Close

In late August, the Los Angeles city council voted to end the city’s celebration of Columbus Day. That same week, across the continent, a furor was foaming over the fact that New York City mayor Bill de Blasio was considering taking down the iconic statue of Columbus atop a pillar in the circle near Central Park that bears his name. In response, ci...

2082

Ciao from Rome. The editorial of this September 2017 issue starts from what has been going on in the last weeks, with an awful recrudescence of the attacks against Columbus. The picture here is a collage of the 16 Columbus monuments vandalized through the last years in these American cities: Buffalo NY (twice), New York City NY (Manhattan and Queen...

1411

It’s amazing what someone can accomplish with a little passion and diplomacy. State Rep. Anthony DeLuca’s recent defense of Columbus Day is a shining example. As we all know, annual celebrations of Columbus have been under assault for decades, with cities and states across the country either flat-out eliminating them or supplanting them with celebr...

1371

Akron City Council split along racial lines as a resolution meant to heal divided. Councilman Russ Neal introduced language Monday that would have recognized the second Monday in October not as Columbus Day but Indigenous Peoples’ Day. The swap is meant to honor the contributions of Native Americans and recognize that “the first voyage of Columbus...

1652

People in the town of Durham may be celebrating The Age of Exploration and Indigenous Peoples’ Day in addition to Columbus Day on the second Monday in October. The town council is expected to take up a resolution tonight that if passed would double-name the day. According to Town Administrator Todd Selig, this will encourage people to learn more ab...

834

Congratulations to this year very talented Columbus Pageant competition winners!!! Emma Lubbers and Lola Lauro won the contest in their respective age groups and were crowned 2017 Miss and Little Miss Columbus. Both will ride on the Italian American Club float at the Columbus Day Parade on October 1, and will participate in various festivities duri...

691

On March 14, 1891, in the city of New Orleans, 11 Italian Americans were lynched by an angry mob.  The anger stemmed from a jury’s failure to convict the men of killing a police officer, Daniel Hennessy.  Refusing to accept the verdicts, a crowd marched to the prison where the acquitted defendants were held post-trial, broke down the doors screamin...

1853

Indigenous People’s Day will officially replace Columbus Day on the district’s school calendar after the School Committee voted Tuesday to make the change. It follows a City Council decision in June 2016 to change the second Monday in October to a holiday celebrating the natives, many argue, who were doomed to oppression and enslavement after Chris...

2430

Following a national trend, the village of Oak Park approved a resolution authorizing Oct. 9 as Indigenous People Day within its boundaries. The resolution was unanimously approved by the Oak Park village board at its Sept. 5 meeting. According to village spokesman David Powers, the resolution applies only to village municipal government, and not t...

1293

I don’t necessarily oppose the Los Angeles City Council’s replacement of Columbus Day with “Indigenous People’s Day” on the city calendar — I’ve always thought a “John Smith Day” or “John Winthrop Day” would be more appropriate of an American holiday, and the Italian Americans the holiday was originally meant to appease are now thoroughly integrate...

1824