th
# 84 OCTOBER 17 , 2016
# 84 October 17
th
2016
because he discovered
the New World. For this
reason, Columbus was
considered one of the
most important figures in
America’s young history
along with Washington,
Jefferson, and Benjamin
Franklin.
Shortly after the Knights
of Columbus was formed,
Italian Americans launched a campaign to have
the Italian explorer canonized as a saint in the Roman Catholic church because his logs revealed he
saw bringing Christianity
to the Indians as part of his
mission in the New World.
The Knights of Columbus but ultimately the Church
rejected his candidacy for
supported this initiative.
sainthood because CoA papal inquest into Co- lumbus had had a 20-year
lumbus’s life was opened relationship with Beatriz
Enriquez de Harana who
bore him an illegitimate
son, Ferdinand, in 1488.
They never married and
even though Columbus
was faithful to her and
provided for her in his will,
the Church decided that
he was not a candidate for
sainthood.
What should Italian American communities do to
defend Columbus Day?
Italian American communities are already defending this federal holiday
by holding parades and
other celebrations across
the nation. They need to
be more active in contacting their elected officials, engaging their support for the holiday and
what it represents to all
Italian Americans. This is
a political issue not a cultural one. Special interest groups representing
minorities in towns, cities and states have been
using Columbus Day and
the defamation of Columbus to further their own
political and social agendas. We Italian Americans,
the fifth largest ethnic
group in the US, need to
organize as well, marshal-
ling our political clout to
preserve this holiday. This
is being done here and
there. We need to do it on
a much larger and more
unified scale.
Are Italian Americans the
only group it is not politically incorrect to stereotype?
I don't say we are the only
group, but I believe that,
at 20 million strong, we
are certainly the largest
group. For decades Hollywood and television
have been making huge
amounts of money by de-
36 | WE THE ITALIANS
WE THE ITALIANS | 37
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