Today I reflect on my forefathers who immigrated from Sicily. June 23rd was is Italian Freedom Day in the USA. A little know fact of slavery and human trafficking of Italians and Sicilians.

In 1874, Italian and Sicilian Slavery and Indentured Servitude was outlawed in the USA and particularly in cities such as: New York City & Cities in the Mid Atlantic. See: Padrone statute (18 Stat. 251)

As a proud Sicilian , this is one of the most little known and covered up crimes in US history with regard to human trafficking and slavery.  As for DNA, many Sicilians have DNA of Hispanic, Turkish, Greet, Arab, African and other regions.

References

Trafficking United States History

http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/201606.pdf

http://web.archive.org/web/20170114022411/https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/201606.pdf