Commission
for Social Justice Responds to Criticism of Columbus Celebration
Contact: Diane E. Crespy, (202) 547-2900 dcrespy@osia.org
Washington, D.C., Oct. 6, 2000 -The Commission for Social Justice
(CSJ), the leading anti-defamation organization for the Italian-American
community, has responded to criticism from various groups which represent
native Americans and Hispanics, concerning activities planned throughout
the country in celebration of Columbus Day.
Particularly, the parade in which CSJ and Order Sons of Italy in America
(OSIA) members are participating on Saturday, Oct. 7, in Denver, is
at the center of attention. Denver's Columbus Day parade has been picketed
and interrupted over the years by groups who consider Columbus' discovery
of America an invasion, and accuse him of genocide and colonialism.
The once annual parade was cancelled in 1992 due to threats of violence
and this is the first year it has resumed.
Groups in opposition to the parade have threatened violence if Columbus'
name is used in this year's parade. The Denver Post reported that the
condition of omission of any Columbus references was forced upon parade
planners after the original parade permit was granted. Parade organizers
stated that they would march anyway.
In an effort to curb potential violence, representatives from the Italian-American,
native American, and Hispanic communities have met numerous times with
city officials to try to resolve the situation. The U.S. Justice Department
was called in to negotiate. "March for Italian Pride" was suggested
as an alternate name for the parade, but Italian-American groups and
parade organizers feel this is an infringement of their First Amendment
right to free speech.
"What they are asking us to do is a violation of our rights as Americans.
We have the right to celebrate individuals and events that are significant
to us, as long as we are within the confines of the law," CSJ National
President John Dabbene said. "We will celebrate Columbus and our ancestry
peacefully, as we do every year across the country."
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has spoken out in favor of
the rights of the parade organizers.
The CSJ acknowledges Columbus' documented involvement in the mistreatment
of Native American peoples. "But, judging a 15th Century man by 21st
century values and standards is unfair," observes Dabbene.
Slavery was not prohibited by Great Britain, creator of the Magna Carta
(1215) until 1833, and the United States permitted slavery until the
adoption of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. Remnants of the slave
trade (especially that of Muslim powers) persisted until international
action against it began in the late 19th Century.
"As inherently wrong as slavery is, still it was the universal norm,"
CSJ National Executive Director Philip R. Piccigallo, Ph.D., said. "Columbus
did not introduce slavery or colonialism to the Americas. The pre-Columbian
Aztecs widely practiced both, along with such ignoble deeds as torture
and human sacrifice by the thousands."
There has also been frequent criticism that claim Columbus was not the
first to discover America. The CSJ recognizes the existence of evidence
that numerous individuals may have reached the Americas prior to Columbus,
including Vikings, Africans, Chinese, Jews, and the British. Nevertheless,
"historians generally agree that Columbus' landing was of definitive
and lasting significance," Piccigallo said.
"Columbus' landing on the Americas was the beginning of prolonged and
continuous contact between the Old World and the New World. It was the
commencement of the world as we know it today," he added.
The CSJ profoundly regrets any harm done to innocent people or to the
environment as the result of European discoveries and eventually settlements
in the New World. However, "the CSJ refuses to condemn 15th century
behavior from the more enlightened perspectives of the 21st century,"
Dabbene said. He added that Columbus serves as an important symbol of
courage, ingenuity, creativity, and the strength of the human spirit
for Italian Americans.
"Rather than condemning Columbus, the CSJ encourages the celebration
of his achievement as the historically decisive opening of dialogue,
trade, and travel between Europe and the Americas," he said.
"Columbus should not be blamed for everything negative associated with
a highly industrialized, technological, urbanized, crime-saturated,
and toxic-waste-ridden society," Piccigallo added. "All human endeavors
are necessarily flawed."
The CSJ has called for universal temperance, fairness, and balance on
the part of those who would use the Columbus celebrations to exploit
and promote, for political or other purposes, the real or perceived
shortcomings of Columbus, his discoveries, and the consequences of his
actions.
The CSJ is the anti-defamation arm of the Order Sons of
Italy in America (OSIA), the largest and longest-existing
organization of Italian-American men and women in the
world. Founded in 1905, OSIA represents one-half million
members throughout the United States. For more information,
contact the CSJ at csj@osia.org,
(202) 547-2900, or visit www.osia.org.
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