The Friends of Italian Americans have joined together to help celebrate American immigrants and their descendants and end discrimination against them. Columbus Day is the only federal holiday that honors American immigrants. Unfortunately, there is a trend in some states and cities in our nation, and now in our state of New Hampshire, to eliminate Columbus Day. This is a very hurtful discrimination against the Italian American community and, more broadly, to descendants of immigrants of all nationalities who appreciate and respect their heritage.
The movement to delete Columbus Day is fueled by two primary factors: First, the mistaken attribution of the day as a celebration of Columbus; and second, a complete distortion of the reputation of Columbus himself.
As an important historical fact, Columbus Day was instituted by President Benjamin Harrison in 1892 as an apology to Italian immigrants who were victims of what is considered to be the largest single lynching in American history -- the "Crescent City" hangings. It was a shameful mark on our country’s history, now forgotten in modern times. The lynching occurred during a period of discrimination not only against Italians, but all immigrant groups. As such, this holiday embraces all immigrants.
Although Columbus never set foot in the United States portion of North America, the holiday was named after him not to honor him, but because, as a coincidence, 1892 happened to be the 400th anniversary of his arrival at the Caribbean Islands. In essence, Columbus was chosen as a symbol, not an idol.
Since its establishment over 130 years ago, this day has been celebrated by Italian Americans and in recent decades by a broader group of immigrants and their descendants. It reflects a combination of both their appreciation of being Americans and their hard work and contributions to the values and progress of our great nation as they pursued The American Dream. A more detailed review of the Italian American experience is reviewed in the “Italian Immigrants” section of this website.
Although Columbus Day evolved into a holiday of celebration, the Friends of Italian Americans ask you not to forget that it is a remembrance of one of our nation’s darkest moments of antagonism and discrimination against immigrants.
We hope you will join us in supporting Columbus Day and as such helping to defeat racism and prejudice wherever it may exist, and reinforcing the promise of the American Dream for all.