By Joann Ariola
It’s that time of year again – the time of year when we get ready to celebrate Italian-American heritage while the radical left ramps up their campaigns to tear down the men and women who shaped our country. Once again, just as we start gearing up to celebrate Columbus Day and the contributions of the many Italian-Americans in our nation’s history, my “progressive” colleagues are pushing forth another bill to remove statues of Columbus (as well as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and other founding fathers) from public spaces throughout New York City.
Let me say this clearly: the radical left wants to rewrite American history. As long as I am able, however, I will continue to challenge this frivolous notion that history should be modified and made politically correct, and I will continue to advocate on behalf of those great men and women whose contributions created the greatest country in the history of this planet. This is why it is my great pleasure to inform all of you about the upcoming Columbus Day celebration on Oct. 8.
Like last year, my office is partnering up with the Howard Beach Columbus Day Foundation to bring a Columbus Day event to Cross Bay Boulevard. Complete with Italian food, music, games, and more, we will be celebrating our heritage on Oct. 8 from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. between 158th Avenue and 159th Avenue along Cross Bay Boulevard. Last year’s turnout was a great success, and I am looking forward to an even greater turnout this year.
Now, I’m sure there are some out there wondering – why Columbus Day? Why have we chosen this day to celebrate Italian-American heritage? To answer that, we need to take a little trip back to the 1892, when Italians were still viewed as a group of outsiders and criminals who had no place in this country. The year before, in 1891, eleven Italian-Americans were killed in New Orleans in what would be one of the largest mass lynchings in the United States. The killings sent shockwaves throughout Italian communities nationwide, and in 1892 – the 400th anniversary of Columbus’ landfall in the New World –Italian American organizations were able to successfully petition Republican President Benjamin Harrison to create a one-time nationwide celebration of Columbus.
The following year, during the 1893 World’s Fair Columbian Exposition, Italian-American organizations were able to build upon their successes, and continued pushing to make Columbus Day something to be celebrated all across the country. In doing so, these organizations were working to demonstrate to the wider American audience that Italians belonged in the New World. After all, they argued, it was an Italian who actually made this land known to Europe in the first place.
As Italian-Americans were able to gain wider acceptance in the United States, they were able to lobby harder for Columbus Day to become a regularly celebrated annual holiday. These efforts were finally brought to fruition in 1934, when Congress agreed (thanks in large part to the efforts of New York City Italian leader Generoso Pope) to make Columbus Day a federal holiday.
Since then, Italian-Americans have viewed the holiday as a time to celebrate their rich history in the United States – a history that some of my radical colleagues would rather erase. Keeping this history – the history of my parents, grandparents, and great grandparents, and the history of the ancestors of many of The Forum’s readers as well – alive is something very important to me. And this is precisely why I hope to see all of you out there on Oct. 8. So that we can maintain our shared culture and traditions, and always remember the struggles that our forefathers endured to give us the lives in America that we enjoy today.
