Salvatore J. LaGumina, Professor Emeritus and past Director of the Center for Italian American Studies at Nassau Community College, passed away peacefully a few days ago at the age of ninety-five.
Born in Brooklyn to Sicilian immigrants, LaGumina graduated from the prestigious Brooklyn Automotive High School, and went on to earn his bachelor’s degree from Duquesne University and his master’s degree and doctorate from St. John’s University. He became one of the leading historians of the Italian American experience, particularly of those who settled on Long Island.
LaGumina was among those scholars who founded the American Italian Historical Association in 1966, which proved fundamental to the establishment of the field of Italian American Studies. He devoted much time to the association as a working member and in leadership positions; he founded the association’s regional chapter on Long Island, which still functions to this day. Salvatore LaGumina also worked closely with the National Italian American Foundation and the Commission for Social Justice of the Order Sons of Italy in America, for which he held the position of college liaison. His influence led to the preservation of Italian-American memorabilia and artifacts at archival centers including the Center for Migration Studies in Staten Island and the Immigration History Research Center at the University of Minnesota.
LaGumina lectured extensively at major American universities and abroad and authored and co-edited numerous books and articles on this subject. An early work, Wop: A Documentary History of Anti Italian Discrimination, was the first authoritative book on discrimination against Italian Americans and is still considered the standard work on the topic. Among the books he has authored or edited are From Steerage to Suburbs: Long Island Italians; The Italian American Experience: An Encyclopedia; and The Humble and the Heroic: Wartime Italian Americans, a detailed examination of the role Italian Americans played during World War II and winner of the Order Sons and Daughters of Italy’s Pietro di Donato/John Fante Literary Award.
LaGumina’s impact on students, family and friends will continue through the rich scholarly legacy he left through his publications that include: The Saints in the Lives of Italian Americans: An Interdisciplinary Investigation; Vito Marcantonio: The People’s Politician; An Album of the Italian American; The Ethnic Dimension in American Society; The Immigrants Speak: The Italian Americans Tell Their Story; New York at Mid-Century: The Impellitteri Years; Long Island Italians; Hollywood’s Italians: From Periphery to Prominenti; The Great Earthquake: America Comes to Messina’s Rescue; and The Office of Strategic Services and Italian Americans.
Long past retirement, LaGumina continued to research, write, and tell the stories of his heritage. He is survived by Juliana, his wife of sixty-seven years, his children Francis (Paulette), Mary (Peter), John (Francesca), and Christine (John); and his grandchildren Stephanie (Jorge), Maria Teresa, Giuliana, Caroline, Michael, Paul, Francis, Nicholas, Talia, Gianna, Tyler, Joseph, and Brooke.
Written in collaboration with Dominic Candeloro.
