The Order of the Sons
of Italy in America was founded in 1905 in New York City as an ethnic fraternal
society for American men and women of Italian descent. The order publishes OSIA
News monthly; State Newspapers monthly;
a national directory; Italian-American
Characters in Television and Entertainment; and a Survey
of Italian-American Representation. There were 500,000 members in 1995.
The Sons of Italy was founded at the time of many other ethnic fraternal
organizations, but instead of evolving into an insurance society, it remained
more involved with cultural, educational, and charitable work, as well as
establishing a Commission for Social Justice, the anti-defamation arm of the
organization. The Sons also fund scholarships; civic programs; its own
Garibaldi-Meucci Museum; and general charities such as the March of Dimes. Many
of its members are apparently not Italian-Americans, but people of other
ancestry who support the goals and works of the Sons of Italy.
The ritual is of peripheral interest only, but
the Sons do don uniforms for parades. The structure is the familiar three-level
arrangement of Lodge, State Lodge (formerly Grand Lodge) and Supreme
Lodge (national).