"My Heart Is as Black as Yours": White Backlash, Racial Identity, and Italian American Stereotypes in New York City's 1969 Mayoral Campaign

MARIA C. LIZZI


"MY HEART IS AS black as yours!" mayoral hopeful Mario Procaccino declared to an unfriendly and largely African American crowd at a Harlem campaign rally. Most reporters and pundits responded to the conservative Democrat's claim with derision, calling it an awkward and insulting attempt at creating rapport with the African American community. The interpretation of this remark gained added significance because, in 1969, race was a key factor in all of the issues facing Procaccino and his opponents, Republican state senator John Marchi and the liberal, erstwhile Republican incumbent John V. Lindsay, who was running as a third-party candidate after losing the Republican primary.