Unico National
UNICO National is a
Unico is the Italian word for "unique", chosen to represent the one-of-a-kind nature of the organization. The word has since become a backronym which stands for Unity, Neighborliness, Integrity, Charity, Opportunity.
Membership and activities
Membership is open to American citizens of Italian heritage or persons married to American citizens of Italian heritage. The local chapters perform community service activities and fund local scholarships as well as other charitable, educational, cultural and civic programs.
National charities and initiatives
In addition to local chapter initiatives, UNICO supports charitable, educational, cultural and civic programs on a national level through the UNICO Foundation.
Organization
At an annual convention held each year during July or August in different cities across the country, the membership elects an
Campaign against stereotyping
Former UNICO president Andre DiMino has taken a strong stand against
After meeting with DiMino, officials of MTV's parent company
After viewing MTV video promos for the second season of Jersey Shore, DiMino stated that he was "... cautiously optimistic ..." about the reduced references to Italian Americans but warned that he would continue to be vigilant about any further negative stereotyping or denigration of Italian Americans.[20]
DiMino also targeted the video game Mafia II for allegedly portraying Italians and Italian-Americans as gangsters, and accused Take-Two Interactive of "blatantly and unfairly discriminating and demeaning" the community.[21] The company later responded in a statement that the game's subject matter was done in a responsible manner and with discretion. Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick also claimed that no one in the organization has actually seen or played the game.
See also
- Anti-Italianism
- Controversies of Jersey Shore (TV series)
- Jersey Shore (TV series)
- Order Sons of Italy in America
References
- ^ LONGO, STEPHANIE. "UNICO NATIONAL: A CENTURY OF SERVICE ABOVE SELF". Italian American Podcast. POWER PRODUCTIONS, LLC. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
- ^ "UNICO National". Unico.org. Retrieved 2010-07-10.
- ^ "UNICO National Scholarships". Acunico.org. 2004-03-13. Retrieved 2010-07-10.
- ^ "Volume 4/Number 1 by: Frank C. Paolercio, Sr". Jimmyv.org. Retrieved 2010-07-10.
- ^ Mental Health
- ^ Italian Chairs
- ^ "Unico National, MSU celebrate establishment of Endowed Chair". Montclair.edu. 2002-03-01. Retrieved 2010-07-10.
- ^ "Service group promotes study of Italian-American history - July 18, 1997". Advance.uconn.edu. 1997-07-18. Retrieved 2010-07-10.
- ^ "What does Unico do?" (PDF). 2009-09-17. Retrieved 2010-07-10.
- ^ "Executive Committee". Unico.org. Retrieved 2010-07-10.
- ^ Raymond, Adam K. "Italian Group Asks MTV to Yank Jersey Shore — Vulture". Nymag.com. Retrieved 2010-07-10.
- ^ "Italian-Americans slam 'Jersey Shore'". UPI.com. 2009-12-04. Retrieved 2010-07-10.
- ^ Kaufman, Gil (2009-12-01). "'Jersey Shore' Castmember Defends Show Against Detractors - News Story | Music, Celebrity, Artist News | MTV News". Mtv.com. Retrieved 2010-07-10.
- ^ "Outrage Over MTV's "Jersey Shore" — The Early Show". CBS News. 2009-12-10. Retrieved 2010-07-10.
- ^ "Take It On: Jersey Shore". My9tv.com. 2010-04-29. Retrieved 2010-07-10.
- ^ "UNICO President Andre' Dimino asks 'Tonight Show' host Jay Leno to take a stand against 'Jersey Shore'". NJ.com. Retrieved 2010-07-10.
- ^ "UNICO National — live streaming video powered by Livestream". Livestream.com. Retrieved 2010-07-10.
- ^ "Anti-Italianism, MTV's 'Jersey Shore' the theme of anti-bias summit at Seaside Heights". NewJerseyNewsroom.com. 2010-01-20. Retrieved 2010-07-10.
- ^ 'Jersey Shore' producers agree to tone down Italian-American references, Associated Press
- ^ "UNICO President Andre' DiMino 'Cautiously Optimistic' About MTV Meeting". New Jersey: Prnewswire.com. 2010-06-24. Retrieved 2010-07-10.
- ^ "Take-Two rubbishes Mafia II racism claims News • News • Eurogamer.net". Eurogamer. Retrieved 9 January 2013.