Friday, July 3, 2020 @ 1:00 pm. A Peaceful Assembly/Rally by local Sacramento Community, Cultural and Historical Groups. WEST STEPS of the California State Capitol (10th Street) (PLEASE WEAR FACE MASK). SUPPORT California History and Preserve the Columbus Monument in the Capitol Rotunda! CLICK TO READ WHY COLUMBUS DAY MATTERS

We live during a time when statues of national historical figures including those of Christopher Columbus are being removed and torn down. The loss of the Columbus statues represents a loss of the Italian American story. Columbus Day parades and statues were a rallying cry that rose up at the turn of the 20th century and sparked the creation of an Italian American identity and culture.

It took Italian Americans generations to build a strong heritage and to be fully accepted in this nation. Now, that heritage is under attack by those who want to falsely rewrite our history and erase our spirit. Columbus Day and Columbus statues have been an integral part of the Italian American heritage. They are symbols of the Italian American story.

Most Columbus statues in the nation were donated by the Italian American communities where they stand. Now they are being taken from the Italian American people they were meant to honor and recognize.

Italians in California have been celebrating Columbus since their arrival with the Gold Rush and were instrumental in the creation of Columbus Day as an Italian American holiday. It was the Italian American community of California that successfully led the movement to return the Columbus statue to the State Capitol Rotunda in 1982, after the restoration of the State Capitol, where it had stood since 1883.

The Columbus Day holiday is also an Italian American holiday, a day when our enormous contributions to this nation are celebrated. Italian Americans as a group are worthy of a holiday.

Lets take a stand for our history and heritage.

It is important for our community to be heard so our history is not forgotten but celebrated! It is time for our history to be included in the history books along with all the other groups that are already included.

Italian Americans matter, our history matters. It is up to our generation to take ownership of our rich legacy and pass on the memory of our history.

LEARN MORE! COLUMBUS DAY ADVOCACY