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Representatives from several Italian-American groups met in the North End Monday to discuss the future of the neighborhood’s Christopher Columbus statute. The statue was originally erected in North End Park in 1979 but was beheaded earlier this year before being removed and placed in storage. Demonstrators protested this weekend, calling for Columb...

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In the midst of a fierce debate over the future of the Christopher Columbus Plaza on Abriendo Avenue, Pueblo's Italian community came together for the 115th annual Columbus Day Celebration. However, Columbus Day 2020 had a different look: no protesters. For decades, protesters from Pueblo's indigenous communities came out to the bust of Christopher...

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Flo Spagnolo sat in a lawn chair facing the Christopher Columbus statue in Schenley Park on Monday. It was Columbus Day. The controversial statue was obscured, wrapped from top to bottom in plastic and tape. “I have been here since the beginning when the statue was placed here,” said Spagnolo, 93, from Greenfield. “I am so upset they want to take h...

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New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo observed Columbus Day on Monday by dedicating a statue of the Italian-American saint known as Mother Cabrini in lower Manhattan. The unveiling of the statue came a year after Cuomo announced that the state would commission a monument to the Roman Catholic nun who was canonized in 1946. It stands in a spot by the Hudson Ri...

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There were no protests or vandalism, but those who honor Christopher Columbus and those who do not made themselves known on Columbus Day. At the statue of Christopher Columbus in front of Union Station in Washington Square, the local Sons of Italy left a red, white and green wreath honoring Columbus. The explorer is seen in the Italian American com...

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Normally Sherman Avenue up to the boardwalk would be lined with vendor booths and a tent would have housed patrons listening to music and enjoying Italian sausage sandwiches and cannolis, but thanks to the ongoing pandemic, things were different this year. An Italian-American heritage celebration was held in its place.   The Knights of Columbus Col...

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Over the summer, calls for the removal of Christopher Columbus statues were being made across the country amid Black Lives Matter protests. The City of Columbus was once home to three statues of the city's namesake. Now, the Christopher Columbus statue at both City Hall and Columbus State Community College have been removed. “We were contacted by t...

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Happy Columbus Day, everybody!  That is, if you’re one of the folks who still celebrates Columbus Day because, appropriate to today’s often contentious designation, we’re presenting the sixth and final segment of our “Conversations on Columbus” series exploring the life and legacy of Christopher Columbus! This week is our attempt to tie a nice big...

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On Monday, Illinois state lawmakers and the American Indian Center will announce new legislation to swap out the official Columbus Day holiday with Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Meanwhile some Italian Americans in Chicago are against this. A rally was held Sunday to demand Chicago and Illinois stop erasing Columbus from history. Another rally will take...

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Beginning on December 8th 1941, over 600,000 Italian-Americans were branded “enemy aliens” and were firmly under the surveillance of the US intelligence community. Out of that number, tens of thousands were experiencing a very broad range of civil rights violations and massive economic losses, and a few thousand were being held in internment camps...

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