close
close

first Drop

Com TW NOw News 2024

    • Christopher Columbus is more than a historical figure in Columbus
    news

    Christopher Columbus is more than a historical figure in Columbus

    Vaseline Posted on

    Few are aware of the connection between Italian Americans and (Cristopher) Columbus – a connection that, when explored, often changes perspectives on the navigator’s place in American history.

    Basil M. Russo
    | Guest columnists

    play

    Basil M. Russo is president of the Conference of Presidents of Major Italian-American Organizations (COPOMIAO) and national president of Italian Sons and Daughters of America (ISDA).

    The story of why America began celebrating Columbus Day in 1892, which then led to the creation of more than 100 Columbus statues across our country, is a tragic example of the mistreatment of immigrants that needs to be told.

    After years of relative quiet, Christopher Columbus’ legacy is once again making headlines in Ohio’s capital.

    The Columbus Parks and Recreation Department was sued by an Italian American who says the city showed unnecessary bias when it renamed Columbus Square to Warren Square in 2022. The lawsuit claims the change violates city rules and plays into an undercurrent of intolerance toward Italian-American iconography. .

    The irony? Few are aware of the connection between Italian Americans and Columbus – a connection that, when explored, often changes perspectives on the navigator’s place in American history.

    In fact, judicial, legislative and federal leaders — including President Joe Biden — have sided with pro-Columbus advocates in recent months (rarely have they agreed; it’s worth noting that Biden and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump both support Columbus Day).

    In the past six months, a Pennsylvania appeals court has voted 7-0 to resume a lawsuit filed to preserve a 30-foot statue of Columbus in Pittsburgh. Lawmakers in Massachusetts backed away from a proposal to abolish Columbus Day statewide, and New Hampshire’s governor passed a law mandating the recognition of Columbus Day in all municipalities and public schools across the state. In 2022 and 2023, after many petitions, we worked directly with White House staff to draft federal Columbus Day proclamations.

    Why this sudden shift between branches of government and within broad segments of public opinion? Years of advocacy aside, it all comes down to primary sources and a story that stands on its own merits.

    Here is our Italian-American history…

    When Italians came to America

    Between 1880 and 1920, approximately four million Italian immigrants left impoverished cities in southern Italy to seek a better life for their families in the US. Upon their arrival in America, they were subjected to violence and hostility such as they had never experienced in Italy.

    Many of these immigrants arrived through the Port of New Orleans to provide the cheap labor needed in the sugar cane fields. They took the place of emancipated slaves.

    One of the worst episodes of racial violence in our nation’s history occurred in 1891 in New Orleans, when the city’s police chief, David Hennessy, was shot. As he lay dying in a dark street, when asked who shot him, he said, “The Dagos.”

    About two hundred Italian immigrants were taken into custody, and nine of them were tried before a jury. No one was found guilty. Despite this finding, they were all returned to prison.

    Political and business leaders in the community stoked deep-seated anti-Italian immigrant sentiment in New Orleans. A crowd of more than 5,000 people gathered in the town square, stormed the prison, and beat, shot, and lynched eleven Italian immigrants.

    This was the largest mob to ever participate in a mass lynching in American history. Yet you will not read a word about it in any history book of our school.

    To fully understand how despised the immigrants were, The New York Times and many other newspapers across the country applauded the lynchings in their editorials. Future President Teddy Roosevelt declared that the lynchings “were a pretty good thing.”

    Tragically, the lynchings in New Orleans were not an isolated incident. Over the next thirty years, another forty Italian immigrants were tied up by an angry mob.

    The beginning of Columbus Day

    In an effort to encourage greater tolerance and acceptance of Italian immigrants, President Benjamin Harrison declared the national observance of Columbus Day in 1892. From that day until now, Columbus, who was considered a national hero of Italian descent, was embraced by Italian immigrants. as a symbol that they would one day be accepted in America.

    But in 1920, another injustice befell our community, when immigrants Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were arrested and ultimately executed for allegedly murdering a shoe factory paymaster and security guard. Their trial was another example of a corrupt justice system.

    The trial was led by a bigoted judge who publicly expressed his disdain for Italian immigrants. Protests in support of Sacco and Vanzetti were held around the world without results.

    Anti-Italian hysteria again reached a fever pitch in World War II when 600,000 Italians living in our country were labeled as enemy aliens and subjected to curfews, confiscation of property, loss of jobs, relocation from their homes and in some cases internment camps. The tragic irony of this situation is that while they were being treated like criminals, a million of their sons fought and died to keep our country free.

    Many well-meaning but ill-informed Americans vilify Columbus because of accusations not supported by primary source material. Many books have been published in recent years that debunk the lies and disinformation.

    These include “Columbus and the Quest for Jerusalem,” by Carol Delaney, a book that Harvard historian Gordon S. Wood called “a remarkable work of history” and which was named one of the 100 best books of the world by the Times Literary Supplement year; “Unmasking Howard Zinn,” by Mary Grabar; and “Christopher Columbus the Hero.”

    Pride and gratitude

    Decade after decade of hardship, hostility, persecution and prejudice, the statues, parades and days created in Columbus’s honor were the outlet through which Italians in America expressed their pride in their heritage and their gratitude to their new homeland.

    This unique and inseparable bond helped our community overcome the prejudice and violence we encountered during our long journey toward assimilation into mainstream American culture.

    Cleveland resident Basil M. Russo is president of the Conference of Presidents of Major Italian American Organizations and national president of Italian Sons and Daughters of America.

    Vaseline
    View all posts

    You Might Also Like