We 21 women of Italian American ancestry, of Central New York, have seriously considered the monuments to Columbus and their symbolic statement of Italian immigrant pride. Italians have a deep and rich history of which we can be proud. However, we know that this monument of Christopher Columbus, erected in Syracuse in 1934, is no longer a suitable symbol of pride, and not one that we would offer to represent our Italian ancestry.
We know and understand that the monuments to Columbus were greatly significant to those early immigrants from Italy, especially to those who made their home in Syracuse. We understand, too, the community response and feeling of accomplishment Syracuse’s Italian community felt when, after 10 years of fundraising, they raised enough money to hire an Italian sculptor, Lorenzo Baldi, to create the Columbus monument that stands today.
We also understand the desire of those who love and honor their relatives, and other Italians who were part of this great effort, to keep the memory and legacy of Syracuse’s early Italian community alive. Italian history in Syracuse and this country is significant.
The difficulties these immigrants encountered were numerous and included discrimination, persecution and racism by the (then) established colonial whites, and others. The extent of this ill treatment was as violent and raw as the 1891 lynching of 11 Italian-Americans in New Orleans to the more subtle discriminatory treatment by a 20th century society where Italians were not permitted to live in certain neighborhoods, obtain certain jobs or join certain clubs.
The collective pride in Columbus grew as the Italian population grew, and with that, a desire for respect. That romantic, idealized story of Columbus was the vehicle pride and respect for some Italian American communities. However, what was erected to bring Italians “up,” occurred at the expense of the truth.
To expose the truth of the man does not denigrate Italians. Many of the facts related to the brutality Columbus unleashed on the inhabitants of Hispaniola are from his own writings as well as those of Bartolome de las Casas; they will not be written here. We know Columbus followed the lead of the Catholic Church with its own Doctrine of Discovery which sanctioned and encouraged colonization through conquest and exploitation.
The truths regarding Columbus’s violent entry into the “New World” shatter the myths and can be profoundly difficult to accept. Textbooks and the majority of children’s biographies of Columbus were powerful teachers of colonialism’s right not only to exist, but to exploit resources. These texts taught us that the domination of a country is a White, Christian right. Columbus is described in mythical terms as a man of courage, with almost superhuman attributes, bringing Christianity to savages. The writings for our youth were intentionally misguiding, romantic portraits.
The journey Columbus made was, notable. He bumped into an island, Hispaniola, a place the Europeans did not know existed. Greater than that, he bumped into the doorway to the Americas. It was a surprise, not a discovery. Rather, it was the beginning of the end for the lives and ways of life of indigenous populations living there, here and across the planet.
So, how do we change? The first step in the process of change is knowledge: recognition of the true facts of our history. Once we see it, we need to feel it, own it and embrace it even if it hurts and even if it shakes the foundations of our beliefs. From there we can act with honesty and integrity.
Cristoforo Colombo: navigator, con man, slave trader, violent missionary and perpetrator of genocide. Saying the truth about this man does not denigrate Italian-Americans, our families nor our Italian ancestry. It lifts us up to better knowing and seeing and brings us to that collective, heartfelt space of empathy and understanding.
As many Americans grapple with the knowledge of the cruelty and violence of our slave-based history, those of us with Italian heritage must do the same.
Some have suggested a special museum for our fallen heroes. This may be an educational answer to this dilemma, not only for Columbus, but also for those of the defeated Confederacy. As monuments are put aside for educational purposes around the world to show the hurt, hate and pains of the past, we can do the same in our country.
Then let us lift up again, with truth and dignity, those who are deserving of our honor and respect. Through community dialog we can come together with open hearts and minds.
Respectfully,
Hilary – Anne Coppola,
Carmen Viviano-Crafts
Andrea DeSantis,
Maria DeSantis,
Stephanie Donato,
Julia Donato,
Gloria Ruta Eagan
Shannon Fabiani,
Tarki Lombardi Heath,
Dorothea Barraco Hetnar
Donna Inglima,
Natalie LoRusso,
Diane Theresa Ogno,
Rubina DeFina Ogno,
Hana Pandori
Gerry Russo
Augusta (Pat) Sorrentino
Deborah Sorrentino
Rose Viviano,
Colleen Eagan Zawadzki,
MaryAnn Zeppetello
Read more
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1934: Even before its unveiling, Syracuse’s Columbus statue was controversial
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