Waterville mayor Nick Isgro draws criticism for proclamation of Oct. 14 as Columbus Day – 

“On Columbus Day,” the proclamation says, “we honor the skilled navigator and man of faith who President Benjamin Harrison described as a ‘pioneer of progress and enlightenment’ whose spirited voyage transformed the western hemisphere and inspired countless others to pursue their dreams and convictions in the face of seemingly insurmountable doubts and adversity. ”

Source: Waterville mayor draws criticism for proclamation of Oct. 14 as Columbus Day – CentralMaine.com

SF Supervisor Stefani wants indigenous people, Italian Americans to share day

San Francisco stripped the name of Christopher Columbus, the Italian explorer, from his commemorative day in October. But that doesn’t mean the city’s Italian Americans should stop holding their annual parade in North Beach, where the floats putter up Columbus Avenue as bystanders wave flags and cheer. On Tuesday, Supervisor Catherine Stefani offered a compromise: split the day in two. For those inclined to celebrate the discoverer from Genoa, it’s Italian American Heritage Day. For those who would rather honor the people who had already lived in California for centuries, it’s Indigenous People’s Day.

Source: SF Supervisor Stefani wants indigenous people, Italian Americans to share day

Italian-Americans want to make Columbus statue a landmark

A coalition of Italian-American groups are trying to thwart Mayor de Blasio’s bid to alter the Christopher Columbus statue at Columbus Circle by asking a city commission landmark it.

Last month, Hizzoner said the statue would soon be joined by historical markers that tell the fuller story of the explorer, warts and all.

But that plan doesn’t sit well with members of the Italian-American community, who revere the explorer as a cultural icon.

Source: Italian-Americans want to make Columbus statue a landmark

What We Lose When We Take Down Statues of Men Like Columbus

“It’s sad that a man who most Americans once recognized as the seed-planter of their civilization has been so unceremoniously cast aside.

There was a time when Columbus was a nearly universally revered figure in the Americas, a man who stood for the bold, entrepreneurial spirit of the New World.

Columbus was a hero for immigrants, a man who risked all to forge a new beginning in a far-off land.”

 

 

Source: What We Lose When We Take Down Statues of Men Like Columbus

San Jose City Council Votes to Remove Christopher Columbus Statue

The San Jose, Calif. City Council voted to remove a statue of explorer Christopher Columbus from the City Hall lobby after hours of contentious debate.

“It’s kind of a setback in our culture. Columbus is renown throughout the world, not just in Italy,” said Tony Zerbo with the Italian American Heritage Foundation. “Italian Americans here, in San Francisco and throughout the Bay Area are very proud of that.”

The statue has been vandalized and put back together twice

Source: San Jose City Council Votes to Remove Christopher Columbus Statue

San Francisco Replaces Columbus Day With Indigenous Peoples’ Day

“To take our day away is an insult to our culture,” said Guido Perego, president of the Italian Athletic Club in the city’s traditionally Italian-American North Beach neighborhood. “The city is basically pitting one culture against another.”The board voted 10-1 to make the change on Tuesday.San Francisco is not alone. Four states and 55 other cities, including Seattle and Phoenix, have rebranded the federal holiday as Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Berkeley, California, was the first U.S. city to make the mov

Source: San Francisco Replaces Columbus Day With Indigenous Peoples’ Day

Viewpoint: What Columbus means to Italian Americans | Opinion 

As a first generation Italian-American, to me and to many like me, Christopher Columbus represents the idea that you can voyage far away from home, and with a dream, and perseverance and sacrifice, and faith and hard work, you can find a better life and enjoy the freedom with which we are blessed to have in this awesome country we call the United States of America.

Source: Viewpoint: What Columbus means to Italian Americans | Opinion | southbendtribune.com

POTUS Proclaims October 9, 2017, as Columbus Day

COLUMBUS DAY, 2017

– – – – – – –

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

 

Five hundred and twenty-five years ago, Christopher Columbus completed an ambitious and daring voyage across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas. The voyage was a remarkable and then-unparalleled feat that helped launch the age of exploration and discovery. The permanent arrival of Europeans to the Americas was a transformative event that undeniably and fundamentally changed the course of human history and set the stage for the development of our great Nation. Therefore, on Columbus Day, we honor the skilled navigator and man of faith, whose courageous feat brought together continents and has inspired countless others to pursue their dreams and convictions — even in the face of extreme doubt and tremendous adversity.

More than five centuries after his initial voyage, we remember the “Admiral of the Ocean Sea” for building the critical first link in the strong and enduring bond between the United States and Europe. While Isabella I and Ferdinand II of Spain sponsored his historic voyage, Columbus was a native of the City of Genoa, in present day Italy, and represents the rich history of important Italian American contributions to our great Nation. There can be no doubt that American culture, business, and civic life would all be much less vibrant in the absence of the Italian American community. We also take this opportunity to reaffirm our close ties to Columbus’s country of birth, Italy. Italy is a strong ally and a valued partner in promoting peace and promoting prosperity around the world.

In commemoration of Christopher Columbus’s historic voyage, the Congress, by joint resolution of April 30, 1934, and modified in 1968 (36 U.S.C. 107), as amended, has requested the President proclaim the second Monday of October of each year as “Columbus Day.”

NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim October 9, 2017, as Columbus Day. I call upon the people of the United States to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities. I also direct that the flag of the United States be displayed on all public buildings on the appointed day in honor of our diverse history and all who have contributed to shaping this Nation.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this sixth day of October, in the year of our Lord two thousand seventeen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-second.

DONALD J. TRUMP

Presidential Proclamation — Columbus Day, 2015

 

“Columbus’s arrival in the New World inspired many and allowed for generations of Italians to follow — people whose Italian-American heritage contributes in immeasurable ways to making our country what it is, and who continue to help strengthen the friendship between the United States and Italy.”

 

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

Over half a millennium ago, Christopher Columbus — an ambitious navigator native to Genoa, Italy — set sail for new horizons. Aboard the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa María, his expedition went west for a months-long journey. Though his first of four voyages across the Atlantic did not end at his desired destination of Asia, Columbus’s adventure reflected the insatiable thirst for exploration that continues to drive us as a people.

Columbus DayColumbus’s legacy is embodied in the spirit of our Nation. Determined and curious, the young explorer persevered after having been doubted by many of his potential patrons. Once opportunity struck, when Ferdinand II and Isabella I agreed to sponsor his trip, he seized the moment and pursued what he knew to be possible. Columbus’s arrival in the New World inspired many and allowed for generations of Italians to follow — people whose Italian-American heritage contributes in immeasurable ways to making our country what it is, and who continue to help strengthen the friendship between the United States and Italy.

Though these early travels expanded the realm of European exploration, to many they also marked a time that forever changed the world for the indigenous peoples of North America. Previously unseen disease, devastation, and violence were introduced to their lives — and as we pay tribute to the ways in which Columbus pursued ambitious goals — we also recognize the suffering inflicted upon Native Americans and we recommit to strengthening tribal sovereignty and maintaining our strong ties.

In the years since Columbus’s time, the legacy of early explorers has carried on in the wide eyes of aspiring young dreamers and doers, eager to make their own journeys and to continue reaching for the unknown and unlocking new potential.

In commemoration of Christopher Columbus’s historic voyage 523 years ago, the Congress, by joint resolution of April 30, 1934, and modified in 1968 (36 U.S.C. 107), as amended, has requested the President proclaim the second Monday of October of each year as “Columbus Day.”

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim October 12, 2015, as Columbus Day. I call upon the people of the United States to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities. I also direct that the flag of the United States be displayed on all public buildings on the appointed day in honor of our diverse history and all who have contributed to shaping this Nation.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this ninth day of October, in the year of our Lord two thousand fifteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and fortieth.

BARACK OBAMA

Government Shutdown Not Stopping National Columbus Day Celebrations in Washington, DC

The National Columbus Celebration Association has announced that the annual ceremony will be moved from its traditional site at the Columbus Memorial Plaza at Union Station to the Casa Italiana Christopher Columbus courtyard adjacent to Holy Rosary Church, the national Italian parish.  The Columbus Memorial across from Union Station remains closed due to the federal government shutdown.

The Casa Italiana Cultural Center and the Columbus courtyard are located at 595 Third, NW, Washington, DC 2001. The ceremony will begin at 11:00 am on Monday, October 14, 2013.

Columbus Day Ceremony across from Union Station

The program for this year’s ceremony will include :

  Tributes to the Great Explorer delivered by representatives from the Embassies of Spain and Italy
 The Honor America Corps of the Knights of Columbus will present the 27 official flags of the United States
 Reading of the Presidential and Mayoral proclamations
 Presentation of the National Youth Essay Winner, cosponsored by the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution and National Italian American Foundation
 Wreath presentations by the embassies, partner organizations, patriotic and heraldic organizations, civic organizations, and scouts.

This year’s wreath presentations will be at the beautiful statue of Christopher Columbus in the courtyard of Holy Rosary Church adjacent to Casa Italiana. This unique annual event commemorates the life and accomplishments of Christopher Columbus, the history of the Americas, and is designed to emphasize both the patriotic and educational aspects of this federal holiday.

A religious commemoration of Columbus Day with Mass will be held at Holy Rosary Church, 595 3rd St, NW, Washington, DC, on Sunday, October 13, 2013 at Noon. This event is co-sponsored by the Lido Civic Club of Washington, DC, and the District of Columbia State Council of the Knights of Columbus. A short program will take place after Mass at the Columbus statue in the courtyard of Holy Rosary Church.  This statue of Columbus was donated by the Lido Civic Club, an Italian American organization founded in 1929.

Casa Italiana, 595 Third St., NW
October 14, 2013 – 11:00 am

 

Columbus Day 2012 a Proclamation, by the President of the United States of America

Washington, October 5, 2012

As dawn broke over the Atlantic on October 12, 1492, a perilous 10-week journey across an ocean gave way to encounters and events that would dramatically shape the course of history. Today, we recall the courage and the innovative spirit that carried Christopher Columbus and his crew from a Spanish port to North America, and we celebrate our heritage as a people born of many histories and traditions.

Barack Obama

Barack Obama

When the explorers laid anchor in the Bahamas, they met indigenous peoples who had inhabited the Western hemisphere for millennia. As we reflect on the tragic burdens tribal communities bore in the years that followed, let us commemorate the many contributions they have made to the American experience, and let us continue to strengthen the ties that bind us today.

In the centuries since that fateful October day in 1492, countless pioneering Americans have summoned the same spirit of discovery that drove Christopher Columbus when he cast off from Palos, Spain, to pursue the unknown. Engineers and entrepreneurs, sailors and scientists, explorers of the physical world and chroniclers of the human spirit — all have worked to broaden our understanding of the time and space we live in and who we are as a people. On this 520th anniversary of Columbus’s expedition to the West, let us press forward with renewed determination toward tomorrow’s new frontiers.

As a native of Genoa, Italy, Christopher Columbus also inspired generations of Italian immigrants to follow in his footsteps. Today, we take time to celebrate the innumerable contributions that generations of Italian Americans have made to our country. Throughout 2013, Italy will also commemorate this rich heritage and the enduring bonds between our countries with the Year of Italian Culture in the United States, which Americans will join in celebrating.

In commemoration of Christopher Columbus’s historic voyage 520 years ago, the Congress, by joint resolution of April 30, 1934, and modified in 1968 (36 U.S.C. 107), as amended, has requested the President proclaim the second Monday of October of each year as “Columbus Day.”

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim October 8, 2012, as Columbus Day. I call upon the people of the United States to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities. I also direct that the flag of the United States be displayed on all public buildings on the appointed day in honor of our diverse history and all who have contributed to shaping this Nation.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fifth day of October, in the year of our Lord two thousand twelve, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-seventh.

BARACK OBAMA