Italian American Group Condemns Senator Reid for Ethnic Stereotyping, Demands Apology

Italian American Group Condemns Senator Reid for Ethnic Stereotyping, Demands Apology

NEW YORK, Jan. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Nevada Senator Harry Reid's ethnically- charged criticism of a colleague is "shocking, unjust and inappropriate, and he owes the Italian-American community an apology," said Louis Tallarini, President of the Columbus Citizens Foundation of New York City.

Tallarini's statement (below) stemmed from Reid's appearance on the January 18 edition of PBS's nationally broadcast program, "The News Hour with Jim Lehrer."

In discussing Congressional ethics, newscaster Lehrer mentioned that Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum had called for reforms in the practices of lobbyists and Congressmen. In response, Reid said, "Having Senator Santorum talk about reform is like having John Gotti talk about doing something about organized crime."

Santorum is the son of an Italian immigrant.

"Senator Reid's callous comment is shocking, unjust and inappropriate since it invokes the specter of organized crime in a criticism of an Italian American," said Tallarini. "On behalf of the Columbus Citizens Foundation and the estimated 26 million Italian-American citizens of this country, we demand an apology from Senator Reid.

"Senator Reid is undoubtedly aware of the great contributions Italian Americans have made to this country," said Mr. Tallarini. "We are stunned and disappointed that Senator Reid would attempt to tar someone of Italian- American descent with a grossly unfair negative stereotype."

The Columbus Citizens Foundation, best known for organizing New York City's Columbus Day Parade, supports cultural and educational programs, including grants and scholarships for elementary school, high school and college students who are of Italian-American descent. In 2005, the Foundation awarded scholarships totaling $2.5 million. It is currently supporting the education of 610 scholarship recipients.

Press Contact: Andrew Decker
212.222.4688
andrew.decker@att.net

Source: The Columbus Citizens Foundation

CONTACT: Andrew Decker, +1-212-222-4688, andrew.decker@att.net

Web site: http://www.columbuscitizens.org/

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