Christine Flowers: Celebrating Columbus Day, not Indigenous Peoples’ Day
Scrolling through social media this week, I saw an article in a local paper listing the stores and offices that would be closed on Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
My first reaction was bemusement, along the lines of “nothing will be closed on Indigenous Peoples’ Day because Indigenous Peoples’ Day is imaginary.”
I mentally added that there might, however, be things closed on Columbus Day.
My bemusement quickly segued to anger, something I’ve experienced on a regular basis since marauding mobs tried to destroy the Columbus Statue in South Philadelphia’s Marconi Plaza three years ago.
I clearly remember standing in front of the statue as a brigade of tattooed millennials shouted “genocidal maniac” at a hunk of stone that up until that moment had been minding its business.
Somehow, with the assistance of Mayor Jim Kenney, that statue became a flashpoint for anti-Italian bigotry.
As we all know, Columbus was enclosed in a vertical wooden sarcophagus for many months while the city fought mightily to defame one of the most visible examples of the rich Italian heritage that forms the backbone of this city of neighborhoods.
Kenney and the sycophantic twelve-year-olds in his administration were successful in keeping the statue boarded up for much longer than it should have been.
But with the support of a proud community of Italian Americans and the legal prowess of legendary Philadelphia lawyer George Bochetto, the wooden planks were stripped away, and Italians had their history again.
Sadly, there is no fairy tale ending to the story. While the statue is there, there are many cities in which the vestiges of my family’s heritage have been completely erased by historical illiterates who have a hard time processing nuanced concepts but are great at throwing around hashtags.
That brings me to Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
We all know that the word “indigenous” replaced the phrase “Native American,” which replaced the word “Indian” which replaced the word “redskin,” which replaced the word “savage.”
I understand this evolution, given that our sensibilities have changed drastically from the times when my grandparents would be called “wops” and “dagos.”
Outdated terms of bigotry and hatred have no place in our 21st-century lexicon, so good riddance to the cruelty.
But when we massage our language to make people feel better about themselves, we have to be careful not to massage the history and the actual events that created them. Case in point, the whole purpose of Columbus Day.
On March 14, 1891, eleven Italians were lynched in New Orleans. The men were suspected of having killed an Irish police officer, although most of them had already been acquitted in court, and the others had not yet been brought to trial.
The reason that the Italians were targeted is not because there was any evidence against them but because, as Brigit Katz wrote in a 2019 Smithsonian article “New Orleans was home to the South’s largest community of Italians, most of whom were from Sicily. Though many managed to integrate into the life of the city, finding work and eventually building their own businesses, they were not universally welcomed. Though Italians had been living in New Orleans since before the Louisiana Purchase, their language and customs were considered foreign and even dangerous by some.”
Immigrants, particularly dark-skinned immigrants with strange names and bizarre customs like drinking the blood of Jesus, were a target for those who needed scapegoats.
This hasn’t changed at all. Just ask a Haitian in Springfield, Ohio.
So these innocent Italians were murdered, and no one paid any price. It took over a century for the community to even get an apology out of New Orleans for what had been done.
Fortunately, there was some small comfort for the victims and their descendants when, on October 12, 1892, President Benjamin Harrison declared Columbus Day to be a celebration of Italians, and all immigrants.
It became a federal holiday under FDR in 1934.
As a child, I loved seeing the Columbus Day Parade in Philadelphia.
The colorful marchers sang the songs of their regions, wore the costumes of their hills and coastal villages, carried banners denoting the groups they belonged to like the Knights of Columbus and the Cavallieri d’Italia and the smaller regional associations, and the music of the mandolins, accordions and Mario Lanza filled the autumn air.
But then, the progressives got a hold of history and tried to rewrite it according to some post-racial, multicultural narratives.
Suddenly, it wasn’t cool to be Italian anymore and to tell people how proud we were of the man who essentially discovered the New World, even if he didn’t actually mean to do it. To me, it’s a distinction without a difference. He got there after the Scandinavian guy, true, but at least he got off the cruise and visited a bit.
People started talking about how horrible Columbus was, how he brought disease and destruction to the New World, and how he was a vicious animal who annihilated the natives.
And then the natives became the indigenous because we are supposed to believe that they were there first, even though there were others who preceded them.
The irony in all of this is that they took a holiday dedicated to honoring immigrants, and replaced it with a holiday honoring people who never went anywhere.
Am I the only one who thinks that this makes no sense, other than to vilify Italians?
So this Columbus Day, I will be celebrating my people, my heritage, my statue, and the courage of my ancestors in confronting the bigotry of their neighbors, by having a nice cappuccino in a café that won’t be closed for Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
Christine Flowers is an attorney and lifelong Philadelphian. @flowerlady61
This piece was originally published in the Delco Daily Times.
Italian Americans are Americans. Christine Flowers is as Irish as she is Italian. That said, Christopher Columbus was a brave explorer who never identified as Italian as Italy didn’t even exist when he roamed the earth 500 years ago. Never understood the fascination with Columbus in the United States as he never stepped foot in our country and human beings were already living here so he didn’t discover anything. By the way, we will find out soon if Columbus was actually Spanish in origin as DNA was sampled from his brother and son. I always thought Italian Americans deserved better than a Columbus holiday. However, I wouldn’t deny them their statue or Columbus holiday if that’s what they want.
Wonderful article, Christine. Happy Columbus Day!!
“And then the natives became the indigenous because we are supposed to believe that they were there first, even though there were others who preceded them.”
Who exactly preceded them??
FACT: Scientists who have examined the bones of Columbus and of his son, Hernando: “Both in the ‘Y’ chromosome and in the mitochondrial chromosome of Hernando, there are traits compatible with Jewish origins,” said Jose Antonio Lorente, professor of legal and forensic medicine at the University of Granada.
FACT: The National Weather Modification Policy Act of 1976 (P.L. 94-490) is a United States federal law enacted on October 13, 1976. he Act required companies intending to engage in weather modification activities within the United States to submit reports to the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) at least 10 days prior to undertaking the activity.
FACT: Regardless of crazy unprovable weather modification ideas, the 2020 NC election was decided by less than 75,000 vote difference. The blue cities (there are no blue states) of Raleigh and Charlotte will still get their Dem ballots counted. The people without roads currently (perhaps many Italians by heritage) are unlikely to vote.
We have another article from Ms. Flowers alleging Italian-American discrimination over Christopher Columbus. Christopher Columbus never discovered America, but others did. Including the Irish, China, the Vikings, and Indigenous people. He also brought with him disease, starvation, enslavement of native populations, forced religious conversions, and the destruction of their civilization. As much as Ms. Flowers complains about statues being removed, Christopher Columbus Day has been and still is a Federal Holiday since 1934. Columbus Day has been celebrated as early as 1791 and only recognizes one Italian. As opposed to many more Italian immigrants who contributed to America.
While Ms. Flowers has admitted that “Outdated terms of bigotry and hatred have no place in our 21st-century lexicon, so good riddance to the cruelty.” Ms. Flowers revels in insulting people who do not agree with her. Protestors are “marauding mobs” and “brigade(s) of tattooed millennials” intent on destroying the Columbus statue, former Mayor Kenny and his staff are described as “sycophantic twelve-year-old’s”.
Then there are her historical assertions, “While the statue is there, there are many cities in which the vestiges of my family’s heritage have been completely erased by historical illiterates” Perhaps she could provide examples of this that have noting to do with Columbus. Along with her claim that “And then the natives became the indigenous because we are supposed to believe that they were there first, even though there were others who preceded them.” So Christine, who proceeded them?
This is not about cancelling Christopher Columbus, its about making sure that his role in history remains accurate.
Very well said. Christine Flowers calls everyone a bigot who hates Italians if they dare point out the truth about Columbus who wasn’t even Italian. According to her columns, her maternal grandparents arrived a century ago. Her paternal size is not Italian at all. You would think she would call herself an American instead of calling herself “Italian” all the time while totally ignoring her Irish heritage. She also pretends she’s discriminated against because of being Italian and Catholic. It’s an insult to her ancestors who likely did face real discrimination.