Unless someone is an astute student of history, it is unlikely that many know that the largest mass lynching in the nation’s history was of Italian Americans living in New Orleans in the last decade of the 19th century. The anonymity of this fact is indicative of a problem in the country’s historical education and political discourse.

On March 14, 1891, the largest mass lynching in U.S. history occurred when 11 Italian Americans were killed in New Orleans, stemming from a controversial court decision involving the murder of a local police chief. Yet, one would never know this from the lack of attention it received in the country’s political discourse this week — other than this quick mention.