I am a fourth generation Italian America. My great-grandparents came to the United States from Italy and Sicily just after the turn of the twentieth century. They came to America from poverty to build a new life and that they did. I am proud of my heritage and I have passed it along to my children.
Because of my background, one would think that I observe Columbus Day (as Christopher was from Genoa, Italy) and reject its replacement, Indigenous Peoples’ Day, but that is not the case. Some have said that to replace Columbus Day is to erase history, but I believe the opposite is the case. Indigenous Peoples’ Day is a recognition that there is much more to the story of America’s “discovery,” than Columbus accidently finding a new world looking for a better way to ship spices. As a Christian, whose Bible does not spare the faithful from the frailties and foibles of its central characters, so I believe the unsavory parts of American history should not be covered over or politely minimized.
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