th
# 72 •nOvemBER 16 , 2015
of the United States?
Located in Keystone,
South Dakota, Mount
Rushmore is one of the
world's most renowned
sculptures. The memorial,
which turns 75 next year,
has moved beyond the
single focus of the faces
of the four US presidents
to embrace the vast diversity of cultural traditions
and stories that make up
Americans' national heritage. That's why I feel the
US government is dropping the ball so badly by
not telling the Del Bianco
narrative; if the story of an
immigrant to these lands,
who worked on what is
arguably the most iconic
landmark in this country,
isn't the realization of the
American dream for a person to these shores, I don't
know what is.
You are also working on
the project of a documentary about the Del Bianco
family, called “Through
Lincoln's Eyes”…
The documentary is being
helmed by a Peabody
Award-winning producer
and writer named Taryn
Grimes Herbert, and I was
filmed this past August
speaking with a gentleman
named Cam Sholly, who is
the Midwestern Regional
Administrator for the Parks Service. It was a very
frank and candid discussion, and I hope I swayed
him to my point of view,
namely, that Del Bianco
deserves posthumous recognition for his work at
the memorial. I think it's
why this story should resonate with people. Who
among us haven't felt at
some time or another che-
ated out of the credit we
feel we're deserving of?
So just from a perspective
of equity and fairness, I'm
hoping the federal government remedies this slight.
What would you like to
tell our fellow Italians who
live either in the US and in
Italy about Luigi Del Bianco?
This is a great immigrant
success story that is not
part of the narrative currently being told at the
memorial. When tourists visit, the park rangers
aren't informing them of
the work of this skilled artisan. And that's a shame.
The contributions of immigrants built America.
For instance, many of the
men responsible for the
stonework at the Natio-
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