Columbus Day and Italian American Heritage

    When posed with the question, “Are there any difficult or problematic events that have occurred in your community that challenge the reputations of those involved?”, a specific cause comes to mind, italian americans who seek to preserve the tradition of Columbus day and the reputation of Columbus himself. Hailing from Italy, Christopher Columbus is credited for discovering the Americas. This achievement is cherished by many Italian Americans in New Jersey, often proudly celebrated in public. The preservation of Columbus and his achievements have been met with much backlash in recent years. Columbus has also been credited with the imperialistic genocide of indigenous peoples. This event directly challenges two groups, Italian Americans preserving the heritage of a man accused of murder, and indigenous groups who have worked tirelessly to abolish the celebration  of Columbus. My first insight into the schism between Italian Americans and indigenous peoples was in David Chase’s television show, The Sopranos. There are scenes within the series which depict protests between the two groups. Real social issues that have catapulted into fictional forms of entertainment prove that they are issues seen by a large audience. The scene in the The Sopranos actually took place at a site where a statue was removed more than a decade later.

    Recently, a statue of Christopher Columbus that was located in Newark, New Jersey has been removed due to a backlash of protestors petitioning for its removal. “In keeping with the movement to remove symbols of oppression and white supremacy, we have decided to remove the statue of Christopher Columbus from Washington Park,” Mayor Ras J. Baraka said in a statement. “We took it down with City work crews in a safe and orderly manner, to avoid the potential danger of people taking it upon themselves to topple it.” However, there are two sides to the argument. Salvatore Benvenuti, executive director for UNICO National, an Essex County-based Italian-American cultural and service organization, was deeply disturbed after learning the statue had been removed in the secrecy of night. “Some people say that there were people living here already, and that’s true, but they were very primitive,” he said “A lot of these allegations are nothing more than what was going on in the world at that time. (Slavery) wasn’t something Columbus invented or created.”  Benvenuti goes further to say, “In this country, we do have due process, and in most cities where action is being recommended or considered to take down a statue, it’s usually considered in an open forum, not in the middle of the night like a thief.”  

Personally, I agree with the statues removal, but I do not agree with erasing history. Columbus being an explorer and a colonist can both be true. Current studies on views suggest that most people now question the purpose of remembering Columbus, however, many are not educated on the subject. In an article published by Harvard, writers Leah Shafer and Bari Walsh explain the difficulties many have in celebrating and remembering the history of Columbus. 

    Shafer and Walsh explain “Columbus did not “discover America,” but his voyages began the Columbian exchange, a turning point in world history involving the massive transfers of human populations, cultures, ideas, animals, plants, and diseases. Turning points are powerful lenses through which students need to view our past.” Shafer and Walsh cite an extremely important history of the Americas in their article. By failing to recognize history, no matter how gruesome and distasteful, we fall victim to ignorance. When the general public falls victim to ignorance then we may fall victim to repeating the sins of the past. 

After seeing protests firsthand in Bloomfield, New Jersey I feel more closely associated this these issues. If I were commissioned to work to commemorate a historical event dedicated to the founding of the Americas while maintaining respect for the difficult history portrayed, I would employ historians who specialize in the history of Columbus. I would also hire modern sculpture artists to help encapsulate the feelings of indigenous people towards Columbus. I would ensure that the statue of commemoration would include real facts from the history of both Columbus and indigenous Americans people. I think this would allow the public to decide for themselves whether they would like to honor either Columbus of indigenous peoples.