Flavor and Soul: Italian America at Its African American Edge

In this thought-provoking, academic, yet often lively study, Gennari, an associate professor of English and ethnic studies at the University of Vermont, explores the intersections between African-American and Italian-American culture. He notes, for instance, how men from both groups have been stigmatized as “dangerous public enemies” while black and Italian-American mothers, epitomized by Aunt Jemima and Mamma Mia, are sentimentalized “as crucial to the ‘mothering’ of a nation.” Gennari also explores how Italian and black musicians, such as Enrico Caruso and Louis Armstrong, helped replace the U.S.’s Puritan mores with a new, more physically expressive and emotional popular culture. And Frank Sinatra, besides being a “state-sanctioned compulsory experience” for the author’s Italian-American New Jersey relatives, was revered by rappers like Puff Daddy and Jay Z for his “stylish virility.” In his analysis of Spike Lee’s movies, especially Do the Right Thing and Jungle Fever, Gennari convincingly shows how the black film director, who grew up in a multiethnic Brooklyn neighborhood, adroitly captures Italian-American life. Whether he’s discussing the relationship between Italian-American basketball coaches and black players or the importance of food to both cultures, Gennari shows that despite tensions between them, black and Italian-Americans have much in common and understand one another better than many outsiders realize. (Mar.)