington Co.) Vineland City
Upper Darby Township (Delaware Co.) Ridley Twp. (Delaware Co.)
South Phila. ZIP 19146
South Phila. ZIP 19148
19,401 -14% 28,088 -27% 8,988 -25% 3,189 -33% 22,663 -16% 39,125 -20%
5,926
5,148 +14% 5,112 -29% 2,618 -55% 2,409 -19% 1,008 +42% 5,510 -48%
45,681 -9% 77,552 -12% 18,880 -19%
8,325 -21% 75,712 -2% 118,043 -4% 15,266 -9% 11,935 +4%
10,052 -23% 8,282 -33% 7,744 +2% 3,023 +30%
Burlington County, N.J.
23,940
-19%
69,800
-11%
Cape May County, N.J.
6,555
-18%
17,631
-2%
Gloucester County, N.J.
24,879
-28%
70,655
-7%
Bucks County, Pa.
27,653
-23%
90,243
-8%
Delaware County, Pa.
28,813
-31%
84,655
-13%
New Castle County, Del.
17,387
-24%
53,858
-15%
Gloucester Township (Camden Co.)
5,848
-20%
14,272
-18%
Cherry Hill Township (Camden Co.)
4,711
-19%
11,294
-9%
Haverford Township (Delaware Co.)
3,157
-27%
10,212
+12%
Bensalem Township (Bucks Co.)
2,192
-34%
8,259
-5%
South Phila. ZIP 19145
6,489
-37%
10,648
-20%
South Phila. ZIP 19147
2,411
-39%
6,565
+ 4%
10,498 -33% Source: U.S. Census American Community Survey, 2011 and 2022 5-year data
South Phila. (Total)
15,418
-40%
30,734
-19%
Continued from front page
The source of this information is the American Community Survey, the only source of comparable, quality information about population trends. It is the bureau’s largest ongoing survey; it includes an annual sample of 3.5 million households, and it publishes estimates annually. Recent estimates from the 2022 American Community Survey indicate that about 5.7 million Americans reported “Italian” as their only ancestry, while an estimated 10.6 million people identified as Italian and one other ancestry (for example, Italian and Irish). In total, an estimated 16.3 million persons identified as Italian, in full
or part. Nearly all these estimates are down significantly since 2011.
The Italian-American Herald reached
out to leaders of several Italian-American organizations in the Delaware Valley, who wondered whether increasing prosperity and upward mobility in the younger generations of Italian Americans (reported in the IAH
in December 2023) might lead them to ignore their heritage and therefore partly
be responsible for the Italian population’s reduced self-reported numbers.
Al De Gennaro, a former assistant district attorney in Montgomery County, Pa., who now heads up the Americans of Italian Heritage Council, noted that membership does appear to be dwindling in the remaining Italian-American organizations in central Montgomery County as “older members pass without an equal number of new members joining.”
Speculating on possible explanations for the decline in census numbers – or perhaps in the number of people who self-identified as having Italian heritage –De Gennaro cited several factors including political correctness, extracurricular activities for young people that pull them away from family, and “the demise of the family meal and attending Mass together.”
CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS
The survey publishes Italian population estimates in two different categories; those who identify as only Italian and those who identify as either fully Italian or Italian with one other ancestry. This analysis reflects changes in population in both categories. Estimates from 2022 (collected from 2018 through 2022) were compared to 2011 estimates (collected from 2007 to 2011). The nation as well as all states in the Delaware Valley have experienced declines in both the full Italian category and the combined full and mixed Italian category.
SOME KEY FINDINGS:
• The City of Philadelphia and each of its surrounding counties have also experienced Italian population declines in both categories.
• At the local town and ZIP code levels, with several exceptions, several areas that have been known to have high Italian-American populations in the past are also experiencing declines.
• Nationally, at the state level, nine states showed slight gains in the “full Italian” population, while the remaining 41 states lost population. Regarding
the “full or partial Italian” category, New York, California, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Illinois all lost a significant number (100,000 or more each) of persons during the 2011-2022 timeframe. The “full or partial Italian” population of several other states did increase, however only Texas incurred a gain of 50,000 or more.
CULTURAL CONTEXT
Speculation about the possible reasons behind the decline in Italian cultural awareness numbers often centers on a single word: assimilation.
“Increased assimilation by each generation has diluted our heritage more and more in each generation,” said DeGennaro, from the Americans of Italian Heritage Council. He suggested a sort of “counter-assimilation” to restore pride in Italian identity by renewing emphasis on awareness of heritage in today’s youths.
DeGennaro lives in Penn Valley, Pa., and remains proud of his Italian ancestry. His paternal grandparents were from Abruzzi and Sicily, his maternal grandparents from Basilicata. He’s taught himself some Italian and has visited Italy three times., The group he leads organizes the Columbus Cup (golf, bocce and lots of Italian food) in October and a Feast of the Seven Fishes in December, plus the new Christopher Columbus Monument Committee.
“I believe our greatest success can also
be considered out greatest failure,” he said. “With the emphasis on education and career success, we have put our children in a position of focusing on the future and its opportunities, without the proper appreciation of and emphasis on our Italian heritage and its culture and traditions.”
One of the more dramatic parts of the census analysis centered on neighborhoods and ZIP codes that were once considered Italian enclaves, particularly in South Philadelphia.