July 1, 2020

To the Town of Bethel, CT, the Bethel Board of Selectmen, including First Selectman Matthew Knickerbocker,

All who signed this petition, including the people of Bethel, would like the Town of Bethel / Board of Selectmen (BOS) to create and approve a Proclamation for "Italian Heritage Day" to be approved at the BOS meeting on August 4th, which would be a celebration of Italians and Italian-Americans in America and beyond, past and present.

The Italian celebration would take place each year on the second Monday in October. We want it to include a parade through the Town of Bethel, a ceremony at the CJH Municipal Center at 1 School Street, Bethel, CT, and also the raising of the Italian flag on a main flagpole in front of the CJH Municipal Center, as it had been raised for the last 35 years (minus a few last years) in the past in Bethel. The celebration will also include an assortment of Italian foods (because you cannot have an Italian celebration without food!) contributed by the community.

About 5.5 million Italians immigrated to the United States from 1820 to 2004. The descendants of the Italian immigrants gradually rose from a lower economic class in the first generation to a level comparable to the national average by 1970, and continued to be successful in the business world, art & culture, education and beyond. The Italian community has often been characterized by strong ties to family, the Catholic Church, fraternal organizations and political parties.

Today, Americans of Italian ancestry are the nation's fifth-largest ethnic group. The majority of Italian Americans reside mainly in the Northeast and in urban industrial Midwest metropolitan areas, though smaller communities exist in certain metropolitan areas in other parts of the United States.

There are many Italian-Americans living in Bethel today, that would enjoy this honor to the Italian people. It is a day to celebrate Italian heritage and the contributions of Italians and Italian-Americans to the United States and the world. We believe this is right and proper, as other groups have been officially honored but Italians have not, and they are fully a part of the Bethel community including numerous businesses. 

In 2016, during a Bethel ceremony, First Selectman Matthew Knickerbocker said, "Today, here in the Town of Bethel, all you have to do is look at all the names on all the businesses, the Italian Americans have brought tremendous success to this country and fought for this country.  They brought craftsman, woodworkers, tailors,  entrepreneurs, business owners of all kinds, attributed to our educational system, they made us what we are today."  

So I'm sure you will agree, we need an Italian Heritage Day here in Bethel, CT, for Italians, Italian-Americans, and people of all backgrounds to celebrate. 

We ask that you honor Italians and Italian-Americans past and present by creating this Proclamation, to be valid from the day of creation, forward.

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Please sign the petition, to be submitted to the Town of Bethel / Bethel Board of Selectmen in approximately one month from today, so we can add as many signatures as possible. Please indicate what it means to have this Italian Heritage Day dedication, in your comments below.