[caption id="attachment_69275" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="Thomas Nast."]
New Jersey's Italian community is teaming up with the Garden State Irish in an effort to keep 19th century illustrator Thomas Nast out of the state's hall of fame.
The New Jersey Ancient Order of Hibernians is opposing Nast's elevation on the grounds of his vehement anti-Catholicism and anti-Irishness.
Turns out that Nast didn't have much time for Italians either.
The New Jersey branch of the Italian American organization, the One Voice Coalition, the nation's largest Italian American anti-bias organization, is calling for New Jersey Hall of Fame Executive Director, Don Smith, to eliminate Nast from inclusion in the latest batch of nominees due to the cartoonist's history of prejudice and bigotry towards Italians, Irish Catholics and other ethnicities.
Thomas Nast produced editorial cartoons in the late 1800s that included depictions of Italians as criminals and malcontents along with other negative imagery of Italy and Italian Americans. This was in addition to his repeated depictions of Catholics, and especially Irish Catholics, in hostile and bigoted themes. the group said in a statement.
"We should not be glorifying such a clearly bigoted and prejudiced person in a list of prominent New Jerseyans," said Andre' DiMino, president of One Voice.
"This is supposed to be a list of New Jersey people who are 'role models of excellence,' not those that spewed hate speech," he said.
DiMino said that One Voice was joining with the New Jersey Ancient Order of Hibernians in calling for the elimination of Nast from inclusion in the New Jersey Hall of Fame.
"We support our brother and sisters in the Irish American community and their campaign against Nash's inclusion. While the cartoonist depicted negative cartoons about Italians, Nast was especially blatant in his hostility and bigotry towards Irish Catholics."
One Voice describes its sole focus and objective as being is opposition to bias, stereotyping and discrimination against Italian Americans. Its stated mission is, in part, to "secure the rightful representation of Americans of Italian origin and of all peoples whose paths toward social equality have been impeded. The powers of intellect, wisdom and due process of law will be brought to bear on all inequities."
There has been no announcement as yet from the Hall of Fame as to whether or not Nast will be included in the hall.
