The annual event commemorated the first Italian American immigrants who came to America and paid tribute to civil servants and first responders who help keep New York City safe. On Sunday, a wreath-laying ceremony was held at the Christopher Columbus statue in Columbus Circle. This year's parade featured 20 marching bands, 18 floats and dozens of performance groups. We helped write the Declaration of Independence, in every field that you can think of," said Lenny Mancuso, from Long Island.Ĭelebrating their ancestors' ability to come to a new land and succeed, empowering the next generation to do the same, just like the famed Italian explorer himself. "What people don't realize is that Italians have had an influence in the development and growth of the United States since colonial times. The Associated Press contributed to this report."There's a very strong thread that goes through the Italian community and that's one of family support, hard work and celebrating our heritage," Christopher Loiacono of the Columbus Citizens Foundation said. “There’s so many great Italians to celebrate, he’s just not the one to celebrate so I’m glad the change is coming.” “People cling things because of tradition, people don’t like change very much,” Corcoran said. ![]() “And then also other wonderful women that I've known that I've been inspired by the things that they've done in the community and the changes that they've made and the people they have helped.”Īcknowledging both the celebration of Christopher Columbus and Indigenous People’s Day, both groups continue to highlight their culture and heritage from their different approaches. In advance of the holiday, the department announced. “My mother was an educator and she was very much into social justice,” Corcoran said. Trash and composting will be picked up by the New York City Department of Sanitation on Monday, Oct. Then when you come here you start to build up your family.” “It was not too nice and not too easy - the language, the new things. “We love Italy because I came from there in my 20s,” DiCesare said. Some people like it, some people want it some people they don’t want it.”ĭiCesare and Corcoran were inspired to be involved with their communities in Rochester, as DiCesare has taken on the role of president of the Italian Civic League and Corcoran becoming an educator and advocate for the Indigenous People’s Day Committee. Today we have the same problem with migrants. “A lot of people hate Christopher Columbus, they say he was bad he was a criminal,” DiCesare said. “I can't fathom that a human being with a heart could truly support him as being somebody that you should look up to as a hero.” “It wasn't just that he gave them diseases or that he enslaved them or that he sold them or took them or killed them,” Corcoran said. Two years ago, President Joe Biden issued the first presidential proclamation of “Indigenous Peoples Day,” the most significant boost yet to efforts to refocus the federal holiday celebrating Columbus.īoth Corcoran and DiCesare reflect on the holiday from different points of view. He was brutal to the Taíno people and all the Indigenous people that he came in contact with.” View daily New York weather updates, watch videos and photos, join the discussion in forums. “I liked the day off, but I don't know how an Italian could support him. Get the latest Staten Island, NY Local News, Sports News & US breaking News. “When I was a little girl growing up, we celebrated Columbus Day, which I did not care for in the least, except for the day off,” Tonawanda Onondowaga member Trish Corcoran said. “When he came here he discovered a new land, and today they do the same thing to go to the moon, to Mars.”īut for many, the day is a symbol of the colonization and oppression of Indigenous communities. “We celebrate our heritage first and then we celebrate Christopher Columbus when he came here to discover America,” the president of the Italian Civic League, Quintino DiCesare, said. Spurred by national calls for racial equity, communities across the U.S. have taken a deeper look at Christopher Columbus’ legacy in recent years - pairing or replacing it with Indigenous Peoples Day.īoth Italian Americans and Indigenous communities are commemorating their cultures from different approaches.Ĭolumbus Day began as a celebration of Italian immigrants who faced persecution across the states. Columbus Day - a federal holiday celebrated in NYC as Italian Heritage/Indigenous People day - is Monday, Oct.
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