In the column I wrote last month about widespread efforts to blot out Columbus Day, I touched upon a game-changing encounter that took place a quarter of a century ago. In July 1991, Native- and Italian-American leaders entered a room as adversaries and left as allies who embraced each other's cultures and supported each other's causes. As a result, peace reigned over Chicago's quincentennial Columbus Day celebrations.

But how exactly did this remarkable détente occur? For the answers, I turned to its principal architect: Dominic DiFrisco. A gifted public relations professional and talented mediator, he served as president of the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans at the time.

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Fonte: Fra Noi