Christopher Columbus is canceled. Here’s a better way to honor Italian-American history

Less than 100 years ago, Italians immigrating to America faced many of the same problems that Californians are in the streets protesting today: racism, hatred and abuse. Our community overcame that, contributing greatly to our state and our nation.

With the removal of the statue of Christopher Columbus in the Capitol, and the possible elimination of Columbus Day, many fear this rich history is accidentally being erased. Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders should make sure it isn’t.

It seems difficult to believe that less than a century ago, the federal government passed legislation that barred most Italians from entering the United States. The Immigration Act of 1924 followed a report by the United States Immigration Commission that “Certain kinds of criminality are inherent in the Italian race. In the popular mind, crimes of personal violence, robbery, blackmail and extortion are peculiar to the people of Italy.”

Discrimination against Italian-Americans, largely because of their dark skin, was rampant in California. Through much of the last century, employment ads prominently feature “no Italians need apply.” In 1891 in New Orleans, 11 Italian-Americans were lynched.

That action sparked the celebration of Columbus Day, and it was eventually declared a national holiday by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1934, over the objection of the Klu Klux Klan.

More recently, during World War II some 600,000 undocumented Italian immigrants in the United States were deemed “enemy aliens.” They were relocated, detained and stripped of their property or placed under curfew. Italian-American fishermen in California had their boats confiscated. A couple hundred were even locked in internment camps.

Today, Italian-Americans are one of the state’s largest ethnic communities with approximately 1.5 million families. Los Angeles is home to the nation’s fifth-largest Italian-American population, San Diego’s “Little Italy” is a prominent feature of that city and Sacramento remains dotted with Italian-American owned businesses, some a century old.

From pioneers to entrepreneurs, educators to civil rights leaders, artists, designers, restaurateurs and scientists, Italian Americans have been and remain an integral part of California’s complex social fabric. The Italian-American experience is vast and rich with museums in Los Angeles and San Francisco devoted to its history.

Yet, now that Columbus Day is under attack and Columbus statues are being removed, our history is at risk of being lost.

What should the state do?

▪ Rename Columbus Day Italian-American Heritage Day – The City of Sacramento has taken this path rather than simply eliminating Columbus Day. This will preserve the ability of all Californians to celebrate the contributions of Italian-Americans to our state.

▪ Replace the Columbus statue with that of a prominent Italian-American – There are thousands of California Italian-Americans that have made their mark without a controversial past. Columbus should be replaced by one of them.

▪ Legislative/Executive Orders to Recognize Italian-Americans – In the past, both houses of the Legislative have passed resolutions honoring Italian-Americans (ACR 68 and SCR 157 being among the most recent). The Legislature should approve similar measures this year. An executive order also recognizing the community would be welcome, as would community appointments to the Italian-American Task Force established in statute in 1996.

▪ Promote Italian-American History in Education – Lesson plans for middle- and high-school educators have been developed and are available for California’s schools. Let’s promote their use.

Many Italian-Americans proudly stand with Native Americans and others in saying goodbye to Columbus. But let’s use these times to consider these positive alternatives to ensure that the Italian-American contribution to California’s success is not forgotten.

This story was originally published July 1, 2020 at 6:00 AM.