Save Schenley Park Columbus Statue
Basil M. Russo, President of Italian Sons and Daughters of America — and the ISDA legal team, led by attorney George Bochetto — secured a temporary injunction in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas that will block Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto from removing the Christopher Columbus statue in Schenley Park. The Italian American community saved...
Columbus Day ceremony held in Baltimore where statue was torn down
Baltimore's Italian-American community gathered Sunday morning for a small parade and ceremony in honor of Columbus Day. The ceremony took place in Little Italy where a Christopher Columbus statue once stood. The monument was toppled over and dragged into the water near the Inner Harbor by protesters on the Fourth of July. October is Italian-Americ...
Celebrating Italian Heritage Month in Pennsylvania
October is National Italian American Heritage Month in the United States. According to the United States Census, there are 17.8 million Americans who claim Italian origin, with 1.4 million of those living in Pennsylvania. According to the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, Lackawanna and Luzerne Counties take up five spots among the top 20...
Columbus Day holiday renaming hangs in balance, awaits response from Mayor Young
Monday marks the federally recognized Columbus Day holiday but in Baltimore City, it’s unclear what the holiday will be called this year, despite City Council approving a name change. As of Friday, Oct. 9, Mayor Jack Young had not signed the bill. If he doesn’t act over the weekend, Monday will be dubbed Columbus Day in Baltimore City. For a group...
Scenes from the 2020 Columbus Day Celebration in Scotch Plains
The Scotch Plains-Fanwood Chapter of UNICO and the Italian American Club hosted its socially distanced Columbus Day celebration on Saturday morning at the Alan M. Augustine Village Green in Park Ave. in downtown Scotch Plains. This year's focus centered on the Italian Heritage of Scotch Plains, where hundreds of people from the small town of Monta...
ISDA Wins First Court Battle Involving Pittsburgh’s Columbus Statue
On Friday, when Mayor Bill Peduto backed the Pittsburgh Art Commission’s decision to remove the Columbus statue from Schenley Park, the Italian American community didn’t smash windows or light fires. Rather, Basil M. Russo, President of Italian Sons and Daughters of America — and the ISDA legal team led by attorney George Bochetto — secured a tempo...
Pascrell, Amodei Lead Push to Proclaim October as Italian-American Heritage Month
Today, U.S. Reps. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09) and Mark E. Amodei (R-NV-02), co-chairs of the Congressional Italian-American Delegation, introduced a resolution in the House of Representatives to establish October as Italian and Italian-American Heritage Month. The resolution is cosponsored by Italian-American Delegation Members Rep. Rosa DeLauro (...
Mayor Peduto recommends removing statue of Christopher Columbus from Schenley Park
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto is recommending the removal of the Christopher Columbus status from Schenley Park -- weeks after the Pittsburgh Art Commission voted in favor of it as well. According to a release Friday, Peduto instead directed that the statue be “displayed in a private location still to be determined." He said removing the statue is...
Stoney proclaims Oct. 12 as Indigenous Peoples’ Day in Richmond
Calling Christopher Columbus “a man we now understand to be a harbinger of genocide and of displacement,” Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney proclaimed that Oct. 12 will now be Indigenous Peoples Day within the city. Stoney made the proclamation Friday afternoon to a mostly empty City Council chamber, though present were representatives from the Pamunkey...
Newark to rename Washington Park to honor Harriet Tubman, replace Columbus statue with hers
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said the city will rename Washington Park to honor Harriet Tubman and commission a statue of the abolitionist to replace the now-removed Christopher Columbus statue. The city removed the Columbus statue at nighttime in June, but one Italian-American group voiced displeasure with the lack of public discussion before it was ta...
Columbus Statue Not Going Anywhere, Freeholder Speculates
Noting that the history of Christopher Columbus is shrouded in conflicting accounts of his exploration of America and that he has become a symbol for the Italian community, Freeholder Anthony Romano shared his view that the Hudson County Board of Chosen Freeholders will likely seek to keep the statue where it is in Journal Square. Although located...
Baltimore City Council votes to change Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples’ Day
The Baltimore City Council pushed to accelerate the passage of a bill that would rename Columbus Day as Indigenous Peoples’ Day, with lawmakers hoping it takes effect in time for next week’s holiday. Whether the city meets this deadline now lies in the hands of Democratic Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young. If he chooses to veto the legislation or let...