The ANNOTICO Report
WHY WE
HONOR COLUMBUS
By Dr.
Joseph V. Scelsa
President, Italian American
Museum
Perhaps Samuel
Eliot Morison, in his book "Admiral of the Ocean Sea"
has said it best as to why we should remember Christopher Columbus. The whole
history of the Americas stems from the Four Voyages of Columbus; and as the
Greek city-states looked back to the death-less gods as their founders, so
today a score of independent nations and dominions unite in homage to Christopher,
the stout hearted son of Genoa, who carried Christian civilization across the
Ocean Sea!
On May 20, 2006, the world quietly marked the 500th anniversary of the passing
of one of the most important men to have walked on and in his case sailed the
face of this earth. Christopher Columbus or Cristofero
Colombo as he was known by his Genoese parents dared to dream and act in ways
no other had done before. Some have called him the first American, others, an
adventurer or even a tyrant. What ever one's opinion, no one can deny that it
was his indomitable spirit which drove him and lives o! n
today in the new world he opened by his voyages of discovery.
Historically, Columbus is an icon; in fact, the
first known celebration in his honor in New York
took place in 1792 on the occasion of the third hundred anniversary of his
landing on the Americas.
It was organized by the "Society of Saint Tammy" an organization of
American revolutionary war veterans. The society later went on to become
"Tammany Hall" the most powerful political machine New York City has ever known. It's last
leader, an Italian American, Carmine DeSapio.
Sadly, today, parades and protest both take place in America on Columbus Day. This once
venerated "American Hero" has been under attack since before the
500th anniversary even though there are streets, highways, towns, cities,
universities and even our nation's capitol, the District of Columbia, named in his honor.
For the past several years, protesters in Denver,
Colorado have disrupted the
Annual Denver Columbus Day Parade claiming ! that Columbus is responsible
for plight of all indigenous people in America and several states have
sought to remove Columbus Day as an official holiday.
In New York State it was then Assemblyman Al Smith and Senator "Big
Tom" Sullivan who introduced the bill in 1909 which Governor Charles
Hughes signed making Columbus Day a state holiday. By 1910, eight other states
followed New York; New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Maryland, California,
Michigan, Montana and Illinois making Columbus Day a legal state holiday. In
1934, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt designed October 12th, a day of
nationwide celebration and in 1968, President Lynden B. Johnson signed the bill
making Columbus Day a Federal Holiday.
Perhaps the most famous Columbus monument stands
in New York City at Columbus Circle at the junction of Central Park and Broadway. It was mostly the Italian
immigrants at the time who contributed to the fund for the monument started by
Carlo Barsotti in 188! 9, the publisher of Il
Progresso Italo-Americano and then presented it to
the City of New York in time for the fourth
hundred anniversary of Columbus'
first voyage in 1892. In 1968, the Columbus Citizens Foundation under the New
York City Adopt-A-Monument Program raised the $450,000 necessary to restore the
monument to its original splendor prior to the 500th anniversary.
Although today, the Manhattan parade rarely passes by the monument except when
the solemn Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur falls on Columbus Day and out of
respect for our Jewish brethren, we don't march past their Fifth Avenue
synagogue it still stand as a beacon of hope and encouragement for all to see,
Italian and all non-Italians alike.
In 1907, New York City (Manhattan)
had two parades one on Mulberry
Street and the other in East
Harlem (which was in the 1930s and 40s, the largest Italian
district in the country). In 1927, the Columbus Citizens Committee assumed
responsibility for the parade, ! later
in 1944 under the leadership of Generoso Pope; the Columbus Citizens Foundation
took over the responsibility for the parade and has done so every year since
then. Perhaps the most significant parade in Columbus's
honor was that of October 8, 2001, just one month after the tragedy of September
11, 2001 when 3,000 American lives were lost in the worst attack on the United States since December 7, 1941 when the
Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.
The first
official parade (public gathering) after 9/11 in New York City was the Columbus Day Parade.
People from all walks of life, not just those of Italian descent came out to
line the streets , not only to celebrate the achievements of Columbus, but to
show their patriotism, a testament to his and our" indomitable spirit
which he represents. More than anything that is what Christopher Columbus has
come to stand for and why he will always be remembered. His indomitable spirit
lives on, his belief in himself and his determination to follow through on his
dreams of a better life in America
for ourselves and our children. That is Christopher Columbus' real legacy and
that is why we, the children of Columbus, the heirs of his legacy must never
forget him. He led our way.