Editing Italian Americans (section)

===Post–World War II period===
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[[File:MarioAndretti.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Mario Andretti]], one of the most successful drivers in the history of motorsports,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.carophile.org/greatest-race-car-drivers-of-all-time/7/|title=10 Greatest Race Car Drivers of All Time|date=May 7, 2015|publisher=carophile.org|access-date=April 9, 2017}}</ref>]]

Italians continued to immigrate to the United States, and an estimated 600,000 arrived in the decades following the war. Many of the new arrivals had professional training or were skilled in various trades.
The post-war period was a time of great social change for Italian Americans. Many aspired to a college education, which became possible for returning veterans through the [[GI Bill]]. Since the 1960s, a lot of people left Italy and went to North America (mostly), South America, and Europe. European migration was seasonal and permanent.<ref>Buliga, Ana Laura. "Causes and Effects of the Migratory Italian Waves in the 19Th - 20Th Centuries." ''Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Brasov, Series VII: Social Sciences & Law'', vol. 9 (58), no. 2, July 2016, pp. 53–60. ''EBSCOhost'',</ref> With better job opportunities and better educated, Italian Americans entered mainstream American life in great numbers. The Italian enclaves were abandoned by many who chose to live in other urban areas and in the suburbs. Many married outside of their ethnic group, most frequently with other ethnic Catholics, but increasingly also with those of diverse religious and ethnic backgrounds.<ref>Moquin, ''Documentary History'' (1974) pp 401–32</ref><ref>Candeloro (1984) pp 266–68</ref> According to Dr. [[Richard Alba|Richard D. Alba]], director of the [[University at Albany, SUNY|Center for Social and Demographic Analysis at the State University of New York at Albany]], 8 percent of Americans of Italian descent born before 1920 had mixed ancestry, but 70 percent of them born after 1970 were the children of intermarriage. In 1985, among Americans of Italian descent under the age of 30, 72 percent of men and 64 percent of women married someone with no Italian background.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Collins|first=Glenn|date=February 11, 1985|title=THE FAMILY;A NEW LOOK AT INTERMARRIAGE IN THE U.S. (Published 1985)|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/02/11/style/the-family-a-new-look-at-intermarriage-in-the-us.html|access-date=February 6, 2021|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Numerous Italian Americans are [[Person of color|people of color]], including many people of mixed African-African and white Italian ancestry. Notable Black Italian-Americans include Pittsburgh Steeler running back [[Franco Harris]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wetheitalians.com/interviews/italian-americans-and-african-americans-clash-cultures |title=John Gennari (Author of the book "Flavor and Soul: Italian America at Its African American Edge") |publisher=We the Italians |access-date=May 19, 2023}}</ref>
[[File:Walter M. Schirra (Apollo 7).jpg|thumb|left|[[Wally Schirra]], one of the earliest NASA astronauts to enter into space (1962), taking part in the [[Mercury Seven]] program and later [[Project Gemini|Gemini]] and [[Apollo program|Apollo]] programs]]

Italian Americans took advantage of the new opportunities that generally became available to all in the post-war decades. They made many significant contributions to American life and culture.

Numerous Italian Americans became involved in politics at the local, state, and national levels in the post-war decades. Those who became U.S. senators included [[John Pastore]] of Rhode Island, who was the first Italian American elected to the Senate in 1950; [[Pete Domenici]], who was elected to the U.S. Senate from New Mexico in 1972 and served six terms; [[Patrick Leahy]], who was elected to the U.S. Senate from Vermont in 1974 and served until 2023; and [[Alfonse D'Amato]], who served as U.S. senator from New York from 1981 to 1999. [[Nancy Pelosi]] was both the first woman and the first Italian American Speaker of the House. [[Anthony Celebrezze]] served for five two-year terms as mayor of Cleveland, from 1953 to 1962 and, in 1962, President [[John F. Kennedy]] appointed him as United States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare (now the Department of Health and Human Services). [[Benjamin Civiletti]] served as the United States Attorney General during the last year and a half of the Carter administration, from 1979 to 1981. [[Frank Carlucci]] served as the United States Secretary of Defense from 1987 to 1989 in the administration of President [[Ronald Reagan]].
[[File:Pope Leo XIV 2 (cropped).png|thumb|[[Pope Leo XIV]]. His paternal grandfather's family name was Riggitano, and later changed to Prevost, when he was settled in the United States.<ref name="bosman2025">{{cite news |last1=Bosman |first1=Julie |title=A Century-Old Romance That Gave the Pope His Family Name |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/16/us/pope-leo-grandfather.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Hk8.tLNf.NnvwUXTO7EKz&smid=url-share |access-date=16 May 2025 |work=The New York Times |date=May 16, 2025}}</ref> Leo XIV's paternal grandparents were John Riggitano Prevost (born Salvatore Giovanni Gaetano Riggitano, changed by him in the United States; 1876{{endash}}1960),<ref name="ANSA">{{cite news |title=Pope also has Creole origins from New Orleans - NYT - Vatican - Ansa.it |url=https://www.ansa.it/english/news/vatican/2025/05/09/pope-also-has-creole-origins-from-new-orleans-nyt_1e45a964-0b92-4bb2-b69b-00c3f83b8038.html |access-date=15 May 2025 |work=ANSA |date=9 May 2025 |language=it}}</ref><ref name="Serra 2025">{{cite web |last=Serra |first=Oscar |date=May 9, 2025 |title=Prevost, le origini italiane (come Bergoglio) e quel cognome che rimanda al Nord Ovest |trans-title=Prevost, the Italian origins (like Bergoglio) and that surname that recalls the North West|url=https://www.lastampa.it/cronaca/2025/05/09/news/prevost_origini_italiane_come_bergoglio_nome_profezia-15139133/ |access-date=May 9, 2025 |website=[[La Stampa]] |language=it}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Clayton |first=Laura |title='Great hope for the Church' as new Pope elected |url=https://www.bailiwickexpress.com/news-ge/great-hope-for-the-church-as-new-pope-elected/ |website=Bailiwick Express News Guernsey |date=May 12, 2025|access-date=May 13, 2025}}</ref> a [[Sicilian Americans|Sicilian immigrant]] from [[Milazzo]] near [[Messina]], [[Sicily]] region.<ref name="bosman2025"/>]]

Italian Americans founded many successful enterprises, both small and large, in the post-war decades, including [[Barnes & Noble]], [[Tropicana Products]], [[Frank Zamboni|Zamboni]], [[Transamerica Corporation|Transamerica]], [[Subway (restaurant)|Subway]], [[Mr. Coffee]], and [[Conair Corporation]]. Other enterprises founded by Italian Americans were [[Fairleigh Dickinson University]], the [[Eternal Word Television Network]], and the [[Philadelphia 76ers|Syracuse Nationals]] basketball team – later to become the [[Philadelphia 76ers]]. [[Robert Panara]] was a co-founder of the [[National Technical Institute for the Deaf]] and founder of the [[National Theater of the Deaf]]. Recognized as a pioneer in deaf culture studies in the United States, he was honored with a commemorative U.S. stamp in 2017.

Eight Italian Americans became Nobel Prize laureates in the post-war decades: [[Mario Capecchi]], [[Renato Dulbecco]], [[Riccardo Giacconi]], [[Salvatore Luria]], [[Franco Modigliani]], [[Rita Levi Montalcini]], [[Emilio G. Segrè]], and [[Carolyn Bertozzi]].

Italian Americans continued to serve with distinction in the military, with 4 Medal of Honor recipients in the [[Korean War]] and 11 in the [[Vietnam War]],<ref>Aldo E. Salerno, "Medal of Honor Winners", in ''The Italian American Experience: An Encyclopedia'', ed. Salvatore LaGumina (New York: Garland, 2000), pp. 365–68.</ref> including [[Vincent R. Capodanno]], a Catholic chaplain.

At the close of the 20th century, 31 men and women of Italian descent were serving in the U.S. House and Senate, 82 of the 1,000 largest U.S. cities had mayors of Italian descent, and 166 college and university presidents were of Italian descent.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://dev.niaf.org/research/contribution.asp |archive-url=https://archive.today/20150309085758/https://dev.niaf.org/research/contribution.asp|title=Italian American Contributions|date=March 9, 2015|archive-date=March 9, 2015}}</ref> An Italian American, [[Antonin Scalia]], was serving as a [[Supreme Court of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court]] justice, who was later joined by [[Samuel Alito]] in 2006. More than two dozen Italian Americans were serving in the Catholic Church as bishops. Four—[[Joseph Bernardin]], [[Justin Rigali]], [[Anthony Bevilacqua]], and [[Daniel DiNardo]]—had been elevated to Cardinals.

Italian Americans served with distinction in all of America's wars, and over 30 have been awarded the Medal of Honor. A number of Italian Americans have served as top-ranking generals in the military, including [[Anthony Zinni]], [[Raymond Odierno]], [[Carl Vuono]], and [[Peter Pace]], the latter three having also been appointed [[Joint Chiefs of Staff|Chief of Staff]] of their respective services. Over two dozen of Italian descent have been elected as state governors including, most recently, [[Paul Cellucci]] of Massachusetts, [[John Baldacci]] of Maine, [[Janet Napolitano]] of Arizona, and [[Donald Carcieri]] of Rhode Island.
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