and the struggle for acceptance, human rights and dignity." Columbus Day symbolizes the immigrant experience in the U.S. It is hurtful to all immigrants that view the day as a celebration of being accepted in America after decades of experiencing racism, prejudice and violence. "It elevates one culture while marginalizing another. "Removing Columbus Day sets a bad precedent," he said.
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Spagnuolo said the first national observance of Columbus Day, in 1892, was "to atone for a racist crime" - the lynching of a group of Italian men in New Orleans, one of a series of acts of violence and discrimination in the country's history against Italian immigrants and Italian-Americans. The only person who testified against the bills during the hearing, Christopher Spagnuolo, described Columbus as a "complicated historical figure" and said there can be different interpretations of his diaries. "I think if we're going to honor and celebrate one or the other on the second Monday of October, it's obvious which is worthy and which is not."
"The Massachusett and Wampanoag people for over 8,000 years before the arrival of European colonizers took care of this land in a sustainable way," DeFronzo said. We did not need to have civilization or spirituality brought to us since we already had many civilizations and beliefs."įaries Gray, sagamore of the Massachusett Tribe of Ponkapoag, said Indigenous people throughout the Americas view Columbus as "a terrorist" and celebrating him with a holiday teaches children "that it's acceptable to do this to Indigenous people."Īlex DeFronzo, an Italian-American East Boston resident, said Columbus documented in his writings "his legacy of genocide against the Taino and Carib peoples, sex trafficking of Indigenous women and girls and enslavement of hundreds of Indigenous people." "Indigenous people were not discovered by anybody since we were already here and were certainly not lost. "Nearly all of us were falsely taught as young children that Columbus discovered America," she said. Mahtowin Munro, who is Lakota and spoke on behalf of United American Indians of New England and the statewide Indigenous Peoples Day campaign, said Indigenous people have been asking for the replacement of Columbus Day since the 1970s. Supporters of the bills pushed back against the notion that the Italian navigator Columbus truly discovered the Americas, lands that were already populated, and said the switch would recognize the resilience of Indigenous people who endured colonization. Less than two weeks before that holiday arrives, the Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight heard testimony on a pair of bills (H 3191, S 2027) that would instead have the governor proclaim that day Indigenous People's Day "to acknowledge the history of genocide and discrimination against Indigenous peoples, and to recognize and celebrate the thriving cultures and continued resistance and resilience of Indigenous peoples and their tribal nations." State law calls for the governor to annually proclaim the second Monday in October as Columbus Day, "to the end that the memory of the courage, perseverance and spiritual fervor of Christopher Columbus, discoverer of America, may be perpetuated." Indigenous people and other activists calling for the state to rename Columbus Day got support in their push Tuesday from some Italian-Americans who said they, too, think Massachusetts should make the change.
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